Authenticity and Tourism
The word authentic means genuine, trustworthy, or original. Often it is the quest for the original or authentic that motivates people to travel to Peru. Therefore, the dualism of authenticity that the tourist uses when traveling to and in places results from a lack of trust of that place, and as a result, “places traveled-to get remade with self-consciousness about this lack of trust” (Minca and Oakes 2006, p. 8). For Minca and Oakes, places experience a “schizophrenic dualism of paradoxical modernity” as a result of travel (2006, 9). The tourist’s desire for the authentic prompts a packaging of place as authentic, and thus this authenticity is remade by the packagers (residents) living in that place (Minca and
For example, I considered a discussion with a kid on the streets in Cusco -- a child who was there selling things specifically because tourists bring currency to him and his family -- to be an authentic experience because of the insight I gained into a local’s life because of the impacts of tourism. If a tourist’s quest is to encounter and simply understand the culture that they are gazing at as if she – a tourist –were not present no tourist would discover ‘the real’. Therefore, authenticity must always be a negotiated concept (Cohen 1988) and many modern backpackers view authenticity with a post-modern irony (Binder 2004) – knowing that it does not actually exist. Oakes (2006) astutely comments that “the search for authenticity is perhaps best thought of as a convenient code for something that in fact evaporates under scrutiny and yet remains nevertheless necessary as a framework for understanding the tourist experience” (p
Cohen 1988, Olsen 2002). The constructivists do not approach authenticity as something that is objective as MacCannell did, but rather as something that is “negotiated” (Cohen 1988) or socially constructed through signs and representations (Wang 2000). Some tourists are more satisfied with a certain degree of authenticity than others, and therefore Cohen (1988) argues that some tourists may see a staged-performance and be satisfied with the authenticity of the event. For Cohen, if the tourists view something as authentic it is therefore authentic regardless of whether an ‘expert’ deems it to be. When tourists view a staged performance it not as though they were misled and that they entered a “false-back” where they believed they saw the real thing, instead they were simply satisfied with any “faintest vestiges or resemblance of what experts consider authentic ” (Cohen 1988, 379). In the same article, Cohen (1988) discusses the concept of “emergent authenticity”. Though commoditization often leads to a perceived destruction of authenticity, Cohen argues that a new authenticity may emerge over time. To illustrate his point, he uses the example of the commoditization of handy crafts. Although the buyer does not perceive the handy crafts to be fully authentic they are nominally so because some of
Most of what the tour guides do is entertainment, which requires them to use commodified personas. Commodified personas can be defined as changing your character into what may be perceived by others. In the article, she talks about a storyteller who is a native of Sitka who works as a tour guide. He tells a story but due to having to please the tourist he has added things in and changed the way the story is told. According to the reading “ the tourism worker expresses free choice over the way he constructs a commodified persona, but these choices affect the market value of the self as a commodity.
After the Second World War mass tourism has increased worldwide and has affected almost all countries. Mexico has become a ‘major tourist destination’ and also ethic tourism has taken off, because tourists became more interested in the indigenous cultures and search for authenticity. Nowadays ethnic tourism makes up ‘10% of Mexico’s tourism sector’ (Van Den Berghe 568). This essay will especially examine the commoditisation of the Maya identity; Maya was ‘a highly developed Mesoamerican culture centred in the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico’ (McKay et al 307). Over the last two decades Western tourists have become interested in Indian cultures, traditions and artefacts and they would like to see ‘living Maya culture’, therefore tour guides, tourees, middlemen and artisans have started to work in the ethnic tourism sector. According to Medina ‘The commoditization of culture for tourism may involve the utilization of new channels to access cultural traditions of great antiquity’ (354). To illustrate this: only 20.5% of the inhabitants of San Jose Succotz identifies with the Maya culture (Medina 360). Maya culture is less available through lived experience, because Maya languages and rituals disappear, therefore villagers working in the ethnic tourism sector have to gain knowledge by utilizing other, new channels. Ethic tourism often develops around archaeological sites; tour guides will take tourists to Maya ruins and transfer knowledge that they had gained from the ethnographers, archaeologists, and epigraphers (Medina 362). Some people argue that this ‘staged culture’ is not similar to the ‘authentic culture’. It might be possible that the culture transferred to the tourists at the moment is different from the way Mayans used to do. H...
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, B. (1998). Objects of Ethnography. Destination Culture : Tourism, Museums, and Heritage. Berkeley: University of California Press.
In “A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid written in 1983, she intensely expresses her belief and annoyance about the tourist at the first sentence of the quotation: "That the native does not like the tourist is not hard to explain”. "The native" here implies herself and she explains that tourism is all about people finding a way to leave from their routine life and enjoying themselves, yet every tourist is a native of somewhere. People who live in their native place seem to be boring for them but for tourists that place are very attractive. In my experience as a native of my hometown and as a tourist, I disagree with Kincaid's argument. She is very subjective and biased since she does not reveal the tourists side of the story. She pulls people
Dean MacCannell explores the concept of “authenticity,” a quality of genuineness that many people spend time searching for. Throughout the chapter “Staged Authenticity” of The Tourist, there are points that explore this common desire for wholesome experience in new places. In the societal structure of today, however, it is becoming more and more difficult to find authenticity, as we get further and further “mystified” looking for a true and sincere reality. MacCannell makes statements regarding how difficult it is to find realness in the modern world, but never makes a claim that clearly defines authenticity. Instead, MacCannell’s use of paradoxical phrases, visual examples that are relevant to readers, and self-contradiction around the ideas of mystification and reality strengthen his point that there is no concrete definition of authenticity.
Charles Gibson, in his book Politicians and Poachers, establishes the framework of political and governmental institutions and their role in wildlife policy. However, it is not limited to state action; one can apply his basic definition to social and cultural institutions and their influence on the tourist industry. Because tourism, where people go, and how they spend their money are dependent on the concept of “authenticity”, it is vital that tourist attractions seem genuine, but not to the extent that this legitimacy seems falsified.
In other words, the back region is a necessary effort to keep the tourists’ perceptions of their “authentic cultural experiences” intact. MacCannell states, “A back region, closed to audiences and outsiders, allows concealment of props and activities that might discredit Staged Authenticity the performance out front.” MacCannell continues the theory by explaining, “In other words, sustaining a firm sense of social reality requires some mystification.” In order to explain “mystification”, MacCannell uses the example of hams, in which hams are injected with chemical nitrates in order to appear more pink and appealing or as MacCannell explains, more “ham-like.” In a sense, it can be argued that various cultural groups will attempt to appeal more to tourists by perpetuating the tourists’ expectations of their culture by appearing more “exotic” or “foreign” within CHT performances as means to achieve economic
In part fictional and part autobiographical novel “A Small Place” published in 1988, Jamaica Kincaid offers a commentary on how the tenets of white superiority and ignorance seem to emerge naturally from white tourists. She establishes this by using the nameless “you” depicted in the story to elucidate the thoughts they have when visiting such formerly colonized islands. This inner mentality of the white tourists reveals how tourism is still a form of oppression for the natives of such formerly colonized tourists as it continues to exploit them. I will be focusing primarily on page 10 of the text to illustrate this.
According to Schneider, defining “authenticity” is a battle between indigenous peoples and the tourists who purchase their arts and crafts. As “tourist” art grows with the realization of international tourism as means of development and economic growth in marginalized communities, foreign assumptions affect the perception of indigenous arts and crafts as “legitimately” indigenous. Indigenous peoples readily “transform” functional items into feasible commodities; “goods such as “indigenous blouses and shawls” easily become “alien place mates and pillow cases,” enabling indigenous peoples to survive (Schneider 80).
The concept of authenticity has its roots in Greek philosophy (“To thine own self be true”). Researchers (Harter, 2002; Erickson, 1995) have provided excellent reviews of the origins and history of authenticity within the fields of philosophy and psychology. The term authenticity as used here refers to “owning one’s personal experiences, be they thoughts, emotions, needs, wants, preferences, or beliefs, processes captured by the injunction to know oneself and further implies that one acts in accord with the true self, expressing oneself in ways that are consistent with inner thoughts and feelings” (Harter, 2002). Martin (1986) perceives authenticity as avoidance of self-deception
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid presents the hypothetical story of a tourist visiting Antigua, the author’s hometown. Kincaid places the reader in the shoes of the tourist, and tells the tourist what he/she would see through his/her travels on the island. She paints a picturesque scene of the tourist’s view of Antigua, but stains the image with details of issues that most tourists overlook: the bad roads, the origin of the so-called native food, the inefficiency of the plumbing systems in resorts, and the glitches in the health care system. Kincaid was an established writer for The New Yorker when she wrote this book, and it can be safely assumed that majority of her readers had, at some point in their lives, been tourists. I have been a tourist so many times before and yet, I had never stopped to consider what happens behind the surface of the countries I visit until I read this essay. Kincaid aims to provoke her readers; her style of writing supports her goal and sets both her and her essay apart. To the reader, it sounds like Kincaid is attacking the beautiful island, pin-pointing the very things that we, as tourists, wish to ignore. No tourist wants to think about faeces from the several tourists in the hotel swimming alongside them in the oceans, nor do they want to think about having accidents and having to deal with the hospital. It seems so natural that a tourist would not consider these, and that is exactly what Kincaid has a problem with.
The Maldives, Rome, Paris, New York City, Buenos Aires, Venice; don't they all sound like magical places whose cultures and histories put us in awe? Well, there are many other great places in the world not yet labeled as “incredible tourist-attractions” due to several reasons such as failed infrastructures or the absence of five-star hotels. The speaker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a speech, “The Danger of a Single Story”, addressing the problem of stereotyping places, people, their cultures, and believing that there is beauty in certain aspects only and not others. She talks about how people tend to be narrow-minded about specific topics and judge based on how information is portrayed to them by the local news channel, by magazines, or by social media. As the famous saying goes: “There are always two sides of a story”. Consequently, I believe it is not entirely correct that what is shown to a person, is what actually defines something or someone, and it is dangerous to believe that one detail displays the importance of a specific person or country.
Authenticity could present itself as one of the predominant examples of affirmative culture. This makes authenticity an even greater example of affirmative culture than the soul; the soul was at least concerned with ethical behavior to others.50 Authenticity and affirmative culture glorify resignation; irreplaceable, indistinguishable man is put above all social and natural distinctions.51 To be authentic, one does not even have to do this; a torturer can justify himself on being an authentic torturer.52 Authenticity arises at a time when affirmative culture began it's self abolition; every sphere of one's life is subject to intense discipline.53 With no escape, the authentic self represents the ultimate, self-destructive withdrawal and dialectically, the prime illustration of affirmative culture. Authenticity has become the perfect example of affirmative culture.
“You are Peruvian. This is your culture. Why have you never been?” They’re talking about Machu Picchu. It’s never been that simple. My response always tended to be “I have all the time in the world! I will go eventually!” In reality, that’s not what I was thinking in my head. Even as a young teenager, I knew that life was short and I needed to take advantage of every opportunity presented to me so that I could enjoy life. It wasn’t until I was seventeen that I decided I will begin saving money and pay for my own ticket to go on a once in a lifetime experience, and in the end, it turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
The socio-cultural impacts of tourism described here are the effects on host communities of direct and indirect relations with tourists, and of interaction with the tourism industry. For a variety of reasons, host communities often are the weaker party in interactions with their guests and service providers, leveraging any influence they might have. These influences are not always apparent, as they are difficult to measure, depend on value judgments and are often indirect or hard to identify.