Rural areas in Sweden have during the past decades experienced a decline in both job opportunities and population. This decline is mainly a consequence of the restructuring in nature based industries that during the 20th century dominated the economy in rural Sweden. For many rural areas tourism has been seen as possible solution to create new jobs and a more positive development. In this paper the focus will be on local communities with a dominating tourism industry and more specifically how the tourism industry in these areas affects young people’s relation to the place. There are several reasons to study young people in these areas. They are the largest group that moves out from rural areas. They also represent a large proportion of the workforce in the tourism industry. Many areas with a dominating tourism industry can, at least during peak season, offer a higher level of service provision and supply of entertainment than other rural areas without a dominating tourism industry. In some aspects these rural tourism areas includes young lifestyles, which previous youth research has revealed is otherwise strongly connected to urban places. The aim of this paper is to examine how tourism influences the relation to the place for young people. The focus will be on a number of themes including how young people experience the connections to young lifestyles in these kinds of places, the importance and effects of seasonality in these places’ identity and how young inhabitants, workers and tourists experience the place’s attractiveness. Interviews will be conducted with young inhabitants, seasonal workers and tourists that return in a regular basis in the community of Sälen, which is one of the biggest ski resorts in Sweden. An individual can belong to more than one of these categories at once. The study will contribute to a broader understanding of how young people’s relation to the place in rural areas is affected by a dominating tourism industry. This knowledge is important to further understand the development of these places not only as tourism destinations but also as places to live.