Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Authenticity Vs. Commercialization in Cultural Tourism: Balancing Preservation and Mass Tourism Cover

Authenticity Vs. Commercialization in Cultural Tourism: Balancing Preservation and Mass Tourism

By: Cosmin TILEAGĂ  
Open Access
|Dec 2025

References

  1. Adie, B.A., Falk, M., & Savioli, M. (2020). Overtourism as a perceived threat to cultural heritage in Europe. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(14), 1737-1741. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1687661.
  2. Benckendorff, P. (2008). Envisioning sustainable cultural tourism futures: An evaluation of the futures wheel method. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(1), 25-36. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1057/thr.2008.2.
  3. Cao, Q., Zhang, J., Li, C., So, K.K.F., & So, F. (2025). From tradition to transaction: The effect of commercialization on tourism experience in cultural heritage attractions. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 63, 98-111. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2025.03.006.
  4. Cerisola, S., & Panzera, E. (2024). Heritage tourism and local prosperity: An empirical investigation of their controversial relationship. Tourism Economics, 31 (5). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166241234099.
  5. Chhabra, D. (2023). Sustainable marketing of cultural and heritage tourism (2nd ed.). Routledge.
  6. Graziano, T., & Privitera, D. (2020). Cultural heritage, tourist attractiveness and augmented reality: Insights from Italy. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 15 (6), 1-14. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1719116.
  7. Guerra, T., Moreno, P., Araújo de Almeida, A.S., & Vitorino, L.C. (2022). Authenticity in industrial heritage tourism sites: Local community perspectives. European Journal of Tourism Research, 32, 3208. Available at:https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v32i.2379.
  8. Hinton, T. (2023). Social media has the greatest influence on travel destination choices. Statista. Available at:https://www.statista.com/chart/30135/media-influences-on-travel-destination/.
  9. Jamal, T., & Hill, S. (2002). The home and the world: (Post)touristic spaces of (in)authenticity? In G. Dann (Ed.), The tourist as a metaphor of the social world (pp. 77-107). CABI. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851996066.0077.
  10. Jeczmyk, A., Kozera-Kowalska, M., & Uglis, J. (2024). Authenticity in intangible heritage as a key to the development of tourism products. European Research Studies Journal, 27(4), 1391-1404. Available at:https://ersj.eu/journal/3865.
  11. Mele, E., Kerkhof, P., & Cantoni, L. (2021). Cultural localization in online heritage promotion. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 16(3), 300-316. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1779731.
  12. Mkono, M. (2021). Neo-colonialism and greed: Africans’ views on modern-day tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(6), 689-704. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1604719.
  13. Palmer, C. (1999). Tourism and the symbols of identity. Tourism Management, 20(3), 313-321. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(98)00120-4.
  14. Porya, A., Mishra, S., & Chowdhary, N. (2025). Authenticity and Commercialisation: A Netnographic Study of Tourist Experiences in Mawlynnong, India. Acta Turistica, 17(3), 299-307. Available at: https://academica.turistica.si/index.php/AT-TIJ/article/view/790.
  15. Quang, T.D., Noseworthy, W.B., & Paulson, D. (2022). Rising tensions: Heritage-tourism development and the commodification of “authentic” culture among the Cham community of Vietnam. Cogent Social Sciences, 8(1). Available at:https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2116161.
  16. Reali, C. (2024). Mass tourism: The benefits and hidden costs. Mize Technology. Available at:https://mize.tech/blog/mass-tourism-the-benefits-and-hidden-costs/.
  17. Richards, G. (2023). Cultural tourism: A review of recent research and trends (updated edition). Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 36, 12-21. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.03.005.
  18. Steiner, C.J., & Reisinger, Y. (2020). Understanding existential authenticity in cultural tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 33(2), 299-318. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2005.08.002.
  19. Swiss Education Group. (2025). What is cultural tourism? Benefits and examples. SHMS. Available at:https://www.shms.com/en/news/cultural-tourism/.
  20. Tawii, C. (2024). Traveller segmentation: The expanding role of cultural explorers in shaping global tourism. Euromonitor International. Available at:https://www.euromonitor.com/article/traveller-segmentation-the-expanding-role-of-cultural-explorers-in-shaping-global-tourism.
  21. Timothy, D.J. (2023). Contemporary cultural heritage and tourism: Development issues and emerging trends. Public Archaeology, 13(1-3), 30-47. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1179/1465518714Z.00000000052.
  22. UNESCO. (2021). Sustainable cultural tourism. Available at:https://www.unesco.org/en/sustainable-tourism.
  23. Urry, J., & Larsen, J. (2012). The tourist gaze 3.0. Sage Academic Publications. Available at:https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446251904.
  24. Ye, S., Shi, L., Wu, J., & Hyuk, G. (2025). Beyond the Tangible: Factors Influencing Memorable Experiences in Intangible Culture Heritage Tourism in Wuxi, China. SAGE Open. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251319959.
  25. Yi, C., Yimei, X., Jifen, Z., Ziyue, G. (2025). Decoding ethnic tourism: a comprehensive analysis of global trends, key themes, and knowledge frameworks. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05769-w.
  26. Zhang, C.X., Xiao, H., Morgan, N.J., & Ly, P.L. (2018). Politics of memories: Identity construction in museums. Annals of Tourism Research, 73, 116-130. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.09.011.
  27. Zhang, Y., Zheng, Q., Huang, L., Lee, T.J., & Hyun, S.S. (2023). Alienation and authenticity in intangible cultural heritage tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 32(12), 2459-2478. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2023.2284642.
  28. Zhang, T., & Yin, P. (2020). Testing the structural relationships of tourism authenticities. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 18, 100485. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100485.
  29. Zhou, Q., Zhang, J., Zhang, H., & Li, X. (2018). Is all authenticity accepted by tourists and residents? The concept, dimensions and formation mechanism of negative authenticity. Tourism Management, 67, 59-70. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.12.024.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bsaft-2025-0027 | Journal eISSN: 3100-5098 | Journal ISSN: 3100-508X
Language: English
Page range: 277 - 292
Published on: Dec 16, 2025
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

© 2025 Cosmin TILEAGĂ, published by Nicolae Balcescu Land Forces Academy
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.