The Concept of Authenticity in Tourist Experiences

Abstract

The major emphasis in this article is the development of the authen ticity concept in tourist experiences. It is argued that the original form of the authenticity notion, which was proposed by Heidegger, has been only partially employed in the work of tourist researchers. The major development of the authenticity concept in the tourist literature is shown to be that of MacCannell who proposed, using Goffman's stage approach, that all tourists seek authenticity but are frustrated in their attempts because of the creation of frontstage, inauthentic environments. In another addition to the authenticity notion Cohen argued that some tourists perceive the inauthenticity of their settings. The elaboration of the authenticity concept offered in this paper highlights the need to define authenticity of both actors and their settings when appraising a tourist scene. Cohen's emphasis on tourists' ability to perceive authenticity and inauthen ticity is included as an important element in the framework outlined. Accurate and inaccurate perceptions of authenticity, it was argued, need to be considered, together with tourists' preference levels for authenticity, in order to explain tourist satisfaction. Some research possibilities generated by this framework included the study of tourist satisfaction, and the social status and identity con cerns inherent in tourists' social behaviour.