Authenticity for Tourism Design and Experience

Traditionally, the role of design in tourism research has been oriented towards planning and designing spaces for tourism and recreational uses. In the context of the experience economy this process focuses on experience design so that spaces become stages in which experiences are enacted, performed and valued. As a result the subjective and affective aspects of the experience have become somewhat neglected. Interestingly, while the debates surrounding the concept of authenticity in tourism studies are concerned with similar aspects of tourism experience, few in the design literature have engaged with the idea of authentic experience of place and culture. Because authenticity is a relational concept that functions to interlace notions of originality, genuineness, symbolism, encounter and experience it holds great value for tourism design and planning. As such, we propose a few questions to spark conversation: What is the role of authenticity in experience of place in the context of design thinking? Can we truly design spaces for authentic engagement? Is it ever possible to experience places authentically that have been designed? With the tremendous value placed on designing spaces for entertainment purposes, what value is placed on the ‘real’ or un-designed spaces of tourism? This chapter questions conceptions of experience design in the context of theories of authenticity and touristic experience, thereby aiming to bring a much contested concept into greater consideration in the more grounded debates of tourism planning.