Customized authenticity begins at home

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, ethnic and heritage tourism have thrived throughout China, encouraged by a diverse set of local and global forces. This paper focuses on a cultural-enterprise practice, namely "Naxi homestays," amid unprecedented growth of tourism in Lijiang after its inscription into UNESCO's prestigious World Heritage Sites List in 1997. By examining three interrelated dimensions central to understanding authenticity-object, self, and home-this study reveals that customized authenticity is produced in Lijiang's guesthouses. Contrary to its enduring modernist and existentialist conceptions, the paper argues that customized authenticity, even in an overtly staged or constructed context, can be highly pursued and embraced by tourists. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.