Authenticity

Although the concept of authenticity in tourism studies can be seen from a number of different perspectives, depending on the source, a shared principle is that of a traditional uniqueness, exposed to potential contamination. The risk of adulteration becomes greater when larger numbers of tourists visit a given destination and thus instigate changes of many different sorts—in the local businesses, daily habits, gastronomy, and so forth.

On the other hand, authenticity is frequently understood as something to be searched for by the tourist, a discovery in the course of fleeing routines, and thus very much part of the notion that sees tourism essentially as a symbolic escape—precisely, “back” to authenticity. This combined reasoning has been very much addressed in literature during the last half century and ...