Abstract
Local gastronomy offers authenticity, an important element of tourist experience. However, some tourists cannot experience gastronomic products in their exact authentic forms. This issue causes from tourists' typology, importance level of gastronomy, and quest for authenticity. For serving widely variated tourists, producers of the local gastronomic products make changes in the essence of products. Current study aims to investigate changing process of gastronomic products’ authenticity which are served in the context of tourism, and to develop an understanding on causes and costs of deterioration. Methodologically, existing literature had evaluated with conceptual inferences. As the findings propose, the changes start with touristic exploration which is followed by tourism-related deterioration. After deterioration, if process of recovery conducted, turning back to the exact form of authenticity does not seem possible. The alternative forms of authenticity are most likely to occur. Additionally, mistaken perspectives like considering recovery preventions as short-term actions can lead the deterioration again, like a loop. Raising awareness for prevent this loop is this study's critical proposition to destinations. Opening new horizons for the phenomenon of authenticity and overthrowing the idea that see tourists as the sole reason for deterioration are the contributions to the literature. The changes that lead deterioration are responsibility of locals, too.
Highlights
Authenticity is seen as a contributor of tourism experience (Wang, 1999; Özdemir & Seyitoğlu, 2017; Zhang et al, 2019; Tiberghien et al, 2020)
The relationship between tourism and authenticity of destinations already examined under the name of “dilemma” or “paradox” in several studies (Table 1) but there is not any common definition of the theme
In the framework of all these, this study examines authenticity from an objectivist view by treating local gastronomic products as an authentic object in tourism spectrum (Wang, 1999)
Summary
Authenticity is seen as a contributor of tourism experience (Wang, 1999; Özdemir & Seyitoğlu, 2017; Zhang et al, 2019; Tiberghien et al, 2020). Regardless from the typology of tourists; the objects, locations, and products, which are called as “authentic” in the context of tourism, already exist in a destination as a part of the everyday life of local people. These are routine and ordinary “localities” which reflects their way of living. Local producers may change the essence of the products and deteriorate them with their own hands to get a bigger slice of the cake (Wirth & Freestone, 2003; Ekin, 2018) In this sense, tourism may damage the authenticity inevitably through both tourists and locals. Developing a model to demonstrate authenticity paradox and its stages is tidying up to general debates about tourism and authenticity
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