Deconstructing the authenticity of transmodern cultural tourism experience Dr Milena Ivanovic

Department of Tourism, University of Johannesburg

GMP Novara, 21-24 October, 2015

17% of tourists are genuine cultural tourists (Richards, 2007)

In Johannesburg 32% (Ivanovic & Saayman, 2013) of tourists at political heritage sites are purposeful cultural tourists (McKercher & du Cros, 2002)

New tourists and new tourism (Stebbins, 1996) = quest for spirituality, authenticity and self-actualisation.

New genuine cultural tourists are in fact Cultural Creatives.

Q: WHO CARES ABOUT AUTHENTICITY?A: CULTURAL TOURISTS

1/ OBJECTIVE (MacCannell 1973):

proven authenticity of the object = modernism

2/ CONSTRUCTIVE (Cohen, 1979, 1988): nothing to prove as a tourist constructs s/his own experience = constructivism is part of postmodernism

3/ EXISTENTIAL (Wang, 1999): interpersonal and intrapersonal not dependent on objective auth. = postmodernism

THREE SEMINAL THEORIES OF

AUTHENTICTY OF TOURIST

EXPERIENCE

MODERNISM

Fordist economy of scales

Ontology: monolithic realist- rationalism

Epistemology: differentiation

The truth is objective and can be proven = pyramids of truth

One objective truth and one rational reality

Dichotomies

• Authentic/inauthentic; work/leisure; home/abroad

BATTLE OF PARADIGMS

POSTMODERNISM

Post-Fordist economy of scopeOntology: relativismEpistemology: de-differentiation • All traditional hierarchies, boundaries, and divisions collapse -left with intellectual rubble

• It attacks all system of thought and meaning with claims to an objective truth

“Relativist ontology erased the walls of modernity and freed the prisoners (Rifkin, 2005) but left them with no particular place to go

Objective authenticity is meaningless and has no role to play

BATTLE OF PARADIGMS

A shift in the value system and an emergence of new

global consciousness, not experienced for the past 600

years since the renaissance

Knowledge/authentic economy

Ontology: open centre flat ontology equality of material and experiential

The center of truth is open to everybody- no more pyramids

Epistemology: knowledge creating new knowledge

TRANSMODERNISM

TRANSMODERN VALUE SYSTEM

In the forefront of transmodernism (Rodriguez, 2004) are 1.5 billion cultural creatives of whom 66% are women (Ray, 2002)

Four basic values of transmodernity (Ghisi, 2010; Prichard, Morgan & Ateljevic, 2011)

1. Equality of sexes,

2. Global culture and ethnic equality,

3. Sustainability and the survival of humankind, and

4. Individuality, globalism and interconnectedness.

KNOWLEDGE CREATION THROUGH CREATIVITY AND

COOPERATION NOT THROUGHJOB AND COMPETITION

TRANSMODERNISM & TOURISM

Transmodern new tourism: New Agers, LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability), expect vacation to be, educational, experiential, authentic, altruistic and/or spiritual (Gelter, 2010)

Consumption and growth through learning and discovery;

Tourists seek long term solutions

Authenticity is what consumers/tourists want practically all consumers desire authenticity

What consumers buy or what tourists experience must

• Conform to their own self-image as authentic

• Reflect who they are and who they aspire to be in relation to how they perceive the world (in its transmodern sense)

Offerings that do not appeal to the authentic self-image are regarded inauthentic or fake.

TRANSMODERNISM & AUTHENTIC

ECONOMY (Gilmore & Pine, 2007:5-8)

GENRES OF AUTHENTIC ECONOMY

(Gilmore & Pine, 2007)

An authentic-self is achieved by rendering five genres of authenticity in relation to the main types of economic values/offerings:

1. NATURAL AUTHENTICITY (commodities)

2. ORIGINAL AUTHENTICITY (goods)

3. EXCEPTIONAL AUTHENTICITY (services)

4. REFERENTIAL AUTHENTICITY (experiences), and

5. INFLUENTIAL AUTHENTICITY - accountable for personal transformations beyond self-actualisation.

Only the real-real square in each genre of authenticity is proof that the product is authentic and signifies true authenticity:

It is what it says it is, and it is true to itself.

Is what it says it is

Is not what it says it is

Is not true to itself Is true to itself

Figure 1: Four square matrix of economic authenticity (adapted from Gilmore and Pine, 2007)

ASSESSING NEW AUTHENTICITY

Multidisciplinary framework of transmodern authenticity:

Aligning 5 genres of economic authenticity by Gilmore &

Pine (2007) and 3 social theories of authenticity

Genres of authenticity Theories of authenticity Types of economy/outcome

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>AUTHENTIC ECONOMY (Gilmore & Pine, 2007)

Influential Existential =

Natural Original Objective Exceptional

Referential Constructive =

Figure 2: Aligning genres of economic authenticity with social theories of authenticity in

tourism (Source: Ivanovic & Saayman, 2015)

TRANSMODERN AUTHENTICTY: THE ALLIGNMENT

NEW TRANSFORMATION NEED IS ON TOP OF

MASLOW’S PYRAMID OF NEEDS = TRANSFORMATORY EXPERIENCE (Gelter, 2010)

TRANSFORMATIONS

CONSTRUCTIVE AUTHENTICITY EPISTEMOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE = It is real

TRANSFORMATORY = ONTOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE

AS INTRAPERSONAL EXISTENTIAL AUTHENTICITY

Authentic-self as ‘true to oneself’

OBJECTIVE AUTHENTICITY = Is it real? COMMERCIAL AUTHENTICTY = Keeping it real!

TRANSFORMATORY EXPERIENCE

Figure 3: Transformatory experience as ontological authenticity of the authentic-

self in the transmodern open centre

The role of transformatory experience is to confirm the

‘real me’Acquires permanency only when experienced in the

ontological sense as a reconfirmation or/and extension of

the authentic-self.

Represents a new type of authenticity of new transformatory experience which emerges as a confirmation of authentic-self, as being true to oneself and as heightened awareness of real, true self.

ONTOLOGICAL AUTHENTICITY

Modern – rational

Postmodern – relative

Transmodern – transcends two paradigms and synthesises objective and experiential realms of reality

THE AUTHENTIC-SELF

• Is the utmost existential state of being

• It transcends beyond everyday/extraordinary ontological poles of being in the world

ONTOLOGICAL AUTHENTICITY

= AUTHENTIC SELF

Ontos=being Logos=study

What is reality? Wat is real?

THE AUTHENTIC-SELF

• Can only exist as one and the whole = a dichotomy between everyday life and extraordinary tourist experience becomes obsolete.

• Changes constantly = being in the world as true, authentic-self.

• Does not construct (modernism) or deconstruct (postmodernism) but reconstructs reality = so it can reach an ideal-self by influencing the environmental, spiritual, and economic changes in the world.

ONTOLOGICAL AUTHENTICITY …Cont.

IS A WAY OF KNOWING WHAT IS TRUE/REAL WHICH CONFORMS TO AUTHENTIC-SELF.

Synthesis of real/authentic (objective and economic authenticity) with experiential (constructive) as a way of experiencing real through epistemological authenticity.

Equality of objective and constructive authenticity because objective reality is the main source of knowing (in and about) the world.

EPISTEMOLOGICAL AUTHENTICITY

Episteme=knowledge Logos=study

How can I know reality= Is it real?

How knowledge is constructed

IN A BATTLE OF PARDAGIMS THE TRANSMODERN PARADIGM WINS

Q: Why?

A: Because it creates new authentic reality.

Ontic-authentic + experience epistemic-authentic

= transformatory experience as an embodiment of authentic-self.

CONCLUSION: The synthesis

Authenticity does matter in the new transmodern world at all levels of human existence!!!

A NEW DAWN FOR TOURISM

MODERNISM & POSTMODERNISM“Moon rising”

“No problem can be solved from the same level of

consciousness that created it”.

Albert Einstein

NEW WORLD-VIEWEARH RISING’ 24 dec.1968, Apollo 8

A paradigm shift towards sustainability of the planet &

survival of the human race

TRANSMODERNISM A paradigm leap towards new human consciousness

culminating in an authentic-self.

New tourism is part of authentic economy and emerging

transmodern value system.

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