Performance and visitors’ perception of authenticity in eco-cultural tourism

ABSTRACT

With the increasing commodification of cultural heritage induced by tourism development, the perception of a ‘real’ travel experience often depends on what is defined as authentic, original and local. Visitors are becoming increasingly concerned about the authenticity of eco-cultural tourism practices when they visit culturally and environmentally remote regions. The purpose of this study is to examine the role performance plays in visitors' perception of authenticity of eco-cultural tourism experiences. Various theoretical foundations and aspects of visitors' perceptions of authenticity in cultural heritage tourism are considered. A grounded theory approach based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with several categories of visitors including 25 clients from two eco-tours in South and Central Kazakhstan and 29 Free Independent Travellers (FITs) was adopted to identify visitors' perception of authenticity of various aspects of their tourism experiences and the attributes of the visitors' performative aspects of their travels. Results reveal that the performative aspects contributing to the perceived authenticity of the visitors' eco-cultural experiences are spontaneous, existential and reciprocal relationships with their hosts in intimate tourism encounters. The findings contribute to literature regarding authenticity and cultural heritage tourism by exploring new directions in which to apply the concept of authenticity in eco-cultural tourism experiences and by theorising the link between performance-based touristic space and the perception of authenticity. This space becomes a basis for interaction and social exchange within the host–guest relationship.

摘要

伴随旅游发展造成文化遗产越来越商业化, 游客对‘真正’旅行体验的感知经常取决于如何定义真实、原创和地方特色。当游客访问文化与环境偏远地区的时候, 他们越来越关注生态文化旅游实践的真实性。本文的研究目的就是研究展演在游客对生态文化旅游实践真实性感知的作用。本研究首先研究了文化遗产旅游真实性感知的各个方面及理论基础, 其次基于对各类游客 (25名哈萨克斯坦中南部两条生态旅游路线的顾客和29名自由行游客) 的深度半结构访谈采用扎根理论的方法识别了游客对他们旅游体验各方面真实性的感知以及旅途中游客展演各方面的特性。结果表明, 展演对游客生态文化体验的真实性感知的影响是自发的、是存在的, 并且在亲密旅游境遇中与东道主有一种互惠关系。本研究不仅探讨了真实性概念在生态文化旅游体验中应用的新方向, 还理论化了展演旅游空间与真实性感知之间的关系, 推动了真实性和文化遗产旅游方面的讨论。这种展演空间成为主客关系中互动与社会交换的基础。

KEYWORDS:

• Authenticity
• perception
• visitor experience
• performance
• host–guest relationship
• eco-cultural tourism
• Kazakhstan

关键词:

• 真实性
• 感知
• 游客体验
• 展演
• 主客关系
• 生态文化旅游
• 哈萨克斯坦

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Auckland University of Technology Culture and Society Contestable Research Grant [grant number AX14/23].

Notes on contributors

Guillaume Tiberghien

Guillaume Tiberghien is a lecturer in Tourism at the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, the University of Glasgow. His main teaching and research activities focus on the relationships between Cultural Heritage Tourism, Sustainable Tourism Development and Tourism Marketing. Guillaume also conducted and participated in several consulting projects in the fields of Tourism Marketing and Management in Central Asia and New Zealand.

Hamish Bremner

Hamish Bremner is a senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology and an associate director of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute. His teaching and research focus on the history of tourism development, the sociology of tourism and the relationship between indigenous rights and tourism in a post-colonial environment.

Simon Milne

Simon Milne is Professor of Tourism, School of Hospitality and Tourism, where he directs the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute. His research focuses on creating stronger links between tourism and surrounding economies. He has considerable experience in economic impact assessment, and in formulating tourism-related economic development strategies. He is particularly interested in the use of information and communication technologies to improve the economic performance and sustainability of tourism.