Testing the Role of Authenticity in Cultural Tourism Consumption: A Case of Mauritius. Tourism Analysis (original) (raw)
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Testing the Role of Authenticity in Cultural Tourism Consumption: A Case of Mauritius
Tourism Analysis, 2010
Tourists' interests in traveling to natural and cultural heritage sites of different destinations in the quest for authenticity have fueled the growth of the cultural tourism industry in such economies. The purpose of the present study is to broaden the understanding of authenticity's various interpretations in the cultural tourism consumption context. Data were collected at 10 selected cultural and natural heritage sites in the island of Mauritius. Structural equation modeling was employed on a total sample of 600 tourists after a pretest. Path analysis was used to examine the effect of felt authenticity on tourists' intentions to consume cultural heritage attractions. Results indicated that the issue of authenticity is fundamental in destinations hosting unique natural and cultural resources increasingly sought by the modern traveler. The study enriches the theoretical and practical contributions of felt authenticity as a determinant of tourists' intentions to cons...
2018
Cultural heritage tourism is essentially comprised of cultural tourism and heritage tourism. Authenticity of the attractions is unquestionably the most critical success factor for this niche tourism. While authenticity of the “built heritage” has been extensively studied, the authenticity of the presentation of the “local culture” seems to be ignored by past researchers. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of heritage authenticity, and cultural authenticity on behavioural intention in the context of cultural heritage tourism destination. This study also anticipates that the above relationships are mediated by the quality of experiences. This study involving 500 foreign tourists visiting the Malaysia’s first World Heritage City, Malacca City used questionnaire survey as the data collection method. The results show that only heritage authenticity is positively related to behavioural intention while cultural authenticity affects behavioural intention via expe...
Current Issues in Tourism, 2011
This study tested a structural model which investigates the effects of perceived authenticity, motivation, information search behaviour and destination imagery on tourists' behavioural intentions to consume cultural attractions. Data were collected at selected cultural and natural heritage sites in the island of Mauritius (N ¼ 600). The sample was split into two data sets. Structural equation modelling and hierarchical multiple regression were employed to test the hypothesised relationships. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between perceived authenticity and cultural behavioural intentions of tourists. Destination imagery had an influence on tourists' cultural intentions. Information search behaviour was found to exert a negative influence on tourists' cultural intentions while motivation did not have any influence on the latter. Perceived authenticity was seen to exert a moderating effect on the respective relationships between motivation, information search behaviour, destination imagery and cultural behavioural intentions of tourists. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed.
This study tested a structural model which investigates the effects of perceived authenticity, motivation, information search behavior and destination imagery on tourists’ behavioral intentions to consume cultural attractions. Data were collected at selected cultural and natural heritage sites in the island of Mauritius (N=600). The sample was split into two data sets. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical multiple regression were employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between perceived authenticity and cultural behavioral intentions of tourists. Destination imagery had an influence on tourists’ cultural intentions. Information search behavior was found to exert a negative influence on tourists’ cultural intentions while motivation did not have any influence on the latter. Perceived authenticity was seen to exert a moderating effect on the respective relationships between motivation, information search behavior, destination imagery and cultural behavioral intentions of tourists. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed.
Cultural tourists: Authenticity perception in World Heritage Historic Centres
2016
There is a clear ‘cult of authenticity’, at least in modern Western society. So, there is a need to analyze the tourist perception of authenticity, bearing in mind the destination, its attractions, motivations, cultural distance, and contact with other tourists (Kohler, 2009). Our study seeks to investigate the relationship among cultural values, image, sense of place, perception of authenticity and behavior intentions at World Heritage Historic Centers. From a theoretical perspective, to our knowledge, no study exists with a focus on the impact of cultural values, image and sense of place on authenticity and intentions behavior in tourists. The intention of this study is to help close this gap. A survey was applied to collect data from tourists visiting two World Heritage Historic Centers – Guimarães in Portugal and Cordoba in Spain. Data was analyzed in order to establish a structural equation model (SEM). Discussion centers on the implications of model to theory and managerial de...
Sustainable Perceived Authenticity in Cultural Tourism: Modeling Alsace and Bali
The Academic Research Community Publication, 2018
Cultural tourism roughly contributes to 40% of the international tourism arrivals. However, marketing for it is a dilemma between maximizing the economic return and nurturing the culture's social functions because, in cultural tourism, a culture is a "product" to be "consumed". Marketers need to attract the "correct" segments of cultural tourism, which have cultural motives as opposed to those of mass tourism. Research shows that attracting such segments can be done through a differentiation based on authenticity. However, in cultural tourism, authenticity is a relative and negotiable term. Perceived authenticity is more applicable than the traditional, objective authenticity. Previous research has been done to understand how authenticity is perceived by tourists but how it changes over a time remains elusive to researchers. This research focuses on the dynamics of perceived authenticity; how it changes over a time. A temporary, hypothetical model is proposed that is subject to a further seeking of variables and their relationships. The research is conducted in two stages: qualitative for building the model and quantitative for confirming it. Two cases will be built i.e. Alsace in France and Bali in Indonesia. The two regions will represent two different points on a spectrum. This research is a work in progress.
This study tested a structural model which investigates the effects of perceived authenticity, motivation, information search behaviour and destination imagery on tourists' behavioural intentions to consume cultural attractions. Data were collected at selected cultural and natural heritage sites in the island of Mauritius (N ¼ 600). The sample was split into two data sets. Structural equation modelling and hierarchical multiple regression were employed to test the hypothesised relationships. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between perceived authenticity and cultural behavioural intentions of tourists. Destination imagery had an influence on tourists' cultural intentions. Information search behaviour was found to exert a negative influence on tourists' cultural intentions while motivation did not have any influence on the latter. Perceived authenticity was seen to exert a moderating effect on the respective relationships between motivation, information search behaviour, destination imagery and cultural behavioural intentions of tourists. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed.
The role of authenticity, involvement and experience quality in heritage destinations
Tourism & Management Studies, 2024
This research explores the impact of authenticity and involvement on destination image, aiming to comprehend visitor satisfaction, experience quality, re-patronage intentions, willingness to pay more, and word-of-mouth. Structural equation modelling was employed for analysis using data from 394 visitors to Side, Turkey. According to research findings, authenticity and involvement positively influence destination image. The findings demonstrate that developing re-patronage intentions, word-of-mouth recommendations, and willingness to pay more can be facilitated through experience quality and satisfaction. Also, it is proved that satisfaction is positively influenced by destination image. Moreover, authenticity and involvement positively influence destination image. According to research results, to increase willingness to pay, it is imperative to offer a high-quality cultural tourism experience, wherein tourists gain knowledge about the heritage destination and enjoy the experience while deeply engaging with the surroundings. Furthermore, public and private organisations should design visitor experiences that consider authenticity and involvement to enhance destination image and increase customer satisfaction.
Tourism Management, 2010
This study examines the relevance and conceptualizations of the authenticity concept in cultural tourism from the managerial standpoint. We propose a consumer-based model in which authenticity is a key mediating construct between cultural motivation and loyalty. The model is empirically examined by means of a survey conducted on 25 Romanesque heritage sites in four European countries. A confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed using LISREL 8.72. The results indicate that cultural motivation is an important antecedent of both object-based and existential authenticity, which in turn influence tourist loyalty. Theoretical, managerial and marketing implications of authenticity are discussed, showing that the consumer-based perspective can transcend some 'irreconcilable tensions' related to this concept.
The Role of Local Authenticity in Forming Tourists' Intentions
Tourism in Southern and Eastern Europe, 2017
This paper examines the authenticity of a destination from the perspective of destination branding, based on globally recognized local authenticity. Accordingly, local authenticity implies the culture of a specific destination as the sublimation of heritage, inherited tradition, and cultural identity. Such an interpretation of the local authenticity of a tourist destination rests on knowledge dating back to the first branding campaigns and efforts to determine goods authenticity based on their origin (Hornskov 2007; Riza 2015).The purpose of this paper is to identify and characterize European urban cultural tourists (EUCTs).The motivations of the surveyed European citizens (33 countries) for choosing the destination of their last tourist travel represent the criterion variables for the empirical part of the paper. Statistical analysis was conducted using publicly available data from the Flash Eurobarometer: Preferences of Europeans towards tourism2015 (FB 414) and 2016 (FB 432),with...