Most studies of the regional impact of tourism take both the ―product‖ and the ―re-gion‖ as predefined, thereby omitting or downplaying key attributes of the tourism enter-prise from analysis. This paper provides a context for tourism impact studies by explaining through theory and example how both region and products might be delineated, thus pro-viding a more credible basis for analysis of tourism policy, especially that designed to pro-mote aspects of authenticity and heritage. Discussion begins by reviewing the social science concepts of culture area/region, kulturkreise (culture circles), cultural landscapes, ethnos-capes and other spatial configurations, and considers how these can provide useful tools for tourism planning. Then using a case study from the Caribbean, it shows how these concepts were adapted to develop new regions for the diversification and expansion of tourism based on culture history, traditions, and way of life.