Living like a local: Authentic tourism experiences and the sharing economy

Abstract

Travellers are demanding authentic, experientially-oriented opportunities with more meaningful interactions with locals. The sharing economy has emerged partly as a response to these consumer trends with major potential impacts for tourism. This research investigated the phenomenon of authenticity-seeking tourism and its links to the hospitality sector through consumer choices related to accommodation offered by sharing economy providers. It explored the relationship between perceived authenticity of the "local" experience and its significance when purchasing accommodation. The three themes of unique accommodation

Volunteer Tourism as a Transformative Experience: A Mixed Methods Empirical Study

“…Although authenticity is a significant pursuit for individuals in all types of tourism (Cohen 1988;Yi et al 2017), its importance is even more prominent in volunteer tourism (Palacios 2010). According to the literature, most volunteer tourists consider themselves to be "travelers" rather than "tourists" (Paulauskaite et al 2017). Although they tend to have a variety of expectations and motives (Andereck et al 2012) a primary motivation is their quest for authenticity (Ooi & Laing 2010).…”

Displacement by disruption: short-term rentals and the political economy of “belonging anywhere” in Toronto

“…Now valued at $30 billion, Airbnb continues to expand globally at a rapid clip and appears to be significantly reshaping contemporary cultures of tourism and urban life in the process. In Canada, the expansion of the short-term rental industry has been most apparent and controversial in its three largest cities -Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver (Wachsmuth, Kerrigan, Chaney, & Shillolo, 2017) where short-term rentals are increasingly becoming a go-to accommodation option due to their relative affordability and reputation for connecting people to those "authentic" local experiences less often associated with traditional hotel districts (Paulauskaite, Powell, Andres, & Morrison, 2017). While the company identifies itself with a kinder, more human form of consumerism, based on community building and "sharing," this story is increasingly being called into question by a range of actors.…”

Authenticity and Commodification: A Visual Analysis of P2P Tourism Accommodation Listing Page

“…The reason is by convention, bedroom is closely associated with resting, and has little to do with traveling and mingling with the locals. Notwithstanding that for some of the hosts, the bedroom is the only space that available for rent, cover photos that reminiscent of a conventional hotel fails to convey authentic experience (Paulauskaite et al, 2017).…”

“…Despite its significant grow and disruptive innovation brought into the tourism accommodation, research focusing on Airbnb"s hosts are scarce (Gutierrez et al, 2017;Paulauskaite et al, 2017). Most of the P2P accommodation research often focuses on the guests.…”