Introduction

Discussions of authenticity and commodification pervade the literature of tourism studies and have been considered to be central to explorations of the sociocultural impacts of tourism since Dean MacCannell published his influential text The Tourist in 1976. The increasing influence of the tourism industry, the greater ease of travel and ever-widening arena of visited places have increased the urgency of debates on the impacts of tourism on the authenticity of cultures. These debates cluster around the ways in which tourism has impacted on the authenticity of the tourists' experience of places and culture, on the culture of the hosts themselves, on the nature of the host–guest relationship and on the production of cultural objects and events consumed (but not necessarily exclusively) by tourists.

This chapter explores the issues of authenticity and commodification within global cultural tourism through three case studies that reflect a variety of perspectives and concerns within these debates. The agents of change, including tourism, that have impacted on the concepts of the genuine within cultures are explored and the main theoretical approaches to the question of authenticity are outlined. The case studies hail from Brazil, Holland and Bali and, in exploring ethnic handcrafts, national souvenirs and dance performances, illustrate a number of important perspectives on this most pervasive of tourism issues.

Tourism as an economic activity has been blamed for the commodification of cultures. Objects and performances that were once created for local consumption become geared towards the tourism market and consequently are said to be exploited, debased and trivialised (Cohen, 1988). Such commodification can therefore be seen to destroy the authenticity of local cultural products and relationships and lead to the 'staged' or faked experiences created specifically for external consumers (MacCannell, 1976). Such loss of authenticity is damaging to the host community and to the experience of the visitor.