Sustainable Perceived Authenticity in Cultural Tourism: Modeling Alsace and Bali

Abstract

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.