We explore the tensions and dynamic connections between the place narratives of Faroese residents and those of Tourism Faroe Islands. Our findings demonstrate the need to shift from sense to senses of place in order to accommodate the multiple narratives of people–place relations, which are embedded in different standpoints on mobility and place change. Residents and brokers adopt different senses of place in order to respond to social and ecological pressures wrought by mobility, and the potential economic benefits of tourism growth and development. Concurrently, important relations exist among place meanings, one’s understanding of system variability and behavioural responses. Thus, senses of place emerge as a result of dynamic and complex relationships between different types of narratives on place that are constantly unfolding in response to social-ecological change.