authenticity of tourism products

Authenticity of Tourist Products RTK531 – TOURISM PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT “The culture and heritage value are related and can attract tourist with their authenticity, genuinely and originality. Heritage resource should be planned by great stories that reflect to the original heritage and culture. In other hand, a great stories and exact information can support the heritage tourism by doing conservation and preservation programme.” AHMAD ZAMIL ZAKARIA S-RM0049/08 Msc in Tourism Development

Authenticity of Tourism Products RTK531 – Tourism Planning and Development

Msc in Tourism Development School of Housing Building and Planning Universiti Sains Malaysia Pa

ge2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Item Pages

Acknowledgement 3 Abstract 4 1.0 Authenticity 5

1.1 My Understanding to Authenticity Means 6 2.0 Tourism Products 7 2.1 My Understanding about Tourism Products 8 3.0 Heritage Resource 9 3.1 My Understanding about Heritage Resource 9 4.0 Designing Tourism Products 10 4.1 My Understanding about Designing Tourism Products 11 5.0 The Local Perspective 11 5.1 My Understanding about the Local Perspective 12 Conclusion 12 References 13



ge4

AUTHENTICITY OF TOURISM PRODUCTS

AHMAD ZAMIL BIN ZAKARIA

S-RM0049/08 Msc in Tourism Development

School Of Housing Building And Planning Universiti Sains Malaysia

Abstract:

Tourism products is an application of ideas and terminologies drawn from marketing science

has been particularly apparent in that sector of tourism which makes use of the past as a

tourist attraction. Tourism products can be programmed to be more efficient and profitable in

term of economics. Today, there are many types of tourism products can be found. Therefore

the tourism products can be classified from the type of activities and the tourist needs. Other

than that natural element, facilities including infrastructure and superstructure; along with

accessibility will considered as main factors to design a tourism products. Nowadays, tourists

are more concern towards education and heritage tourism. They love to get information,

interesting facts and natural elements. The tourism product’s basic raw materials would be

the country’s natural beauty, climate, history, culture and the people. The authenticity of

tourism products is very important to attract tourist towards the heritage places. The

attractions could be cultural like sites and areas of archaeological interest, historical buildings

and monuments or scenic like flora and fauna, beaches, mountains and national parks. The

culture and heritage value are related and can attract tourist with their authenticity, genuinely

and originality. Heritage resource should be planned by great stories that reflect to the

original heritage and culture. In other hand, a great stories and exact information can support

the heritage tourism by doing conservation and preservation programme. By enhancing the

promotion and marketing, it can help the tourists to feel and experience more of the tourism

products in each place. ‘Marketing’ by definition is the development of a product to meet the

needs of the consumer and then employing the techniques of direct sales, publicity and

advertising to bring this product to the consumer.



ge5

1.0 Authenticity

Authenticity could be defined as a product or representation of the particular culture or

heritage which produced it. When trying to declare something as authentic, it is important to

know “based on what?”, who makes the call?, why and for what purpose?, how is the story

being told? This brings us to needing to understand such constructs as “historical fact”,

“folklore”, and even “fakelore”. Folklore: is made up of the traditional things we say (including

local histories and folk stories), things we make and things we do. Fakelore: to describe that

which is connected, falsified, fabricated or refined from the raw data of the anonymous

tradition of folklore by particular individuals usually for profit.

(Source: http://www.ohiohillcountry.org/index.php)

Authenticity can be achieved in terms of experiencing the physical environment, or through a

social interaction or people-based experience.

Four possible scenarios of a tourist experience:

1) Authentic people in authentic environment

2) Authentic people in inauthentic environment

3) Inauthentic people in inauthentic environment

4) Inauthentic people in authentic environment

Aspects of the experience:

1) The social interaction (with local people)

2) The physical environment (the site)

The potentiality of having an authentic tourist experience in both spheres, the physical and

the social, is there but in a way it is the individual tourist him / herself who will determine the

authenticity of the experience especially in the social interaction aspect of the experience.

Element of the authenticity of the experience depends on the tourist: “Depends on who the

person is and how they felt when they are through going through the sites”.

(Source: J.J. Zorilla (2000), Authenticity in the Context of Ethnic Tourism: The Local Perspective, University of Calgary, Canada)



ge6

1.1 My Understanding to Authentic Means

The authenticity of certain product can be showed by culture and heritage of each ethnic or

race in the country. By doing the preservation and conservation programme, all artefacts,

archaeological things and monuments can be enjoyed by us today. In this case, the authentic

tourism products can be referred to certain things which have a historical value and great

interesting stories. To give clear and exact information to the tourist, we should plan a certain

trails which can give continuity of the historical and heritage places. There are two types of

historical facts to be considered in each story line. First is folklore, that means a way of life

and traditional things including local histories and folk stories. Second is fakelore, that mean

the way how to give distinct information which is refined from the raw data of the anonymous

tradition of folklore by particular individuals usually for profit. Everything that is authentic does

not have to be old or historic, but the basis for the claim needs to be established and shared

with the person hearing the story in other words, put in perspective by setting the stage or

context in which the authenticity is derived.

1.2 Example of the authenticity products

This fort which is also known as ‘A Famosa’ meaning the

famous has many gateways and bastions (control / watching

platform). Only through this gateway, Porto de Santiago still

remains today. With the conservation and preservation

programme, the monument is a part of the historical,

heritage and culture products in Malaysia.

Photo 1: Porto de Santiago gateway as today

This fort was built in 1540 during the reign of Sultan Alaudin

Riayat Shah II, the prince of Sultan Mahmud Shah of

Melaka, when it was invade by the Portuguese in 1511. The

fort that is located in Tanjung Batu was part of the Johor

Lama settlements with government and defence centre

along the Johor River. Today, only a few graves, old wells

and a few defence walls still remains preserved and

conserved by government of Malaysia.

Photo 2: The fortress was buried under the ground



ge7

2.0 Tourism Products A ‘product’ may be defined as the ‘Sum of the physical and psychological satisfactions it

provides to buyer’. In the case of tourism product, the basic raw materials would be the

country’s natural beauty, climate, history, culture and the people.

(Source: A.K. Bhatia (1991), Tourism Development – Principle and Practices, Sterling Publishers Private Ltd, New Delhi) Major Considerations:

• The attractions cover both natural elements (landscape, seascape, climate and

ecological factors) and manmade ones (reservoirs, chair lifts, cable railways to scenic

viewing points, cultural activities, historical sites and buildings).

• The facilities include the infrastructures and superstructures of the area (accommodation,

local transport, roads, railways, airports and other public services).

• Accessibility is measured not only in the time taken to travel to the resort but also by the

modes of transport available (air, sea, rail, road) and the degree of comfort involved ( for

example the use of smaller aircraft or wide-bodied jets).

( Source : F. Douglas ( 1985), Travel and Tourism Management, The Macmillan Press Ltd, London ) Types of Tourism Products: Although the typical mainstream tour package might involve routine 7 – 14 day tours

encompassing several cities in a region, increasingly special packages are being created for

niche attractions. A useful definition or common thread for organizing special tourism

programs would be that they appeal to a narrow, like-interested population base. The US

Tour Operators Association Web site, for example, lists about 50 types of special tourism

products including the following:

1) Alumni 2) Archaeology 3) Architectural 4) Barge/river

cruises 5) Bicycling 6) Bird watching 7) Castle/chateau

stays

8) Culinary 9) Farm 10) Fishing 11) Gardens 12) Gay/lesbian 13) Golf 14) Heritage 15) Hiking/trekking 16) History

17) Honeymoons/ weddings

18) Horses/ranches 19) Hot-air

ballooning 20) Nature/wildlife/

safaris 21) Rafting 22) Railroad

23) Shopping 24) Singles 25) Spa 26) Theatre/opera 27) Whale watching 28) Winery

( Source: B.S. Paul (2008), Travel and Tourism – An Industry Primer, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey )



ge8

2.1 My Understanding about Tourism Products

Tourism products in definition are the combination between tourism package and marketing.

The package sold either to the individual tourist himself or by using travel agents. Tourist

product also known as the attraction of each place and it provides tourist with facilities and

accessibility for their convenience. The attractions offered to the tourist should be prominent

and could represent that place itself. We must deeply introduce the tourist about the place

they like to visit. The places that are potential to attract tourist should have the element such

as archaeological sites, historical buildings and monuments; also natural elements (beaches,

mountains / highlands and seas). The examples of attraction places in Malaysia are

Langkawi Island, Mount Kinabalu and Cameron Highlands. The facilities offered to the tourist

should be convenience and comfortable to use. Facilities can help to enhance and develop

the attraction places by providing the accommodation, entertainment place, recreational area

and camping site. Through providing accessibility, it can assist and ease the tourist to go to

the attraction place. Accessibility design should connect all the attraction places. Nowadays,

there are several types of tourist and it influenced the tourism products:

1) Rest and relaxation – tourist who needs relaxation to release their tension. This kind

of tourist needs a comfortable accommodation but at the same time, is affordable

in price.

2) Cultural visits – interested in experiencing others’ culture and heritage. The location

usually visited by the tourist such as historical places and villages (homestay).

3) Educational visits – people who go for a studies at the other place. The examples are

people who further their studies or attend the short / long courses.

4) Exotic and unusual holiday – needs an extreme experience, such as camping in the

jungle / up the mountain / national parks, fishing at deep seas or cruising along

the river. Usually they just need a minimum facility.

5) Travel as norm behaviour – people who have tourism behaviour. They like to travel

abroad or by cruising the sail if they have free times. Usually they need smooth

routes and activities appropriate with their status.

6) Other travellers for pleasure – The common interest tourist will follow a similar

reasoning and response as that of the cultural tourist. The location, status and

other aspects of the casino will rank more highly.

7) Business traveller – for business purposes. Influence by time and mode of travelling,

routes, duration of trip and destination. Business travel tends to be price inelastic

and non-seasonal.



ge9

3.0 HERITAGE RESOURCE A heritage resource is an authentic resource that reflects or conveys tangibles or intangible

elements of local heritage. Categories of heritage resources currently include sites, services,

events, tours, routes, products and living treasures. Future categories will include

communities and landscapes. In addition to authenticity, the programme emphasizes the

importance of interpretation – the way that resources convey their importance to visitors, or

how they “tell the story” of heritage they reflect. The authenticity criteria for each type of

resource are slightly different, because each type raises different issues. For a building to be

considered authentic, it must have an appearance that is consistent with its periods of

significance – the era that is most important in the building’s history.

Heritage Products A heritage product is an endemic folk and decorative art, craft, or trade object that

authentically reflects local heritage. As a physical expression of commonly held beliefs,

customs, and traditions, each Heritage Product has a unique and well-defined cultural

significance. Heritage products are made locally by skilled artisans, craftsmen and women,

and trades people. A heritage product is generally made by hand using traditional materials

and time – honoured methods of production. Creative contemporary interpretations of

traditional designs, patterns, motifs, or styles must bear a reasonably apparent relationship to

the recognized traditional form of the product to warrant its designation as a Heritage

Product. Heritage products are not factory – made, manufactured, mass produced in an

assembly line, or made from a kit.

(Source: http://lancastercountyheritage.com)

3.1 My Understanding about Heritage Resource

Heritage resource is authentic things that convey the evident element of local heritage.

Heritage resource can be categorised into several character such as sites, services, events,

tours, routes, products and living treasures. Other categories are relationship between

community and landscapes. In other hand, all interpretations about heritage are depending

on who tell the stories. Interpretation is the art of explaining the natural, historic, or cultural

significance of a resource to the public. It is not enough for a resource to be a significant part

of the country’s natural, historic, or cultural heritage – it must convey that message to visitors



ge10

through effective interpretation. Heritage products such as endemic folk, decorative art, craft,

or trade object that authentically reflect to a local heritage. Heritage products are usually man

made. It is made by locally skills artisan, craftsmen and trade people. Every motive or design

for the heritage products showing the originality, the relationship between traditional form and

heritage to be emphasized. Other than that, the heritage products are not manufactured and

massly produced but they are only made by skills artisan and expertise.

The souvenir shop at Pantai Cenang sells T-shirt, key

chain, craft and other thing related to Pantai Cenang

and Langkawi Island. Today, they are emphasizing

Langkawi as Geopark since it is being awarded by that

status by UNESCO.

Photo 3: Souvenir shop at Pantai Cenang, Langkawi

Floating market at Bangkok, Thailand is the most

interesting place to buy a local heritage product. The

uniqueness of this place is tourist must cruise along the

river to buy a souvenir.

Photo 4 : Floating market at Bangkok, Thailand

4.0 DESIGNING TOURISM PRODUCTS

Tourism products such as accommodation, hospitality, attractions, events, and other tourist

services should be considered in a site plan. These tourist facilities include hostels,

restaurants, hospitals, and public restrooms. When developing a site plan the following

factors should be considered:

1) The scale and type of development.

2) The kind of tourism activities (ecotourism, heritage tours), facilities, attractions and

amenities that will be included in a site plan.

3) Approaches that minimizes negative impacts through design, land-use planning

zoning and management.



ge11

4) Development of a project financing strategies that focus on local control and minimize

economic leakage from the community.

5) Tourism vision statements and goals that are communicated to commercial and other

stakeholders of the sites to be included in the planning.

6) Policies that allow room for future growth and alteration in the plan and the sites

themselves

(Source: Canadian Universities Consortium, A Manual for Sustainable Tourism Destination Management, Canada)

4.1 My Understanding about Designing Tourism Products

Tourism product such as accommodation, hospitality, attraction and other services should

consider about site plan. The purpose of having site plan is to know the scale and types of

development, to know what kind of activities that are suitable for the tourist, the attraction

sites and amenities to propose in the site plan. The site plan also is used to set up

approaches to minimize the negative impact by design, land-use planning and management.

Most of the tourist love to visit the main attraction places. Therefore we should know the

tourist volumes and flows towards the main attraction place. We also have to consider the

facilities and amenities provide for their convenience and safety. Accessibility to the main

attraction place also is a main issue to minimize the negative impacts. Main road to the

attraction place should have continuity between other attraction places. It can give extra

experience to tourist when they are going for a pleasure trip.

5.0 THE LOCAL PERSPECTIVE

The potentiality of having an authentic tourist experience in both spheres, the physical and

the social, is there but in a way it is the individual tourist him / herself who will determine the

authenticity of the experience especially in the social interaction aspect of the experience.

Element of the authenticity of the experience depends on the tourist: “Depends on who the

person is and how they felt when they are through going through the sites”.

(Source: J.J. Zorilla (2000), Authenticity in the Context of Ethnic Tourism: The Local Perspective, University of Calgary, Canada)



ge12

5.1 My Understanding about the Local Perspective

When certain areas undergo a development, there will be some benefit to the local people.

The area developed by the tourism industry will focus on attracting tourist to come to that

place. The failure to control the volume of tourist can make congestion to that place, natural

element also will be damaged by vandalism, spreading of yellow culture, changing jobs and

disturbance of social system. From the economic aspects, local people will gain financial

benefits, switch the service to tourist and offer vacancies to the local people.

6.0 CONCLUSION

It is widely recognized that authenticity plays a major role in some kinds of tourism including

tourism products. The authenticity of a cultural manifestation can only be determined by the

performers of such manifestation. Tourism products also influenced by the interaction

between tourists in a context of cultural presentation. By providing that experience and the

elements they take into account in order to determine the authenticity of the tourist

experience. We can teach, show or share something about the site; they are free to do it on

the way that they think is most appropriate.

Cultural heritage tourism benefits communities and the country by:

• Creating jobs and businesses

• Diversifying the local economy

• Attracting visitors interested in history and preservation

• Increasing historic attraction revenues

• Preserving local traditions and culture

• Generating local investment in historic resources

• Building community pride in heritage

• Increasing awareness of the site or area's significance



ge13

REFERENCES 1) B.S. Paul (2008), Travel and Tourism – An Industry Primer, Pearson Prentice Hall, New

Jersey. 2) A. Gregory, G. Brian ( 1991), Marketing Tourism Places, Routlegde Chapman and Hall Inc,

New York. 3) F. Douglas ( 1985), Travel and Tourism Management, The Macmillan Press Ltd, London. 4) A.K. Bhatia (1991), Tourism Development – Principle and Practices, Sterling Publishers

Private Ltd, New Delhi. 5) Canadian Universities Consortium, A Manual for Sustainable Tourism Destination

Management, Canada. 6) W. Bruce (2004), Direct Marketing of Crafts and Souvenirs to Vladimir Visitors, University

of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 7) J.J. Zorilla (2000), Authenticity in the Context of Ethnic Tourism: The Local Perspective,

University of Calgary, Canada. 8) http://lancastercountyheritage.com 9) http://www.tpdco.org//index.php 10) http://www.ohiohillcountry.org/index.php

authenticity of tourism products

Documents