TY - JOUR
T1 - Moving beyond tourists' concepts of authenticity
T2 - place-based tourism differentiation within rural zones of Chilean Patagonia
AU - Gale, Trace
AU - Bosak, Keith
AU - Caplins, Laura
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded by the Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica de Chile (CONICYT), Programa Regional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica, El Gobierno Regional de Aysén (GORE), and the Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), as part of the GORE Innovation Fund project entitled: Prospecting the Integration of Tourism Circuits in Patagonia [No. 30108949-0].
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - This paper explores the potential for rural and remote zones of emergent destinations to base their tourism development on endogenous resources and place-based differentiation through analysis of a two-phase case study within the geographic zone known as Patagonia. The first phase of the research explored independent tourism consumption within a new independent travel circuit designed to integrate rural zones of the Aysén Region of Chile with adjacent tourism zones in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, including the iconic Mount Fitz Roy and the town of El Chalten. This phase sought to understand perceptions and preferences relating to authenticity. Results highlighted differences between host and guest concepts of welcomeness; which, negatively impacted consumption in the rural Chilean zones of the circuit. The second phase explored local service provider perspectives within these zones, surfacing place-based customs and practices that; while authentic, were not recognized, understood, or valued by the visitors who participated in phase one. Discussion proposes that subtle aspects of local cultures, such as those identified by the current study, represent unrecognized endogenous assets that can be leveraged within differentiation strategies for place-based development, thus providing emergent destinations with alternatives to place-neutral strategies, like commodification and standardization.
AB - This paper explores the potential for rural and remote zones of emergent destinations to base their tourism development on endogenous resources and place-based differentiation through analysis of a two-phase case study within the geographic zone known as Patagonia. The first phase of the research explored independent tourism consumption within a new independent travel circuit designed to integrate rural zones of the Aysén Region of Chile with adjacent tourism zones in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, including the iconic Mount Fitz Roy and the town of El Chalten. This phase sought to understand perceptions and preferences relating to authenticity. Results highlighted differences between host and guest concepts of welcomeness; which, negatively impacted consumption in the rural Chilean zones of the circuit. The second phase explored local service provider perspectives within these zones, surfacing place-based customs and practices that; while authentic, were not recognized, understood, or valued by the visitors who participated in phase one. Discussion proposes that subtle aspects of local cultures, such as those identified by the current study, represent unrecognized endogenous assets that can be leveraged within differentiation strategies for place-based development, thus providing emergent destinations with alternatives to place-neutral strategies, like commodification and standardization.
KW - authenticity
KW - commodification
KW - construction (of place)
KW - endogenous
KW - identity
KW - sustainable tourism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84887939607&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14766825.2013.851201
DO - 10.1080/14766825.2013.851201
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84887939607
SN - 1476-6825
VL - 11
SP - 264
EP - 286
JO - Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change
JF - Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change
IS - 4
ER -