This book explores the ambivalent relationship of poverty, risk and vulnerability, by examining impacts of tourism in rural communities of Nepal both theoretically and empirically. Due to concerns about risk, the international aid community has been reluctant to promote tourism as a development option for poor societies. Based on a national vulnerability profile, household survey data and village case studies, this book emphasizes instead the local development opportunities that also arise from tourism. Risk and insecurity are found to be notorious in rural societies even under "normal conditions". The empirical evidence suggests that tourism can reduce the likelihood to fall into or to remain in poverty, as tourism notably increases the risk management and coping capacity of rural households. Martina Shakya is a human geographer and research fellow at the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE) of the Ruhr University Bochum. Before joining the IEE in 2004, she spent several years in Southern Africa and in Nepal working as an advisor for tourism and regional development.