Relationality of Objective and Constructive Authenticities: Effects on Existential Authenticity, Memorability, and Satisfaction

Abstract

This study sheds new light on the importance of perceived object-related authenticity for a positive tourism experience. We used a novel method of categorizing tourists based on their objective and constructive authenticity perceptions. The authors hypothesized that authenticity perception type would affect tourists’ positive experiences more than other factors. Specifically, differences among authenticity perception types in existential authenticity, satisfaction, and memorability scores were investigated using on-site surveys. The effect was empirically tested in settings with conflicting characteristics: original and re-created heritage sites in South Korea. The results suggest that tourists had more existentially authentic, satisfactory, and memorable experiences when they perceived the site as more objectively authentic. This had a greater impact on positive experience than setting and authenticity orientations. This study makes theoretical contributions by uncovering the relationality of objective and constructive authenticities, which also has implications for practitioners, as it significantly and positively contributes to tourists’ experiences.