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Introduction
Authentic tourism entails a visit experience whose impressions and expressions hold true according to the travellers evaluation. In authentic tourism, most sightseers expect their destinations to host attractive sites that are real, true and genuine. The genuineness and truthfulness of these sites can be accomplished when the hosting nation or community simplify, naturalize or even make the destination more rural. Today, most tourists are avoiding superficial tourism where visitors only go to those destinations that are common in a particular country. Instead, the new wave of tourists is seeking a more in-depth understanding of the attraction sites by looking for authenticity. The quest for authenticity has made countries such as China to shift from the normal tourism to one that is veritable and which can accommodate the current millennials who prefer a sterling type of visit (Cohen, 1988). Nevertheless, while establishing authentic tourism can bring satisfaction to both the host country and tourists, it can hold varying drawbacks for both parties. While authentic tourism may cost tourists more and force host countries to shift from investing in common tourist attraction sites, it forms an educative, interactive and informative grounds to both parties.
Authentic Tourism and its Advantages and Disadvantages
Authenticity is a complex issue studied in depth throughout the humanities. Typically, being authentic means assuming a position that is true, reputable, or one that has a ritual, or a basis. A close examination of the collected stories indicates a heated debate regarding what exactly qualifies as authenticity (Xie, 2003). Nevertheless, there is currently consensus in tourism that authenticity is not based on a static and constrained understanding of occupancy and culture but rather is determined by visitor impression (Xie, 2003). Moreover, the phrase refers to an evaluation standard utilized by the modern tourist in their capacity as observers in tourism studies (Nguyen & Cheung, 2016). Genuineness is frequently acknowledged as a key motivation and essential when tourists evaluate their ravel interactions.
Along with understanding, the current tide of tourists has realized the contentment that arises from seeing natural and true destination sites. In China, which is the leading country in tourist attraction sites, visitors have resorted to find the deep meaning of the countrys attractiveness rather than visiting common stops such as the Great Wall of China. These tourists have increased their interactions with the local cultures, lifestyles and customs, which have translated to be more ravishing than the common havens (Nguyen & Cheung, 2016). The need to interact with native communities in pursuit of authenticity has also altered the travelling style of Chinese visitors. Today, those tourists who want authentic destinations travel solely rather than in travel groups or organizations (Wang, 1999). Besides Chinese tourists, millennials all over the world have shown to prioritise authenticity in their visiting experience, making websites such as Skyscanner and Last Minute popular due to their ability to consider a travellers interests (Nguyen & Cheung, 2016). The quest for authenticity has made companies such as Home Stay and Airbnb to establish residencies near local communities to allow seamless visitor-native interaction.
Besides, authenticity can be created by simplification, naturalization or even counter-urbanization of destination sites. In simplification, authenticity can emanate by promoting the local food and nature surrounding a community rather than a site with a well-known monument. Workaway website has pioneered the simplification of destinations by partnering with local communities and promoting their culture which later build a foundation of an authentic visit (Wang, 1999). For instance, the website has links with the Czech Republic locals who have great prowess in the cultivation of home-grown foods that are rare in other countries (Steiner, 2010). Besides simplification, naturalization of travel sites has spearheaded the creation of genuineness. Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) has introduced a forum that travels globally to help local communities use local organic farms and fertilizers in their agriculture. Additionally, counter-urbanization visits have proven to be more real than the typical town travelling. Most tourists nowadays prefer conducting homeless and slum tourism in places such as Prague and Brazil, which are less commercialized that the standard procession to urban centres. The introduction of authentic tourism has resulted to numerous pros to both the hosting communities and the tourists themselves.
Additionally, authentic tourism facilitates the preservation of a countrys cultural heritage, which would otherwise go unidentified. Since authentic tourism focuses on the deep roots of the society, certain traditions that are not appreciated by the common tourists are acknowledged in the case of authentic tourism. For instance, using Spains case, Flameco music and dance was localized only to the Spaniards. However, after tourists shifted their focus from the typical destination sites such as The Prado and Paseo Del Artes to the Spanish music, the songs and the dance moves started being popular (Steiner, 2010). This appreciation of the Spanish music has long since preserved the Spanish culture, allowing it to be inherited by the subsequent generations (Steiner, 2010). They can concentrate on their history and traditions, which fosters a sense of pride they display most often in their historic villages, for example, in Lesedi Cultural Village in South Africa and Ibadan Heritage Day in Nigeria. Whenever the local community observes how visitors react to it, they become more appreciative of and committed to maintaining its social traditions.
Authentic tourism promotes the prowess of countries architectural skills and house planning skills. When a country has a population that is naturally endowed with building designers and identifies this groups as source of tourist attraction, the government can offer incentives that boost the performance of their work. For instance, Dubai exemplifies a case where the government has supported the peoples architectural designs as it recognized Dubais buildings such as the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and Cayan Group to be the most exquisite visitor destination sites. Other structures that a country can invest on include additional public spaces, new highways, hospitals, and schools (De Bernardi & Arenas, 2022). These buildings would aid in luring more people to move into these towns, increasing the number of visitors, and boosting the flow of money through the economy. The locals might well have availability to all of these amenities that would enhance their prosperity and contentment and keep them current with the outside world.
One of the most paramount benefit that authentic tourism hosts to tourists is visitor education. Those tourists who focus on establishing relations with the locals attest the learning experiences especially those that emanate from knowing new languages and new modes of dressing. Rick Steves who is one of the popular travellers known to date acknowledges the new information he acquired when he visited Europe since he was a teenager (De Bernardi & Arenas, 2022). Steves states in his book that traveling and interacting with local communities opens new horizons and new dimensions of thinking (Lin et al., 2021). In his book, For the Love of Europe, he encourages people to associate themselves more with people rather than sites (Krasavac, 2018). In most cases, there exist some notion about a set of people or culture but when an individual visits the place and gets first-hand information, they comprehend the need of inclusivity among different people (Duan et al., 2019). Therefore, the tourist may change his or her perception about some myths that originally existed.
Besides education, authentic tourism provides a platform for cultural exchange between the local communities and the tourist themselves. Those tourists that are more engrossed into discovering the bottom of a given culture will not only acquire the superficial aspects of that community but also the profound parts cherished by the society (Krasavac, 2018). For example, it requires one to analyse and evaluate the French culture more vividly for them to comprehend that unity and equality are their main cultural values (Krasavac, 2018). The identification of such unique cultures has been made possible by authentic tourism as its participants focus on such profound aspects.
Another impact of authentic tourism is on advertising, web design, and other visual networking technologies. Marketing should highlight the cultural differences and encourage viewers to recreate the experience using images of non-adapted items. Marketing strategies should use local cultures ethnic diversity and authenticity to build a strong concept that sets one tourist experience apart from another. Authentic and unusual cultural artifacts should be included in the representation of a place (Maurer, 2019). Native artifacts can be linked to cultural heritage, with the information provided regarding the artifacts ancient background and foundation to strengthen the perception of authenticity.
The tourism value chain has undergone significant changes which has made it tiresome for the tourist to get the right procedures even as he sets to visit a place. This network could be visualized as a line that connects the visitor to the desired location via specialists, tour operators, transportation, lodging, etc. All of these parties operate within a set of legal restrictions and with the assistance of certain major infrastructure services, such as confidentiality and cleaning. Although in that chain, a brand-new group has emerged, and the occupants voice is now louder than ever (Maurer, 2019). Public organizations, which are progressively focusing on administration rather than merely promotion, the business sector, and the general public desires to have an impact on the design of vacation destinations are forming a triangular connection.
The majority of private travel companies agree has long been underappreciated as a tourist destination by the government, which spent many years working to fix a failing peace and order environment. However, they also think that landscape, lifestyle, history, and antiquities, which attract tourists from all over the world, make it an ideal tourism destination. Tourists encounter harsh treatment by tour guides. Some advisors engage in unethical behaviour, such as locking shop doors to prevent visitors from leaving without making a purchase or directing them to stores that sell overpriced, subpar, or phony items (Maurer, 2019). The subject of discussion was the limitations frequently placed on tour organisers by their employers, or tourism organizations, as well as the alleged fraud. Since they frequently have to take visitors shopping and closely adhere to the plan specified by the employer, advisors are put in an uncomfortable and unpleasant position.
Other countries impose a high procedure of acquiring travel necessities such as visa, for instance a country like Pakistan has made getting a visa difficult since it perceives visitors to be threat for their national peace. Additionally, tourists face stigmatisation on the basis of their religion affiliations. Muslims tend to believe that Christians have an eroded character which leaders to discrimination whenever Christians visit Muslim destinations There is a threat of terrorism among tourist as they are referred sometimes as terrorist (Krasavac, 2018). In countries which has experienced an act of terror sometimes tend to believe that people inclined with some racial groups are responsible for the act of the terror.
Inconclusively, while there is a soaring number of common tourists, authentic tourism is establishing its roots in the travel industry as people need to dig deeper into the local communitys experiences and cultures. The increased quest for authentic tourism has made countries such as China to shift its focus from popularising typical attraction sites to those that are natural, native and alien to most travellers. Other countries have followed China and have adopted methods such as simplification, naturalization and counter-urbanization to create authenticity for their tourists. Some of the benefits these countries accrue include improved infrastructure and preservation of their heritage. Additionally, authentic tourism has proven to be educative and a source of cultural exchange to the tourists. Nevertheless, this type of travel has its downside to both the host communities and the travellers. To the communities, authentic tourism offers a ground of stereotypes and a point of opinion formation. Along with the communities, authentic tourism is tedious and resourceful as the visitor has to connect to numerous persons to reach the designated host nation.
Reference List
Cohen, E. (1988) Authenticity and commoditization in tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 15(3), pp.371-386.
De Bernardi, C. and Arenas, D. (2022) How to avoid swinging: A social enterprises quest for authenticity in tourism, Tourism Management, 89, p.104439.
Duan, X., Chan, C.S. and Marafa, L.M. (2019) Does authenticity exist in cultural theme parks? A case study of Millennium City Park in Henan, China, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 17(3), pp.321-338.
Krasavac, B.C., Radosavljevi, K. and Bradi-Martinovi, A. (2018) SWOT analysis of the rural tourism as a channel of marketing for agricultural products in Serbia, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 65(4), pp.1573-1584.
Lin, K., Peng, M.Y.P., Anser, M.K., Yousaf, Z. and Sharif, A. (2021) Bright harmony of environmental management initiatives for achieving corporate social responsibility authenticity and legitimacy: Glimpse of hotel and tourism industry, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(2), pp.640-647.
Maurer, O. (2019) Tourism and food: Necessity or experience?, In The study of food, tourism, hospitality and events (pp. 27-35). Springer, Singapore.
Nguyen, T. H. H., and Cheung, C. (2016) Toward an Understanding of Tourists Authentic Heritage Experiences: Evidence from Hong Kong, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(7), 9991010.
Steiner, C. (2010) From heritage to hyper-reality? Tourism destination development in the Middle East between Petra and the Palm, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 8(4), pp.240-253.
Wang, N. (1999) Rethinking authenticity in tourism experience, Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), pp.349-370.
Xie, P. F. (2003) The Bamboo-beating Dance in Hainan, China: Authenticity and Commodification, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11(1), 516.
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