Co-construction of the tourist experience in social networking sites: Two forms of authenticity intertwined

Abstract

Although social networking sites have become an important outlet for tourists to share their experiences -typically through mobile phones during their trips, communication of tourist experience in the context of social networking sites has been overlooked so far. In this article, we particularly focus on the ways sightseeing oriented tourist experience is communicated in social networking sites. By looking at the naturally occurring data generated by the users, we examine the ways the tourist experience is communicated in this particular context by using the analytical concept of authenticity. Based on the findings of language use strategies and interaction patterns in the data, we propose the concept of experientialisation to understand the tourist experience sharing in social networking sites. In that way, the article makes a contribution to the literature on authenticity.

Negotiating place through food and drink: Experiencing home and away

“…Ji et al, 2016; Magnini et al, 2011; Wang et al, 2016; Wu and Pearce, 2016). This type of data facilitates the study of symbolic, contextual and subjective information from tourists’ perspectives, helping to appreciate personal meaning-making (Bosangit et al, 2015; Van Nuenen, 2016; Wang and Alasuutari, 2017).…”

If I say you’re authentic, then you’re authentic: Power and privilege revealed in travel blogs

“…Specifically, 'the idea of chumming up with the locals remains a major theme in the travel industry with "secret," "hidden" and "insider" among the words dominating museums, tours, and other travel-related goods' (Pirolli, 2014: 85). Wang and Alasuutari (2017), meanwhile, call authenticity 'the core of tourism as a cultural phenomenon' (p. 390). Belhassen and Caton (2006) argue that since the concept of authenticity is so evident, it should not be ignored; and since it is so variable, scholars should adopt whichever meaning best suits their context.…”

‘What’s on your Bucket List?’: Tourism, identity and imperative experiential discourse

“…Establishing authenticity involves 'an intense classificatory and legitimation struggle' (Munt, 1994: 116) as particular destinations, forms and styles of travel and, importantly, specific discursive performances through which other people are made aware of one's experiences reveal a clear yet contested hierarchy of tourism and travel experience (van Nuenen, 2016). Thus, the Bucket List joins the range of ways in which tourism enters the social imagination, with media representations (Crouch, Jackson and Thompson, 2005), travel writing (McClinchey, 2015), cinema (Tzanelli, 2007), advertising (Park et al, 2013), souvenir photos and videos (Merchant, 2016) and tour guides (Ong et al, 2014), storytelling (Kane and Zink, 2004), social media (Wang and Alasuutari, 2017), and internet blogs (Walter, 2016;Bosangit et al, 2015) all contributing to an increasingly contested field of accounts of what kind of traveller or tourist one should be and what sort of experiences are viewed as worthwhile. As shall be discussed further below, the appeal of Bucket Lists appears to lie in their ability to offer an authoritative collation of desirable experiences involving the delineation of what destinations and activities ought to be seen as worthy of an individual's attention.…”

“…Based on a Critical Discourse Analysis of a set of recent Bucket List texts drawn from a range of media platforms (Fairclough, 2001;, the analysis adds to understandings of the intimate links between identity and tourist experience by suggesting that an imperative experiential discourse underpins the Bucket List ethos and positions the acquisition of meaningful experiences through travel as a central facet of processes by which identity and selfhood is formulated, performed and mediated. As Wang and Alasuutari (2017) have recently argued, this process of 'experientialisation' is one of the central trends in contemporary tourism. More specifically, therefore, it is argued that this discourse has been readily adopted by the tourism industry and associated media actors in order to present the accumulation of specific tourism experiences as a necessary task.…”