Authenticity as a concept in tourism research: The social organization of the experience of authenticity

Abstract

This article discusses the uses of the concept of authenticity in tourism studies. In line with the constructivist perspective which aims to transcend the binary distinction between the authentic and inauthentic as found in the concept of authenticity, it is suggested that this binary dichotomy also has to be overcome in the approaches to the tourist role. If authenticity can be linked to an experience of collective identifications made by the individual, the point can be made that insights from studies of ritual and social performances will be fertile in analysing how such experiences are constituted in social processes. This processual approach may then reveal how authenticity is influenced by subjective and collective views on consensus, creativity and existentialism in the tourist role.