Based on ethnographic fieldwork on the island of Nusa Lembongan, this paper explores how the emergence of tourist industries influences the local population. Although this kind of development can be found in most of Southeast Asia, this paper analyses ethnographic material from the small island of Nusa Lembongan to argue that the power relationship between foreign guests and local hosts is asymmetrical because it takes place within an unequal, capitalist world system. The morality, globality, and inequality of tourism is at the centre of attention. In this paper, then, we contribute to the ongoing debate on tourism and development by ethnographically situating global tourism in the context of Nusa Lembongan and by showing how the relationship between tourists and locals can be challenging for both sides. The paper argues against reductive econocentric accounts of the impact of tourism as conducive to economic growth and in favour of a more nuanced conceptual model which accounts for interpersonal misrecognition, inequality, and global economic structures.