The Authenticity of Heritage Sites, Tourists’ Quest for Existential Authenticity, and Destination Loyalty

The aim of this study was to empirically explore existential authenticity from the perspectives of visitors. Given that existentialism invites people to examine the authenticity of their personal lives and their society, an attempt was made in this study to examine the authenticity of visitors’ pers...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of travel research Vol. 56; no. 8; pp. 1032 - 1048
Main Authors Yi, Xiaoli, Lin, Vera Shanshan, Jin, Wenmin, Luo, Qiuju
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.2017
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Authenticity
Cultural heritage
Historic buildings & sites
Tourism
China
interpersonal authenticity
cultural heritage sites
destination loyalty
intrapersonal authenticity
perceived authenticity
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The aim of this study was to empirically explore existential authenticity from the perspectives of visitors. Given that existentialism invites people to examine the authenticity of their personal lives and their society, an attempt was made in this study to examine the authenticity of visitors’ personal lives and their environments by conducting an empirical study concerning the Kaiping watchtowers site, a well-known Chinese heritage site. Two dimensions of existential authenticity were examined: intrapersonal and interpersonal authenticity. The results reveal that the authenticity of toured heritage sites and environments may be irrelevant to existential authenticity and that intrapersonal authenticity exerts a substantial influence on destination loyalty. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
ISSN:0047-2875
1552-6763
DOI:10.1177/0047287516675061