IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/anture/v89y2021ics0160738321000803.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Authenticity in tourism theory and experience. Practically indispensable and theoretically mischievous?

Author

Listed:
  • Moore, Kevin
  • Buchmann, Annæ
  • Månsson, Maria
  • Fisher, David

Abstract

The notion of authenticity arises in tourism research in two ways: In theory, as a contentious, complicated and disputed construct; empirically, as a recurrent theme in accounts of tourist experiences of place and culture and as a quality of tourists' experiences. This duality creates tension over the utility of authenticity in research and theory. We review recent literature on authenticity within tourism scholarship –and more generally– and propose a partial resolution of this tension through demystifying the concept. We do this by highlighting its embeddedness in the activity of both research and tourism. That is, we conclude that authenticity can shed its problematic dualism by understanding how it is used in theorising and the activities of tourism.

Suggested Citation

  • Moore, Kevin & Buchmann, Annæ & Månsson, Maria & Fisher, David, 2021. "Authenticity in tourism theory and experience. Practically indispensable and theoretically mischievous?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:89:y:2021:i:c:s0160738321000803
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103208
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738321000803
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103208?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Castéran, Herbert & Roederer, Claire, 2013. "Does authenticity really affect behavior? The case of the Strasbourg Christmas Market," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 153-163.
    2. Sarial-Abi, Gülen & Merdin-Uygur, Ezgi & Gürhan-Canli, Zeynep, 2020. "Responses to replica (vs. genuine) touristic experiences," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Vidon, Elizabeth S. & Rickly, Jillian M. & Knudsen, Daniel C., 2018. "Wilderness state of mind: Expanding authenticity," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 62-70.
    4. Knudsen, Daniel C. & Rickly, Jillian M. & Vidon, Elizabeth S., 2016. "The fantasy of authenticity: Touring with Lacan," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 33-45.
    5. Carter, Perry Labron, 2019. "Looking for something real: Affective encounters," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 200-213.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pedro Guimarães, 2022. "Tourism and Authenticity: Analyzing Retail Change in Lisbon City Center," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Jiyoung Hwang & Hyo-Yeun Park, 2021. "Hermeneutic Phenomenological Understanding of the Inner Journey of Templestay," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Yang Jin & Bing Hou & Xiang Kong, 2024. "The Practice Characteristics of Authorized Heritage Discourse in Tourism: Thematic and Spatial," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Ni Kadek Winda Yanti, 2024. "Collaboration of SME and Village Tourism to Achieve Sustainable Tourism: Role of Authenticity and Moderation," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 11(7), pages 976-984, July.
    5. Rickly, Jillian M., 2022. "A review of authenticity research in tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on authenticity," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rickly, Jillian M., 2022. "A review of authenticity research in tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on authenticity," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Wenwen Shang & Qing Yuan & Nan Chen, 2020. "Examining Structural Relationships among Brand Experience, Existential Authenticity, and Place Attachment in Slow Tourism Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Yongjun Su & Junjie Xu & Marios Sotiriadis & Shiwei Shen, 2021. "Authenticity, Perceived Value and Loyalty in Marine Tourism Destinations: The Case of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, March.
    4. de Andrade-Matos, Mariana Bueno & Richards, Greg & de Lourdes de Azevedo Barbosa, Maria, 2022. "Rethinking authenticity through complexity paradigm," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Di Wu & Caiyun Shen & Enxu Wang & Yaoyao Hou & Jun Yang, 2019. "Impact of the Perceived Authenticity of Heritage Sites on Subjective Well-Being: A Study of the Mediating Role of Place Attachment and Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Light, Duncan & Brown, Lorraine, 2020. "Dwelling-mobility: A theory of the existential pull between home and away," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Canavan, Brendan & McCamley, Claire, 2021. "Negotiating authenticity: Three modernities," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    8. Tan, Wee-Kheng & Huang, Shih-Yin, 2020. "Why visit theme parks? A leisure constraints and perceived authenticity perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    9. Gwarlann Kerviler & Nico Heuvinck & Elodie Gentina, 2022. "“Make an Effort and Show Me the Love!” Effects of Indexical and Iconic Authenticity on Perceived Brand Ethicality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 89-110, August.
    10. Salet, Xavier, 2021. "The search for the truest of authenticities: Online travel stories and their depiction of the authentic in the platform economy," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Anastasiadou, Constantia & Vettese, Samantha, 2021. "Souvenir authenticity in the additive manufacturing age," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    12. Tribe, John & Mkono, Muchazondida, 2017. "Not such smart tourism? The concept of e-lienation," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 105-115.
    13. Ikrame Selkani, 2018. "Festival Attractiveness Literature Review," International Journal of World Policy and Development Studies, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 4(9), pages 89-97, 11-2018.
    14. Huanxi Zhao, 2018. "How Can It Be More Real? A Case Study to Present the Authenticity of a Local Heritage District from the Perspective of Regional Spatial Morphology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Bình Nghiêm-Phú & Hồng Long Phạm, 2022. "Local Residents’ Attitudes Toward Reopening Inbound Tourism Amid COVID-19: A Study in Vietnam," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    16. Juan Gabriel Brida & Oksana Tokarchuk, 2015. "Keeping Mental Budgets: Visitors' Spending at a Christmas Market," Tourism Economics, , vol. 21(1), pages 67-82, February.
    17. Brooks, Caitlin & Soulard, Joelle, 2022. "Contested authentication: The impact of event cancellation on transformative experiences, existential authenticity at burning man," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    18. Kichan Nam & Christopher S. Dutt & Jeff Baker, 2023. "Authenticity in Objects and Activities: Determinants of Satisfaction with Virtual Reality Experiences of Heritage and Non-Heritage Tourism Sites," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1219-1237, June.
    19. Nasiri, Hakimeh & Kirillova, Ksenia & Wassler, Philipp, 2024. "Beyond beauty: Ugly and borderline tourism aesthetic experiences," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    20. Brida, Juan Gabriel & Meleddu, Marta & Tokarchuk, Oksana, 2017. "Use value of cultural events: The case of the Christmas markets," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 67-75.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:89:y:2021:i:c:s0160738321000803. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-tourism-research/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.