The Importance of Authenticity in Tourism and Event Management

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The Importance of Authenticity
Essay - Experiencing Events (Word count - 1530)

The Importance of Authenticity
Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................3
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 6
Reference List............................................................................................................................ 8
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The Importance of Authenticity
The Importance of Authenticity
Introduction
Authenticity in Tourism and Event Management is a much-debated topic among scholars (Zhou
et al., 2015). The primary question being contended or argued is whether authenticity matters
to tourists or event visitors or not. In today's world where a majority of mega-events are
planned as a tourist attraction or when the large scale events and tourism has become closely
interrelated and interconnected, the question of the value of authenticity becomes important.
The examples of such events that in themselves are major tourist attractions include the St.
Patrick's Day celebrations and the London Marathon (Zhou et al., 2015). The scholars are either
against the importance of authenticity or in favour of authenticity as an important aspect of
events and tourism. There are a variety of explanations that can be considered in regard to the
authenticity of experience in tourism as well in events (Zhou et al., 2015). Some of the scholarly
approaches to the importance of authenticity are discussed below.
Daniel Boorstin can be considered to the strongest critic of the role of authenticity and its
importance in the changing preferences of the tourists and visitors (Nicolaides, 2014). He
considered the role and importance of authenticity diminishing due to the emergence of mass
tourism and lack of inclination of people in experiencing authenticity. He considered the
modern day tourism and events to be staged events that lacked authenticity but were created
specifically for target audiences (Overend, 2012). He proposed the characteristics of contrived
experiences that included the characteristics such as lack of spontaneity or natural elements,
events creation in a manner that allowed reproduction at a later date, the ambiguous
relationship of event and reality, and with repetition, and the contrived becoming normal due
to the changes in perception that makes it authentic (Overend, 2012). Boorstin's perception
appears to be flawed since he considered authenticity as a part of the experience gained only
by the wealthy that are able to afford the experience which he termed as the golden age of
travel but he considered the authenticity ruined when participation became generalised due to
the Massification of the experience. The biases and rigidness of Boorstin's arguments make
these arguments inviable in terms of the importance of authenticity (Nicolaides, 2014). Another
factor that can be considered against the Boorstin's view is the limitation of his arguments on
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The Importance of Authenticity
the scale of experiences and a complete disregard to the individual experience and perception
(Nicolaides, 2014).
Dean MacCannell through his theory of alienated tourists strongly refuted the arguments of
Boorstin (MacCannell, 2013). He contends that the disillusionment of people from the
progressiveness and industrial society has made them seek authenticity in travel, tourism and
events (MacCannell, 2013). He suggests that authenticity of experience comes from the
comprehension of things happening behind the scenes which are the area that's not
contaminated in accordance with public consumption. He argues against the need for
categorising the tourists and visitors since irrespective of supposed categorisation they all seek
authenticity from their experiences (MacCannell, 2013). He describes the need of people to
remain individual irrespective of being the part of the mass (MacCannell, 2013). This seems to
be a valid argument since the tendency of people to be separately distinguished is clearly
apparent in the visitors of events and the tourists. The arguments of MacCannell though viable
seem to be as polarised the arguments of Boorstin (Overend, 2012).
The views of Erik Cohen in regard to authenticity can be considered to be viable to understand
and explain the importance and role of authenticity in tourism and events (Brida et al., 2013).
Cohen in his theory of emergent authenticity explains that authenticity can be considered to be
a negotiable concept instead of being a primitive one that can be defined on the basis of the
aspired experiences that are sought by the tourists (Cohen, 2012). He suggests that even the
new developments of cultural nature can be deemed as authentic over time (Cohen, 2012).
Cohen's work on authenticity was focused on the tourism sectors of the developing countries
like Thailand. He broke down the tourism development in the developing countries into four
parts in terms of changes occurring within the tourism sector. The first change being
Massification of the sectors that led to a massive increase in the number of tourists, the second
change is the dispersion of tourism across the country, Heterogenisation is the third change and
it pertains to the increasing similarity between the tourist nationalities and variety of amenities
and attractions, and the fourth change is regionalization (Cohen, 2012). He also indicated that
the development of tourism also allows the development of undesired activities such as the sex
trade in Thailand (Cohen, 2012).
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The Importance of Authenticity
Cohen contends that the activities of tourists include both alternate and mass tourist activities
(Brida et al., 2013). The need for authenticity can be identified by the willingness of a tourist in
forgoing convenience and comfort in their pursuit of authentic experiences. Cohen's work can
be considered important since it works towards broadening the limited purview of MacCannell
by applying it to the individual perception of authenticity, especially in tourists (Brida et al.,
2013). Cohen also elaborated on Boorstin's work by concluding that the meaning of authenticity
is dependent on independent needs and perception (Brida et al., 2013). He further elaborated
that authenticity for one may not appear authentic to others (Cohen, 2012). The Cohen's views
can be elaborated to identify the dependence of the importance of authenticity on social
constructions and resulting individual perceptions (Brida et al., 2013).
Another author that explored the area of authenticity in the context of tourism and events is
Auliana Poon (Vainikka, 2015). Auliana Poon focuses on alternate tourism and expunges on
authenticity as being exclusive and pure. Poon criticizes the concept of mass tourism and its
negative impact on the authenticity of experience while promoting alternate tourism as a
source of exclusive and pure authenticity of the experience (Inkson and Minnaert, 2018). In
light of the views of Cohen, Boorstin, and MacCannell, the arguments of Poon seem only to be
another attempt of presenting authenticity as exclusive and pure. Also, projecting mass tourism
as the polar opposite of authenticity seems extreme and practically unviable (Vainikka, 2015).
Ning Wang chooses a postmodernist perspective in discussing authenticity and brings together
the view of Cohen, Boorstin, and MacCannell (Brida et al., 2013). Wang suggests that
authenticity should be divided into two parts that are the authenticity of experience and the
authenticity of the object. The authenticity of experience relates to individual experiences while
the Authenticity of Object is based upon the observation that can be further categorised as
postmodern, constructive and objective (Szmigin et al., 2017). Wang argues that the nature of
authenticity is not inherent and it has certain characteristics such as lack of a fixed origin, the
perception of authenticity regarding an object is contestable, authenticity is pluralistic notion
and authenticity depends upon the confirmation of the tourist expectations. Wang also
suggested that over time an inauthentic experience can become authentic which is termed as
emergent authenticity (Szmigin et al., 2017). This concept was also suggested by Erik Cohen.
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The Importance of Authenticity
Wang focused on individual experiences as a source of authenticity instead of a fixed objective
association. Wand contends that authenticity is in the individual perception and feeling rather
than in cultural objects (Brida et al., 2013).
Authenticity can be considered to be the major factor of motivation that drives visitors to
attend an event (Rickly-Boyd, 2013). For example in Heritage events, the most prominently
used marketing tool is the arena authenticity. The authentic events are considered to provide
the attendee with a better sense of fulfilment due to the perceived value of the experience
along with a symbol of greater prestige and status within the circle of friends (Rickly-Boyd,
2013). As Cohen suggests the degree of perception varies from attendee to attendee. The
perception of attendees depends on factors like the individual's comprehension of culture and
the event theme along with personal tastes and qualification (Rickly-Boyd, 2013). The external
factors that can affect this perception include weather, overcrowding, ease of travel, etc. Most
of the visitors tend to expect a percentage of inauthenticity and staging as a part of the
experience that in no way affects the authenticity levels of the overall experience. The level of
authenticity and the attendee's perception of the relevance of authentic experience vary on the
basis of the event types that too differ on the basis of individual inclination (Rickly-Boyd, 2013).
For example, the tourism-based events such as annual events like the St. Patrick's Day
celebrations require motivation for tourists and differentiation in order to be successful events.
The visitors to these events seek authenticity while visiting these events and require a
motivating factor that prompts their return in coming years (Rickly-Boyd, 2013).
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the scholars have differentiating views regarding authenticity although
everyone agrees about the importance of authenticity for tourism as well as events (Inkson and
Minnaert, 2018). It can be inferred by the arguments of the scholars that authenticity is a
critical aspect for the success of an event irrespective of the type of event. The visitors to the
event seek authenticity as an attraction and motivation for attending the events especially the
tourism-based events and annual events. The authenticity of the experience lends a sense of
fulfilment to visitors that can be discussed in their friend circle to garner attention and prestige
(Inkson and Minnaert, 2018). The principle fact that originates from the above discussion is that
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The Importance of Authenticity
the individual perception and social background along with the education levels define the
authenticity for them. So, during an event, these factors can be considered and the marketing
and promotional activities can be upon these factors to promote the event as being authentic
and make it successful (Inkson and Minnaert, 2018).
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The Importance of Authenticity
Reference List
Brida, J.G., Disegna, M. and Osti, L., 2013. The effect of authenticity on visitors’ expenditure at
cultural events. Current Issues in Tourism, 16(3), pp.266-285.
Cohen, E., 2012. Authenticity in tourism studies. Après la lutte. Critical debates in tourism, 57,
p.250.
Inkson, C. and Minnaert, L., 2018. Tourism management: an introduction. Sage.
MacCannell, D., 2013. The tourist: A new theory of the leisure class. Univ of California Press.
Nicolaides, A., 2014. Authenticity and the tourist’s search for Being.
Overend, D., 2012. Performing sites: Illusion and authenticity in the spatial stories of the guided
tour. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 12(1), pp.44-54.
Rickly-Boyd, J.M., 2013. Existential authenticity: Place matters. Tourism Geographies, 15(4),
pp.680-686.
Szmigin, I., Bengry-Howell, A., Morey, Y., Griffin, C. and Riley, S., 2017. Socio-spatial authenticity
at co-created music festivals. Annals of Tourism Research, 63, pp.1-11.
Vainikka, V., 2015. Rethinking mass tourism: Professional discourses of contemporary mass
tourism and destinations. Nordia Geographical Publications, 44(2), pp.99-99.
Zhou, Q.B., Zhang, J., Zhang, H. and Ma, J., 2015. A structural model of host authenticity. Annals
of Tourism Research, 55, pp.28-45.
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