Toward an Understanding of Tourists’ Authentic Heritage Experiences: Evidence from Hong Kong

Abstract

Authenticity in tourism has been a topic of discussion since the 1960s, but the concept is still to be fully developed. This study focuses on tourists' perceptions of authenticity, and in particular how they evaluate authentic heritage experiences. The appearance and physical settings of attractions were found to be the initial and most important indicators of authentic or inauthentic experiences. Other criteria for assessing the authenticity of heritage experiences include the presence of local culture and customs, constructed elements, commodification, and atmosphere.

La Proximidad de los Productos Alimentarios: Turismo Gastronómico y Mercados de Abastos en la Costa Daurada (Cataluña, España)

“…La globalización, pues, debe combatirse enfatizando la singularidad de la cultura alimentaria local y su identidad, su sentido del lugar, que es un atractivo para el consumo turístico (Gyimóthy & Mykletun, 2009;Scarpato, 2002). En este contexto, "la presencia de personas o actividades que pertenecen o se originan en el sitio puede ayudar a aumentar la confianza de los visitantes y aumentar el nivel de autenticidad percibida" (Hai Nguyen & Cheung, 2016: 1005, tal y como se mencionaba anteriormente. Esta mirada se puede experimentar a través de las historias de los residentes.…”

A Reflective–Formative Hierarchical Component Model of Perceived Authenticity

“…Although authenticity was introduced to the tourism field in the 1960s by Boorstin (1961), the first article focusing on the concept appeared in tourism journals only in 1986 (Nguyen & Cheung, 2016). To have an overview of publications on this topic, a comprehensive review of relevant studies published in tourism journals until the end of 2018 was carried out.…”

Tasting cheesescapes in Canterbury (New Zealand)

“…The development and enhancement of this culinary heritage encourages individual and collective local initiatives, which should meet the modern tourists’ demands by providing them with first‐hand experiences, such as hearing stories about the landscape or tasting local food where it grows (Daugstad ; Kastenholz et al ; Fusté‐Forné ). ‘The presence of people or activities which belong to or originate from the site can help to build visitors’ trust and increase the level of perceived authenticity’ (Hai Nguyen & Cheung , p. 7). Food is indeed one of the most important resources of a destination and its authenticity as each landscape expresses a unique and traditional sense or spirit of place ( genius loci ) that defines its own identity (Sharpley ; Antrop ; Gullino & Larcher ; Fusté‐Forné ).…”

“…Gyimóthy and Mykletun (, p. 260) state that ‘gastronomy (just like design and fashion) is an expressive form of art, therefore culinary products and dining contexts may be regarded as fashion accessories expressing or enhancing consumer identities’. Touching, smelling, tasting, sighting and hearing as part of visitors’ experience not only shape their perceptions of authenticity (Dann & Jacobsen ; Urry ; Hai Nguyen & Cheung ) but also represent the foodscapes of a destination. Thus, the idea of cheesescape is another invention of tradition (Hobsbawm & Ranger ), which is derived from the work of Appadurai ().…”