Exploring cultural tourist towns: Does authenticity matter?

Xueyan (Even) Xu, Truc H. Le, Anna Kwek, Ying Wang

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study applies various conceptualisations of authenticity to explore to what extent tourists appreciate the authenticity of cultural tourist towns. Using the visitor-employed photography (VEP) method, this study collected visitor-employed data in two cultural tourist towns in Shanghai, China to analyse tourists' personal enjoyable aesthetic experience. Results show that tourists were not overly concerned about objective authenticity as long as they had a positive and enjoyable experience, and that some tourists experienced and favoured existential and postmodern authenticity in the tourist towns. Results highlight the importance of designing entertainment activities and iconic attractions in a strip shape to engage tourists and enhance their enjoyment. Overall, results suggest that sophisticated design characterised by interaction of four townscape factors – nature setting, emotional design, spatial configuration, and commercialised elements – can shape tourists' enjoyable authentic experience. Findings have implications for tourism and tourist attraction operators in their planning, design, conservation, and promotional efforts.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100935
JournalTourism Management Perspectives
Volume41
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Authenticity liking
  • Constructive authenticity
  • Existential authenticity
  • Objective authenticity
  • Postmodern authenticity
  • Tourism design
  • Townscape
  • Visitor-employed photography (VEP)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

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