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31/3/2014

Authenticity of Volendam, fake or real?

Project Group 3:- Aurore Beyel- Kexin Feng- Job Spits- Marta Stadnik- Jolien Vijn- Lisa Zuidam

Supervisor: Miranda van Dam

Management summaryThis research has been prepared for the tourist office of Volendam. The purpose of the research was to gain insight into the perception of the local entrepreneurs about the impact of the incoming tourism on the authenticity of Volendam, in order to see how the local entrepreneurs can contribute to maintain the authenticity of Volendam. There are a number of sub questions drawn which will help to answer the main question of our research. These sub questions have been investigated by interviewing different local entrepreneurs. The responses have been analyzed and processed and the results have led to the final conclusion and recommendations for the tourist office of Volendam.

Introduction

There are a few things mentioned in the introduction. First, there is given a small background of Volendam. In whichVolendam represents the authentic Dutch way of living. There is also mentioned what our reason to do research on the authenticity of Volendam is. It is for the tourist office good to know if the authenticity of Volendam gets affected by tourists, because tourism is a major of income in Volendam. When the authenticity of Volendam disappears, the tourists have no reason anymore to come to Volendam. Also the objective of our research has been given. Which is as follows:

To gain insight into the perception of the local entrepreneurs about the impact of the incoming tourism on the authenticity of Volendam, in order to see how the local entrepreneurs can contribute to maintain the authenticity of Volendam.

Theoretical framework

In chapter two, the theoretical framework, there are described some models and theories that are relevant to our research. First there are given a few definitions of authenticity, so that it is clear what is meant by authenticity. Also the ten principles of CBT are given. This research has focused on three principles, namely:

1. Recognize, support and promote community ownership of tourism.2. Promote community pride.3. Preserve the unique character and culture of the local area.

And finally the Real – fake matrix model of Pine and Gilmore is been used to measure the relation between the back and front stage of Volendam.

Research questions and methodology

In these chapters the main- and sub questions of this research and the methods that are used during the research are given. This was an exploratory research. Exploratory research is used whenit is not clear what the problem is or when the problem has not been clearly defined.

There is information gathered through desk research and field research, consisting of conducting semi-structured interviews with different local entrepreneurs in Volendam. In total there are six relevant interviews.

Results

In the results, all the sub questions have been answered. The authenticity of Volendam can be divided in three kinds of authenticity:

1. Natural authenticity , throughout the years there have been only a few necessary changes in Volendam, but the harbor, the little houses, the dike and the church are still authentic.

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2. Original authenticity , the costumes of Volendam are still authentic, but nowadays they are mostly worn to attract the tourists.

3. Influential authenticity, Volendam has its own identity and dialect. That’s what makes them authentic.

The local entrepreneurs think that they can contribute to the authenticity of Volendam to wear the costumes a lot more. They also think that there have to be more people who will keep the fishing business alive, because that is real Volendam. The local entrepreneurs think differently about the difference between the front and the backstage. Some say that what the tourists see is real, but others say that they for example just wear the costumes to please the tourists. And at least, the local entrepreneurs think that there will be three types of future developments:

1. Inheritance the traditional costumes, the local entrepreneurs hope that the community will wear the costumes a lot more and not only with special occasions.

2. Safety of traffic, some local entrepreneurs want that the touring cars can’t ride along the harbor, with the reason that’s safer for tourists to walk here.

3. Remain old traditions, for example the eel smoking. The local entrepreneurs think it is such a shame if that will disappear.

Conclusion and recommendations

The local entrepreneurs think that the tourists don’t influence the authenticity of Volendam. Volendam has maintained their authenticity such as the small houses, their dialect, the costumes and the dike. However, because it will slowly disappear, they are trying to maintain it for the future and they came up with different ideas to improve the authenticity:

- Wearing costumes (from times to times) and allowing tourists to wear it for making a picture. Obviously, this could be done by a part of the (maybe older) inhabitants of Volendam

- Playing the Volendam music- The fishery, show to the tourists how the entrepreneurs smoke the eels- Keep the harbor in its condition, including the fishing boats. Locals are able to put more effort

into this.- Employing some local people in their enterprise- Organizing events to get people motivated to dress in the original costumes- Have more safety in the town, especially regarding the tour buses that are crossing the town

daily. The local people can put more attention on for example the vote that has been organized, to make Volendam safer.

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Foreword

The first week of the minor our project group heard at school that we had to base our research on the city Volendam. We were all very enthusiastic about this, since none of us had been to Volendam before, especially not doing research. In the first week we had some meetings with each other and we brainstormed a lot about subjects we could research regarding the tourism situation Volendam. We decided to do some desk research and we came up with the economic impact of tourism on this city and the authenticity of Volendam. In order to choose which subject would be the most interesting and relevant to research, we needed to do desk research again. During this desk research, our project group found out quickly that we could find a lot more information about authenticity than the economic impacts of tourism. Since Volendam is one of the most famous tourist attractions of the Netherlands, with great and highly influencing traditions, we thought that the town can be susceptible of falsities and it would be interesting to research whether we were right. Those are the reasons why we decided to focus our research on the authenticity of Volendam.

Our objective during the implementation of this research was:


Besides our research objective, we had also established some other goals. One of the goals we came up with was the fact that we wanted to learn how to communicate with people from different countries and cultures. We also wanted to take a challenge of interviewing people, in order to have that mastered more than at the beginning of our minor. Besides that, some of us had not done a research in English by then, so we wanted to make sure that by the end of this project everyone would be able to make a research in this language.

Our project group has created a lot of insights in this subject. We have learned a lot about the word authenticity and how it is related to Volendam. We now also know how Volendam attracts tourists, what the difference is between the front and back stage and what the future improvements of Volendam are regarding the authenticity. The research group has experienced the implementation of this project as instructive, interesting and challenging. We accepted the challenge to do the interviews with several local entrepreneurs in Volendam, like hotels, restaurants and the Volendam museum.

The research team would like to thank some people who ensured the team that it has achieved an optimal final result. First we would like to thank the local entrepreneurs who participated in our interviews. We highly appreciate the fact that they took the time to answer the questions.Besides that, we want to thank the following teachers: Iris Hes-terTelgte, IneHustinx-Schaekers, Miranda van Dam and Pauline van Acker. They have provided us a lot of useful information during their lectures. Furthermore our consultant, Miranda van Dam again, who hasbeen having a big role guiding us through the entire research process. We appreciate the support we have encountered during the implementation of our research.

Students from the minor Community Based Tourism,

Aurore Beyel, Kexin Feng, Job Spits, Marta Stadnik, Jolien Vijn and Lisa Zuidam

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Tabel of content

Management summary.......................................................................................................................................2

Research questions and methodology.........................................................................................................2

Results.............................................................................................................................................................2

Conclusion and recommendations...............................................................................................................3

Foreword..............................................................................................................................................................4

Chapter 1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................7

1.1 General background of Volendam...................................................................................................7

1.2 Trends and developments................................................................................................................8

1.3 Reason for research..........................................................................................................................8

1.4 Problem statement.............................................................................................................................9

1.5 The objective......................................................................................................................................9

1.6 Social Relevance.............................................................................................................................10

1.7 Practical Relevance.........................................................................................................................10

1.8 Limitations.........................................................................................................................................10

Chapter 2 Theoretical framework...............................................................................................................11

2.1 Staged authenticity..........................................................................................................................11

2.2 Community Based Tourism............................................................................................................12

2.3 Inaccurateness of some models and theories.............................................................................13

Chapter 3 Research questions....................................................................................................................15

Chapter 4 Methodology................................................................................................................................16

4.1 Explanation of data sources...........................................................................................................16

4.2 Any selection criteria used..............................................................................................................16

4.3 Limitations of the research..............................................................................................................17

4.4 Description of data collection methods and rationale..................................................................17

4.5 Procedures........................................................................................................................................18

4.6 Number of interviewers...................................................................................................................18

4.7 Observers.........................................................................................................................................18

Chapter 5 Results.........................................................................................................................................20

5.1 Different perspectives on authenticity...........................................................................................20

5.2 Local entrepreneurs and their contribution...................................................................................21

5.3 Front vs. back stage........................................................................................................................22

5.4 Future developments.......................................................................................................................24

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Chapter 6 Conclusion...................................................................................................................................25

Chapter 7 Recommendations.....................................................................................................................26

Chapter 8 Bibliography.................................................................................................................................27

Appendix............................................................................................................................................................29

1 Interview questions..............................................................................................................................29

2 Labels....................................................................................................................................................30

3 Interview Café Motje............................................................................................................................31

4 Interview Old Dutch..............................................................................................................................35

5 Interview photoshop.............................................................................................................................39

6 Interview Café De Dijk.........................................................................................................................40

7 Interview Souvenir shop Jonk & Keizer.............................................................................................42

8 Interview Volendams Museum...........................................................................................................44

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Chapter 1 Introduction

This chapter is a disclosure of famous Dutch fisher village- Volendam. The spotlight of this part is given to the history and the current situation of the place in a tourism context. Further on there is explained what kind of research our project group has been done, revealing by this occasion the commissioning client and the objective of the research.

1.1 General background of Volendam

When speaking of the Netherlands and its world famous characteristics, Volendam frequently pops up in the conversation. That is because Volendam not only represents a lot of the authentic Dutch ways of living, it is also often seen as the big example of what traditions and customs the Netherlands have (Volendamse Klederdracht). One of the most widely known symbols of the Dutch culture originates from Volendam, namely the costumes. Distinctive long and wide dresses for the ladies go with typical hats, called a hul. Men are usually dressed with barely orated black costumes, topped off with a small scarf and a simple hat.

Throughout time, by using these characteristics in promoting this traditional side of the Netherlands, these costumes became the most important unique selling point of Volendam. However, not only the costumes are typical to Volendam. Music forms a big part of their culture, as well as fishing. When it comes to fishing, the people of Volendam tend to specialize themselves smoking eel, something not seen much in the world.

Those are the things that make Volendam such a special, multi-faceted village. There is no doubt about the fact that all these interesting details somehow find their way to foreigners. As early as the 19th century, people have been visiting Volendam with cultural and touristic purposes (Volendamse Klederdracht). Experiencing the specialties of the village and passing on this information actually gave way to a big market for Volendam. In 2008, the number of annual touristic visitors in Volendam was measured at more than two million (Wethouder wil toeristen naar Volendam, 2008). That is a lot for a village with less than 22000 inhabitants (Gemeente Volendam, 2013). The biggest part, about 60 percent, actually still comes from the Netherlands. The other approximately 800.000 visitors per year are foreign tourists, mostly from Germany and Spain (Hodes, Querl, & Geerdink, 2011).

Wim Runderkamp, former councilor of Edam and Volendam, said in 2008 that there are some plans being developed to make Volendam even more successful in the tourism industry (Wethouder wil toeristen naar Volendam, 2008). The city council has different ideas on how to improve their touristic situation, including the enhancement of basic facilities and the infrastructure – like the accessibility of ‘the Dike’ –, achieving a higher quality of public spaces and increasing the number of parking lots (Hodes, Querl, & Geerdink, 2011).

However, success of Volendam is not only the input of the city council or the councilor. There are many other stakeholders involved in creating an “experience of Volendam”, like hoteliers, restaurants and bars owners, fishermen, and even local citizens. They all have their part and play an important role in developing of that, meaningful for Netherlands, place.

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1.2 Trends and developmentsVolendam is called by “Pearl of the Zuiderzee”. Since the late 1800s, tourists have been romanced by this fishermen's town on the Zuiderzee that seems to be frozen in time, so well has it preserved its folk culture despite the rapid transformation all around it. (Joseph, n.d)Nowadays, the fishing tradition is still being preserved by certain local people, this tradition also becomes to a tourism attraction. Volendammers are dressed up in their traditional costume, which includes the iconic woman's accessory of a pointed white bonnet.Normally people in Volendam wear the traditional customes in the special occasion, but there are some people who still wear this in the quotidian. As a result of its completely insulated location, this village preserved its character for six centuries, also because of the tough vitality of the fishermen. The characteristic small houses, together with the canals and the drawbridges form the most picturesque spots, present the visitor an atmosphere of geniality and romance. No wonder that a famous singer sang the praise of this characteristic Dutch fishing village in the words: "Anyone who wants to see the real beauty of Netherlands goes to Volendam". (vvv-volendam, n.d)

Therefore, nowadays the town of Volendam represents in its entirety the Netherlands. It’s well known by every tourist who comes in the Netherlands. We can wonder why it’s so famous and maybe coveted. Those reasons have been described above, so it’s simply because it’s almost the last city that has kept its real authenticity from a long time ago. For those who want to know how Dutch people lived in the past and want to learn about the traditions, they just have to come to Volendam. Then they can do a city tour to discover the wooden houses, try the seafood near to the fishing boats in the harbor, enjoy the lakes, of course take a picture with the traditional costumes and simply appreciate the good-natured folks of the village.

If talking about trends and developments in tourism, one of the recognizable drifts of modern tourism is focus on authentic experience. This means that tourist is not interested anymore in staying at the beach resort in all inclusive accommodation, isolated mostly from local people The tourist of today wants a real experience of destination and is curious about the local people, their culture- he just wants to be part of the other exotic community and escape from the daily routine (Csapo). However, that constantly growing interest of the local heritage in tourism industry brings some threads. One of those threads of the cultural tourism can be influenced the tourists can have on local communities. As a consequence more and more researches are done in order to examine the situation in certain communities where the local heritage might be endangered by any ‘innocent’ intentions of visitors willing to get to know such cultures personally.

1.3 Reason for research

Besides obvious benefits of the planned increase in tourism, like bigger revenue, there are downsides to this idea. That accounts for one of the most important terms for this research, which is authenticity. Although a familiar term for many, it is hard to give a simple explanation of this word. Carol J. Steiner and Yvette Reisinger makes it a little more comprehensible by dividing it into two different senses: ‘ [1] authenticity as genuineness or realness of artifacts or events, and also as a [2] human attribute signifying being one’s true self or being true to one’s essential nature (Steiner & Reisinger, 2006, p. 299).’ The focus during the implementation of our research was actually concentrated on both of these parts of the definition. The overall authenticity of Volendam needs to be looked at in two ways: – [1] –, but on the other hand the local entrepreneurs of Volendam and their backgrounds – [2] –

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What might help to further understand the term authenticity – when related to tourism – are these two important expressions: front stage and back stage. As explained by Master of Business graduate Matt Ulinski, ‘Front stages are the areas manipulated and managed to accommodate tourists (Ulinski, 2011).’ In this case, what does Volendam present to its visitors and how does it do that? The opposite would be back stage, explained as ‘where the private everyday life of local residents is given priority (Ulinski, 2011)’. In other words, what are the unadulterated cultural, social and traditional features of the local residents?

1.4 Problem statement

Tourism can be a difficult factor when it comes to front stage. It is imaginable that, due to the economic and social power tourism has, increasing the number of tourists – and thus increasing the power of tourism – might affect the overall authenticity. For example, it could be interesting to make an adjustment in the presentation of a certain touristic product or service, so that the revenue of that product or service will presumably grow. This alluring modification of the realness of touristic facets is the exactly the same as a change in the front stage. That causes the gap between front stage and back stage to become larger. As a result, the genuine face of tourism fades, or even disappears from the scene.

1.5 The objective

More than any other tourist destination, the authenticity of Volendam – with its great and highly influencing traditions – is susceptible of these falsities. And that is the reason why this research has been conducted. As such the perception of the local entrepreneurs about the impact of the incoming tourism on the authenticity of Volendam has been examined throughout this study. The entire investigation into subject of authenticity was supposed to lead to the conclusion and deep insight of the problem. Once gaining the insight into the issue, the recommendations were given to the local entrepreneurs, underlining the ways in which they can contribute to maintain the authenticity of Volendam.

This objective was achieved with an exploratory research. Exploratory research is used whenit is not clear what the problem is or when the problem has not been clearly defined. This research helped to determine whether there is any problem with the authenticity of Volendam, so the proper action could be eventually taken to maintain the authenticity of this village.

The objective that was set as a starting point for this research, is as following:


The results of this study were obtained through the interviews conducted by the research team with seven different local entrepreneurs.

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1.6 Social Relevance

This research is relevant to many different stakeholders; parties involved in the life and in the well being of Voldendam as well as tourists, who occasionally visit this place. However, the most important and pertinent for this study stakeholders, are as following.

- Local entrepreneurs of Volendam: with this research the local entrepreneurs (hoteliers, bars and restaurant owners, fishermen, souvenir shops) know what to do to in order to maintain the authenticity of Volendam. The reason why this is important to know for the local entrepreneurs is that the authenticity plays a big role in attracting tourism to Volendam. So when the local entrepreneurs know how they can contribute to maintain the authenticity of Volendam, they can continue to attract the tourists.

- Tourists: tourists of today look for real, authentic experiences. They are mostly not interested in abstract reality- they want simply truth. More authentic Volendam remains, more interest it meets from the tourists’ audience.

- Local citizens of Volendam: regular people living in famous fishermen village might be interested in keeping Volendam authentic and preventing it from massive invasion of tourists. They might want to live their regular lives, act and behave naturally, celebrate their traditions and rituals without being intimated by the unpredictable curiosity of the tourists.

1.7 Practical Relevance

As a part of our education and preparation for the final graduation thesis, this research can be considered as a great exercise and learning process for each of the students who actively participated within this project. However, there is much deeper relevance concerning this particular research. For most of the researchers who the topic of authenticity has not been known before, it was a great opportunity to get familiar with that issue and create some ideas on that subject. Furthermore, as for students of tourism field, it is very important to be aware of the issue of authenticity and influences the tourists can have on that aspect. The information obtained during this course is valid for other contexts where the problem of authenticity is involved and can be applied when maintaining future tourism related jobs or projects aiming towards protecting local cultures and identity of the destinations.

1.8 Limitations

There are a few limitations recognized during this project. The project group was only focusing on the local entrepreneurs of Volendam;hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops owners as well as the Volendam museum’ and Volendam Tourism Board representatives. The reason those stakeholders were selected by the research group, was that they are easily accessible (location and time- wisely) and they are believed to have a lot of information relevant for the research. Besides that they were all experiencing life in Volendam for many years, what was the important criteria for us when choosing the interviewees. We decided not include in our research the entrepreneurs of Volendam but living outside of the village as they bear different values and are influenced by different life experiences than the “echteVolendammers”.

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Chapter 2 Theoretical framework

The theories, models and scientific articles, which were used to carry out the authenticity research, are being explained in this chapter. As such there is a relationship between each model, theory, article and the sub questions to be found. The concepts were organized in a systematic way adequately to the themes derived from the main question.

2.1 Staged authenticity

Dean MacCannell, cultural critic and professor of landscape architecture, was the first person who came up with the concept of authenticity in the early 70’s (Miralda, 2010).He defined the following terms:

- Subjective authenticity: the authenticity experienced by tourist;

- Objective authenticity: authenticity of the site or attraction;

Above definitions refers to the staged authenticity.Staged authenticity: is the one which is experienced by tourists as a consequence of lack of the knowledge and expertise of the culture, which they encounter what prohibits them from penetrating the backstage of the community authentic culture (MacCannell, 1976).

- Front stage: is the most outer layer of the cultural heritage full of symbols and meanings visible by the tourists. It refers to the above-mentioned subjective authenticity;

- Back stage: is the real sphere of the cultural heritage, which is not accessible easily by the audience (tourists). It refers to the objective authenticity/

Sometimes it happens that surroundings might exert an influence on the authenticity of a place/ community. In a consequence the cultural curtain between the front and the back stage is getting less transparent and at the same time, less possible to get to know real essence of such community or place.The following model represents the phenomenon of the situation when the invasion of tourists exerts the influence on authenticity of host community.

Figure 1: Levels of Cultural Penetration based on theories of Cohen (1988), (Cooper, Tourism principles and practice , 1988)

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In above model the risk of the staged authenticity is being presented. Three areas were defined according to the model:

1. Previous level of tourist penetration in the host culture2. New level of cultural penetration that is considered to be authentic by the tourist, but is, in fact, stage authenticity.3.The true cultural heritage of the host society that maintains its integrity by keeping tourists on the other side of the firewall curtain.

Another model, which helps measuring the relation between the reality and staged reality is the Real- Fake Matrix model (Pine G. )

This model has been used to measure the relation between the front and back stage authenticity in order to find out the gap, which is between them those spheres.

Figure 2: Real Fake Matrix model (Gilmore, Real - Fake matrix model)

Besides defining authenticity between the front and back staged one, it can be also classified looking at this from more contextual perspective.The following classification of the authenticity form by Pine And Gilmore (Pine G. )brings diverse perceptions about the authenticity:

1. Natural authenticity: When it is in its natural state and not by human hands touched. It should be as unprocessed as possible and it is not artificial.

2. Original authenticity: When something is an original design, the first of its kind and has never been seen by human eyes. It is neither a copy nor a mass product and it is something innovative that is discovered by someone.

3. Referential authenticity: When a product or activity refers to another context of history, for example a place, person or event and appeals to common desires and memories.

4. Exceptional authenticity: When something is exceptionally well done and if there is human involvement and sensitivity.

5. Influential authenticity: When it has a positive influence on people and their behaviour. It must be something that has meaning and leads to certain consequences.

2.2 Community Based Tourism

“CBT is tourism that takes environmental, social and cultural sustainability into account. It is managed and owned by the community, for the community, with the purpose of enabling visitors to increase the awareness and learn about the community and local ways of life” ( (REST 10 Principles, 1997)

In the context of the research, there are few principles of the community-based tourism distinguished using blue color, which indirectly relate to the problem of authenticity of Volendam.

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Ten principles of CBT:

1. Recognize, support and promote community ownership of tourism; 2. Involve community members from the start in every aspect;3. Promote community pride;4. Improve the quality of life; 5. Ensure environmental sustainability;6. Preserve the unique character and culture of the local area;7. Foster cross-cultural learning8. Respect cultural differences and human dignity;9. Distribute benefits fairly among community members10. Contribute a fixed percentage of income to community projects;

Those three principles help to evaluate the behavior of the stakeholders and their contribution when maintaining authenticity at the destination Volendam.

2.3 Inaccurateness of some models and theories.

After compiling with the field research, the perspective on looking at sources, shifted into the more focused approach.Our research group decided to concentrate exclusively only on such models or theories which would help to give resolutions to the sub questions, without extending the results to unnecessary extra information. In this way research results remain clear and easy to understand.

Following are the theories not included in the research, because of lack of strict relevance with particular sub questions:

- Three different types of authenticity in the tourism experience by Wang

Object related authenticity Activity related authenticity

Object authenticity: refers to the authenticity of originals. Correspondingly, authentic experience s in tourism are equated to an epistemological experience (i.e., cognition of the authenticity of original).

Existential authenticity: refers to a potential existential state of being that is to be activated by tourism activities. Correspondingly, authentic experiences in tourism are to achieve this activated existential state of Being within the luminal process of tourism. Existential authenticity can have nothing to do with the authenticity of the toured object.

Constructive (symbolic) authenticity: refers to the object by tourists or tourism producers in terms of their imagery, expectations, preferences, beliefs, powers, etc. there are various versions of authenticities regarding the same objects. Correspondingly, authentic experiences in tourism and the authenticity of toured objects are constitutive of one another. In this sense, the authenticity of toured object is in fact symbolic authenticity

Figure 3:Model of authenticity in tourism experience (Wang)

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Above model discusses three different perspectives of looking at the authenticity without the connection with the staged authenticity (the authenticity of the research group interest). It was hard to find any other links between this and other theories and models and besides that this model focuses on tourism experience specifically rather than the perspective of the different stakeholders.

- Brand- experience model Pine and Gilmore

The brand-experience model from Pine and Gilmore includes four domains: the entertainment, educational, aesthetic and escapist domain. Besides the four domains, there are also some spheres defined; passive participation, active participation, absorption and immersion. The model helps with creating categories of tourism experiences and that is why it is not of interest for the research. The research does not focus directly on defining different types of experiences but on authenticity.

Figure 4: Brand experience model (Gilmore, n.d)

- The SWOT-model

Primary the research team wanted to focus on the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Volendam. However after reviewing the objective over again, our project group decided to exclude it as it did not contribute to the validity of the research results.

Figure 5: SWOT analysis model (Toh, n.d.)

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Chapter 3 Research questions

In this chapter the main question and the sub questions are given. The answers to these questions have led to the achievement of the objective.

The main question is as follows:

What is the perception of the local entrepreneurs about the impact of the incoming Tourism on the authenticity of Volendam and how can this possibly be improved in the future?

The sub questions are as following:- What does authenticity of Volendam mean?- How do the local entrepreneurs think they can contribute to authenticity? - To what extend do the front stage and backstage differ from each other?- How do the local entrepreneurs think the authenticity of Volendam will develop in the future?

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Chapter 4 Methodology

4.1 Explanation of data sources

First of all, some desk research have been done about the city of Volendam to get some first impression about the destination before going there in person. The desk research is nothing else than getting information from the books, magazines or browsing information on- line. Most of our desk research is based on the information found via Internet (website of tourism board of Volendam, virtual travel guides) but also the academic books. Once the secondary data was collected through above-mentioned media, the field research could have been started with. In order to gather valid and reliable data that are relevant to our research questions and objective, the method which project group decided upon to collect the information was the interview. Primarily there was also another technique of gathering a data to be proceeded with- observations. Both: interviews and observations are the qualitative methods of research as they focus more on the quality of the information rather than the quantity, executing more personal, explanatory information unlike when using surveys. Nevertheless after the first visit to destination, it was decided limit the research only to the interviews as those provided sufficient amount of information. The observations- however not being a research method for the research team anymore- remained as a very individual way of getting impressions and ideas of Volendam

In fact, the research interview is a general term for several types of interview. In case of this particular research, semi-structured interview was the type, which constantly being implemented by research team. By doing the semi-structured interviews, the research team had a list of themes and questions to be covered which sometimes varied from interview to interview (Mark Saunders, 2009) and also allowing a respondent more freedom when giving the answers.

4.2 Any selection criteria used

The research group was interviewing the local entrepreneurs to ask them about the sub questions in order to know their opinions and the perceptions on issue of authenticity what would lead to achievement of the objective. All those entrepreneurs work in tourism and they are also part of the community of Volendam.

- VVV - volendamWe choose to interview the VVV office, because they have the direct information about the tourism in Volendam.

- City MuseumThe Volendam City Museum is very well recommended to visit, not only for tourists, but also for anyone who is interested to learn about Volendam city development throughout the ages.

- Hotels and hostels Old Dutch is one of the oldest hotels in Volendam, so they have witnessed changes and local tourism development.

- Photo shopThis photo shop is one of the most popular photo shops in Volendam. With a long history of photographing and well-organized business style, they have the first contact with the tourists.

- CafesThe cafes in the harbor of Volendam welcomed a large number of tourists every day. Each of them has a long history of tourism involvement.

- Souvenir shop

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Souvenir shops are one of the must haves in every tourism city, so the differences between Volendam and the other city are very interesting to find out.

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4.3 Limitations of the research

There were some limitations for the research, such as the language, time limit and also as a student identity. The research group was able to go to Volendam in person only one time, so all the questions had to be decided before even going there. Therefore it was hard to get a first impression for some of the research team members just from the desk research. Besides, some of the group members didn’t speak Dutch what brought about extra difficulties when analyzing interviews or even during the desk research phase- when looking for the articles. As a student not resident in Volendam, some group members don’t really feel the tradition and cultures in Volendam, so the team had a lot of research to do, in order to have a full version of this city.

4.4 Description of data collection methods and rationale

To plan the data collection and to collect data, those methods have been used:- Sampling - Secondary data- Observation- Semi-structured, in depth interviews

Then, to analyze data it was necessary to use both of these methods:- Qualitative methods, by doing observations- Qualitative methods, by doing interviews

But also getting the first insight into subject while collecting the secondary data (desk research)

A quantitative research is about numerical data more than narrative data. This approach consists of gathering mainly primary data through field research (Mark Saunders, 2009). The qualitative approach consists of the collection of secondary data through mainly desk research (Mark Saunders, 2009). This approach however was not relevant one when completing this particular research. Sufficient- to answer all the sub questions- amount of information was obtained from interviews only.

Therefore only qualitative data have been collected during this study. Primary data is data that has been found for this research. Secondary data is data that already has been found or analyzed for any other research (Mark Saunders, 2009). There are two ways to provide in desk research: (1) “providing background materials for primary research” and (2) “providing an alternative to do primary research”. The validity and reliability of collection methods for survey data is easier to assess when it has a clear explanation of the techniques used to collect the data. This required including a clear explanation of any sampling techniques used and response rates as well as a copy of the survey instrument, which in this case, were some interviews.

The study has been therefore moving towards the elaboration of some interviews. The interviews had to be highly formalized and structured by using standardized questions for each research participant, or otherwise they could also be informal and unstructured conversations. In between there are intermediate positions. One typology that is commonly used is thus related to the level of formality and structure, whereby interviews should be categorized as one of:

- Structured interviews;- Semi-structured interviews;- Unstructured or in-depth interviews.

Structured interviews use questionnaires based on a predetermined and ‘standardized’ set of questions, so the study was not about this kind of interviews, because its research category was more exploratory than explanatory. By comparison, the types: semi-structured and in-depth (unstructured) interviews are ‘non- standardized’. These are often referred to as ‘qualitative research interviews’. In semi-structured interviews the researcher had a list of themes and questions to be covered, although these have varied from interview to interview.

The order of questions varied depending on the flow of the conversation. On the other hand, additional or substitution questions have been required to explore the research question of the study and

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objectives given the nature of events within particular organizations. The study didn’t use unstructured interviews, because the research team did not want to put much limits on the responders when giving answers to the interview questions. In this situation, there is no predetermined list of questions to work through, although it’s necessary to have a clear idea about the aspect or aspects that you want to explore, so the questions were well elaborated.

The interviewee was given the opportunity to talk freely about events, behaviors and beliefs in relation to the topic area, for instance stories in relation to the topic of the question. This type of interaction is sometimes called ‘non-directive’ and the interviewees have extensively exploited it. To make a non-standardized interview, it was needed to interview people one to one, thanks to:

- Face-to-face interviews (principally)- Internet and intranet-mediated (electronic) interviews

To make a non-standardized interview, it should also be needed to interview people one to many, by organizing:

- Group interviews - Internet and intranet-mediated (electronic) interviews and then, focusing the group

4.5 Procedures

- To develop the study questions for the interviews with entrepreneurs, the report focused on its objective, its main question and most of all its’ sub-questions.

- To achieve the study goal, trying to answer the possible issue of Volendam, the study takes for granted that it have chosen right questions with an opportunity for interviewees to give an opened answer. Dialogue, between the interviewee and the study team was established concisely. All the questions were open and creating a conversation in which the interviewee was invited to share his or her views and opinions.

4.6 Number of interviewers

Primarily ten interviews proposed to be conducted. That amount was based on the desk research, project group had done during the research proposal phase, and corresponded strictly with the list of most interesting stakeholders of Volendam. However, in the later stage, project team decided to skip few of them, as the information, which would be gained through those interviews, did not seem relevant anymore. At the end eight interviews with all kinds of local entrepreneurs have been accomplished. The interviews were conducted mostly upon, agreed before, time. Only a few interviewees were approached without any appointments. In order to perform in most efficient way, the research team was divided into three small groups containing of one international student and one Dutch-speaking student.

4.7 Observers

When the study team went to discover and visit Volendam, especially its population and the local entrepreneurs, they were six people to observe different places during a typical day; for instance, observing: shops, restaurants, cafés, bars, house’s architecture, museum. In fact, where tourists use to go or see, and how authenticity is represented. By observing, then the team report was able to interpret the facts and situations they have seen by themselves, in their proper way of thinking. Without asking anything, it will may also perceive the impact of the tourism on the authenticity of Volendam and imagine a future situation that may preserve this authenticity. But it is conceivable that only notice in watching tourists or locals should not be the ‘truth’, because that must affect the personal perception. This leaded the team inevitably to the conclusion that it had to be careful in deducing correctly the things it will see, by taking notes, pictures and analyzing it structurally thanks to the knowledge but also then comparing with the interviewee’s answers.

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Financial meansRegarding the current finance and costs aspect, the team of the study spent, one time before going with the classmates, the cost of a train ticket to go to the train station ‘Amsterdam Central’ from the stop called ‘Overveen’ near to the Inholland University. The cost of this return trip was €8.80. Fortunately, in the Netherlands, when Erasmus students are with Dutch students, they can afford some discounts and so in this case, the return trip costs only €5,20. Then it was necessary to take a bus for reaching Volendam from Amsterdam. The return trip of this journey, cost €10 buying the ticket directly in the bus. Those costs were the main cost the working team had to spend to go there for the researches.

Infrastructure (computer software/ hardware)

To accomplish the study objective, infrastructures were necessary, such as:- Personal computers or the Inholland University’s computers;- Recorders, in order to facilitate the record of the interviews instead of writing everything down

during the entire procedure. Instead of that the transcripts were made later on.- Eventually, the study was not obliged to film them if they had a record of the interview, it was

enough to analyse the collect the data.

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Chapter 5 Results

5.1 Different perspectives on authenticity.

Authenticity is an abstract idea however many scientists, specialists, have been trying to face the challenge of defining this term in order to make it more physical. As mentioned in the chapter dedicated to theoretical framework, there are varied philosophies and points of view regarding the concept of authenticity.

Based on them and on personal knowledge and perception of the interviewees, it was possible to create a common understanding of the authenticity of Volendam.

Using a classification model of authenticity invented by Pine and Gilmore (Pine G. ), the authenticity of Volendam can be defined as following:

1. Natural authenticity . According to the museum representative H. Veerman, natural setting of Volendam remains unchanged or hardly touched by human hand. The changes related to the landscape have been limited to the minimum and only to those necessary ones. Volendammers seem to be living in harmony with nature. Nevertheless, throughout the history, they have had to face the caprice nature of their surrounding and prevent their households from cataclysms by building the dikes. The picture of dikes and the harbor, little typical houses and the church are until today to be captured when walking the town.

Figure 6VolendamseDijk (TCR Tours Nl) Figure 7 Traditional costume of Volendam (K, 2011)

2. Original authenticity . Most of the interviewees agreed that the Volendam colorfully handcrafted costumes including wooden shoes are the characteristic and one of the kind elements of the place, not to be met anywhere else in the country, not to say – in the World. However, nowadays, those cultural elements became rather a touristic attractor than the everyday causality, how it used to be in the past. Originality of the place reflects also on the culinary level. That is the Volendam where the smoked paling fish and variety of cheese is not to be tasted anywhere else but in this town.

3. Influential authenticity . According to Margriet Jong, the souvenir shop owner “Volendam (…) became known by the hardworking people, (..). Volendam was always on an isolated location so they have created their own identity. We have our own dialect (..). Because Volendam has managed to maintain this identity it became authentic.” Based on the words of the lady, can be concluded that the isolation of town, lead to creation of the unique Volendam dialect, shaped the identity of that region. The dialect and the identity, special character of the locals: stubbornness, competiveness, but at the same time- hard working, which Mrs. Karien from the

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Photoshop describes as an unique mentality of the Volendammers. All those factors create an exceptional vibe.

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5.2 Local entrepreneurs and their contribution

Concerning Jan Rab, the interviewee who’s running The Motje bar, the locals can contribute to authenticity in perpetuating wearing costumes, for example, he says: ‘when that old lady wears the costume, everybody rushes to her to make a picture’ and also: ‘We also have those tours of the VVV, with some guide from Volendam in the costumes’. (Rab, 2014)

Jan Rab extremely considers also the music that is played in Volendam, telling to the study: ‘the music is really important too’ and so many stories about the Volendam music that he used to play in the summer. (Rab, 2014) For him, the authenticity of Volendam is ‘the fishery, the music and the costumes also’ so it can be interpreted that Jan Rab thinks that those traditions should be retained as real and living elements. Then, concerning the Volendammer day, he also says ‘when everyone is walking around in costumes, you don’t want to know how busy it is with all those tourists’. (Rab, 2014)

All these criteria promote the community pride of Volendam and preserve the unique character and culture of the local area, which are principles of CBT defined previously.

Only ‘one or two persons’, as said by Jan Rab, still allow going out with an authentic fishing boat, which seems to be not enough according to the interviewee, but it’s because of the prohibition do this on a bigger scale. At the same time, the interviewee informs, in spite of everything, that ‘the eel smoking is one of the few things you can see something in and this is done at SmitBokkum’ (Rab, 2014). This is a good thing as well to perpetuate the authenticity of Volendam.

Moreover, he also talks about the Volendammers, the community of Volendam in fact telling that ‘The tourists need to adapt to ‘us’, but the Volendammer people don’t adapt themselves to the tourism. And that is not good’. (Rab, 2014)

Thus, the study can interpret this answer as at least a moderate problem in Volendam that takes time, effort and cooperation on the part of all parties to resolve; especially the Volendammers who should adapt to the tourism, according Jan Rab. This reflects the principle of recognizing, supporting and promoting community ownership of tourism.

But besides that, ‘there are also guides, who join the groups. We have here in Volendam also ‘Volendam Events’, who organizes horse tours, puzzle tours and tours through Volendam and he shows all kinds of things as well’ (Rab, 2014). So, this shows that a lot of events are organized in Volendam to maintain its authenticity by developing animations. Of course, the Volendam museum must be mentioned. It has been renovated and modernized this year. Jan Rab 'sends them (the tourists) to the museum. Not particularly for the museum, but in the museum there is the cigar band house’ (Rab, 2014)

Now, regarding Kees the bartender of the café de Dijk, he said that only people from Volendam work in his enterprise (Kees, 2014). He wants his company keeps focus on the local people of Volendam, as he told ‘for example with local holidays, we are focusing on the local people of Volendam’ (Kees, 2014). Therefore, what he uses to do is dealing with authenticity by employing local people and following the ‘rules’ of Volendam, like the vacations. Consequently, he’s contributing to maintain authenticity in Volendam. Rees has as well reported that there is also the photo shop (Kees, 2014). So that, tourists can take a picture in an originally costume of Volendam (Kees, 2014). This promotes the principle of CBT concerning the community pride and also the preservation of the unique character and culture of Volendam.

Jan Zwartewoud, from the Hotel called Old Dutch, supported the view of Jan Rab the bartender, concerning the fishery and more specifically the fishing boats by informing the study that luckily there

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are still some people who care about these boats (Zwartewoud, 2014). Old Dutch;, as a company help with that as well. They donate some money sometimes, to keep those fishing boats sailing (Zwartewoud, 2014).

To conclude, some of the local entrepreneurs contribute to authenticity by perpetuating some traditions such as:

- Wearing costumes (from times to times) and allowing tourists to wear it for making a picture- Playing the Volendam music (at least for the Volendam day)- The fishery (and show to the tourists how the entrepreneurs smoke the eels)- Keep the harbor in its condition, including the fishing boats- Employing some local people in their enterprises

So those many things that define the authenticity of Volendam, the local entrepreneurs try to maintain and develop them by dealing with them very well. They used to live with their traditions, they like it and they want to perpetuate it. All the three principles helping to evaluate the behavior of the stakeholders and their contribution when maintaining authenticity in Volendam are used and showed in this result about the contribution of authenticity by the local entrepreneurs.

5.3 Front vs. back stage

By analysing the interviews, the local entrepreneurs think the front stage of tourism in Volendam is mostly about the traditional costumes. These are labelled as the biggest attraction of tourism in Volendam. When Margriet who worked at the souvenir shop by the harbour was asked if she wears the traditional costume, she said: “I only wear this at work if required and the young generation does the same too.” People who wear their costumes for the tourists are normally working in tourism industries. (Jonk, 2014) Karien, the owner of the photo shop by the harbor also admit that the costumes in Volendam play a very important part to attract the tourism. She said tourists come to Volendam because of the authenticity. It is a positive thing because the tourism companies can get benefit from the tourism which is authenticity and the local people can also benefit from this. (Karien, 2014)During the day of interviews, the research group got the chance to interview the manager in the museum who was actually wearing the traditional costume. She explained that the personnel who work in the cafe and restaurant wear the costumes to please the tourists. But in the museumthey are trying to maintain the old elements in the museum so that everyone can see how and why people wear the costumes. (L.Eeckhout, 2014)

Kees, a young generation of 25 years-old bartender in Dijk Café gave a different answer about the front stage and back stage. He thought the tourism in Volendam is a little bit fake because of the costumes are only be worn to attract the tourists. He can’t even tell the difference between front stage and back stage. There are about 20 old people in the town wear the costumes every day but there is maybe an economy purpose. (Kees, 2014)

Margriet also mentioned that not everyone wear the costume to please the tourists but for their own pleasure.(also here you can put a quote out of the interview)And they can be regarded as a part of the show passively. The famous festival Volendammerdag as a back stage of tourism here is not specially for the tourists but also for Volendammers, in fact the tourists find this festival very interesting as a tradition event. Volendammers still keep some old traditions such as every Friday people eat beetroot and fish at home. The museum staffs try to teach the young generation how to make the traditional costume before it distinct. (Jonk, 2014)

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According to the Real Fake Matrix model by Pine and Gilmore, the authenticity in Volendam is in a stage of Fake-Real. It is in one hand fake because the costumes is not worn by everyone but in the other hand the costumes are really traditional and existed for a very long time.

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5.4 Future developments

There are three types of future improvement could have done according to the local entrepreneurs.

- Inheritance the traditional costumes: The owner of the souvenir shop Margriet hopes there will be a change that when people have a costume at home that they can wear it during the tourist season for a little bit money so that they can show it to the tourists. Now they only wear it at Volendammerdag once a year. She was afraid that the costumes will disappear and become useless if no one wears it anymore. If the costumes only be displayed in the museum, the authenticity will be less than nowadays. (Jonk, 2014) Almost every local entrepreneur shows the inquietude about the costumes that will be disappeared. The staff of the museum hopes that the young generation can inheritance the old traditions. (L.Eeckhout, 2014) The owner of the Old Dutch hotel also thinks it will be a shame that people won’t see those costumes anymore. So it might be great to have some schools to teach people how to make these costumes. Local community or the city council can organize some traditional event to get everyone motived dressing up. (Zwartewoud, 2014)

- Safety of traffic: Karien as the owner of the photo shop by the harbor was very worried about the traffic in Volendam especially by the harbor. When the tourists are coming to Volendam, they arrive by bus which brings the tourists as close as they can. As there are already cars can drive through the street face of harbor, it is very dangerous for the big bus pass through. She was told that there is a vote for this organized by the local entrepreneurs and the government. It will be great if they can forbid the big travel bus pass through the street but as a walking street, so that the tourists can enjoy more the time of the lovely street in a quiet and safe atmosphere. (Karien, 2014)

- Remain old traditions :The fishing industry in Volendam was very famous in the old days, for example the smoking eel was one of the traditions here. But now there is only one man who is still doing it. Due to lack of time and financial support, the fishing boat can’t be used to display to the tourists. Fortunately, there are two boats are being innovated by some volunteers of boat-lovers. (Zwartewoud, 2014)The local entrepreneurs are willing to provide more attractions but tourists who come with the travel bus just focused to take a picture and then go to souvenir shop. Local entrepreneurs hope to find out a way to remain the old traditions for the tourism but also for the local people. He also mentioned that the city council are trying to build a new shopping center here but have to break some old houses down which is a very pity thing. (Rab, 2014) In the meantime, local people should give more information about the street, more histories about the eel or fishing. Traditions are getting forgotten by people. (Zwartewoud, 2014)

What the local entrepreneurs hope is going to the next level of authenticity is that what is related to the “True cultural heritage” by Levels of Cultural Penetration based on theories of Cohen (1988). The true cultural heritage of the host society maintains its integrity by keeping tourists on the other side of the firewall curtain. (Cooper, Tourism Principles and Practice, 1988) The traditional costumes and habits have to be inheritance but not only in a way of financial mean.

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Chapter 6 Conclusion

The interviews were really helpful in finding answers regarding the situation around authenticity in Volendam. Beforehand some sub questions were made up to answers the big question that this whole project was about. That main question stated:

‘What is the perception of the local entrepreneurs about the impact of the incoming Tourism on the authenticity of Volendam and how can this possibly be improved in the future?’

The answer that was looked for was to be answered with the information we would get from the sub questions, which in their turn were answered by the interviews held. These were the sub questions:

- What does authenticity of Volendam mean?- How do the local entrepreneurs think they can contribute to authenticity?- How big are the differences between the front stage and back stage in Volendam? (what the

entrepreneurs show- what it really is)- How does the local entrepreneurs think the authenticity of Volendam will develop in the

future?

When looking at what authenticity meant – regarding sub question one– for the Volendammers and in what way this authenticity was kept, a division of different aspects needs to made. The most important of those aspects is the traditional costumes. The opinion of the interviewees was pretty clear on that case, namely that the tourists came all the way to Volendam to experience what is would be like to arrive in a town where things didn’t really change much over the course of time. Unfortunately it became clear that the costumes lost their traditional, authentic value when it comes to causality. It shifted to the touristic side of authenticity, serving to be an attractor for both interested foreigners and Dutchmen.

Besides that really important factor, the fishery and original boats come right after it. Culinary wise the town kept their authentic way of cooking, and especially smoking the eel. Also cheese still plays a big role in this. As for the boats, the original image of the harbor kind of deteriorated over the years, mainly because there aren’t much old, authentic boats left.

Another factor that exists, though is a less present way, is the dialect of the town. The tourists haven’t got a lot to do with this, because the Dutch language is fairly exotic overall for them.The most positive thing coming from one of the interviewees was that the landscape of Volendam luckily remained like it was. That is something that is important for the visitors, knowing that they arrive somewhere authentic.

In many occasions, there is a difference in what the tourists get to see – called front stage – and what the local population actually still does to keep the authenticity alive – called back stage. This regards sub questions three, and what the interviews pointed out, was merely positive. Namely, the ‘show’ they put up for the tourists isn’t any different from the personal show they put up every day, called life. Maybe because the local population of Volendam was really anxious at keeping this difference as small as it could be, maybe because the tourists actually visit the town where the people still live, showing them nothing more than what they do on a daily basis. Either way, this information was a positive development during the project. Of course, it is a unavoidable to see that the costumes aren’t really present in the community anymore, but the local inhabitants do not go out of their way to show things to tourists that aren’t real. So, it’s more a matter of why the authentic ways of living in Volendam are slowly disappearing, than why authentic ways of living are being created for tourists only.

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Chapter 7 Recommendations The core of the project was to look at the local entrepreneurs and their opinion. These opinions gave the chance to give a few recommendations – together with answering sub question four. Like seen in the Results chapter, all the possible improvements involve the local people of Volendam. So not only the local entrepreneurs, but especially the local inhabitants need to get involved. Of course, the local entrepreneurs contribute – regarding sub question two– in several ways to keeping up the authenticity, like Mr. Zwartewoud from Old Dutch does with offering all kinds of interactive, authentic meals in his restaurant, like Mr. Veerman does with his museum and like (according to Jan Rab) SmitBokkum does in the factory-like restaurant offering workshops. But the locals took place a big role in the ideas of the interviewees, which were focused on:

- Wearing costumes (from times to times) and allowing tourists to wear it for making a picture. Obviously, this could be done by a part of the (maybe older) inhabitants of Volendam

- Playing the Volendam music- The fishery, show to the tourists how the entrepreneurs smoke the eels- Keep the harbor in its condition, including the fishing boats. Locals are able to put more effort

into this.- Employing some local people in their enterprise- Organizing events to get people motivated to dress in the original costumes- Have more safety in the town, especially regarding the tour buses that are crossing the town

daily. The local people can put more attention on for example the vote that has been organize, to make Volendam safer.

These points are the main ideas that the interviewed entrepreneurs of Volendam offered. It might be useful to implement one or more of these plans. The authenticity of Volendam will certainly be improved when this is done, mainly because of the great expertise these entrepreneurs have. Daily they experience how it is to live and work in Volendam, in both the local and the tourist industry. Through last decades these experiences eventually added up, creating a clear answer for the main question of this project. But more importantly, as long as the opinions and ideas of these entrepreneurs are being taken into account, this town will have a long and prosper future.

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Chapter 8 Bibliography

Books and reports

Cooper. (1988). Tourism principles and practice .

Gilmore, P. (n.d).

Hodes, S., Querl, B., & Geerdink, L. (2011). Quick scan toerisme Edam-Volendam. Amsterdam: LAGroup.

MacCannell, D. (1976). The tourist.

Mark Saunders, P. L. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. In P. L. Mark Saunders.

Miralda, C. F. (2010). Volendam behind the scenes.

Pine, G. Authenticity: What consumers really want.

(1997). REST 10 Principles.

Wang. Taxonomy of three different types of authenticity in the tourism experience.

Runderkamp, W. (Performer). (2008). Wethouder wil toeristen naar Volendam. Volendam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

Websites

Csapo, J. (n.d.). The Role and Importance of Cultural Tourism in Modern Tourism Industry. Retrieved from http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/35715.pdf

Gemeente Volendam. (2013, 13 31). Cijfers en feiten. Retrieved 02 26, 2014, from Gemeente Volendam: http://nos.nl/audio/9535-wethouder-wil-wil-toeristen-naar-volendam.html

Joseph, K. d. (n.d). Volendam, "Pearl of the Zuiderzee". Retrieved from http://goamsterdam.about.com/od/Day-Trips-North-Holland/p/Volendam-Pearl-Of-The-Zuiderzee.htm.

K, R. (2011, 11 18). Folk costume& embroidery. Retrieved from olkcostume.blogspot.nl/2011/11/costume-of-volendam-north-holland.html.

Steiner, C. J., & Reisinger, Y. (2006). Understanding existential authenticity. Elsevier , 33 (2), 299-318.

TCR Tours Nl. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tcr-tours.nl/dagje-uit/bedrijfsuitje/trip/178/volendam-op-zijn-best

Toh, K. G. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.123rf.com/photo_9342861_swot-analysis-business-strategy-management-process-whiteboard-diagram-illustration.html

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Ulinski, M. (2011, 04 20). Cultural Sensitivity, Frontstage vs Backstage. Retrieved 02 27, 2014, from Outbound with Matt Ulinski: http://mattulinski.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/cultural-sensitivity-frontstage-vs-backstage/

Volendamse Klederdracht. (n.d.). Retrieved 02 26, 2014, from Palingsoap: http://www.palingsoap.com/volendam_klederdracht.html

vvv-volendam. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.vvv-volendam.nl/nl/welcome/

Interviews

Jonk, M. (2014, 3 17).

Karien. (2014, 3 17). (J. &Kexin, Interviewer)

Kees. (2014, 3 17). (Jolien, Interviewer)

Kees. (2014). Volendam.

L.Eeckhout, H. (2014, 3 17). (Job, Interviewer)

Rab, J. (2014, 3 17). (Job, Interviewer)

Rab, J. (2014). Volendam.

Zwartewoud, J. (2014, 3 17). (Job, Interviewer)

Zwartewoud, J. (2014, March). (J. Spits, Interviewer) Volendam.

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Appendix

1 Interview questions

We are students from the Inholland University of Applied Sciences located in Haarlem. As a part of our differentiation minor - Community Based Tourism- we were asked to do a research on the destination Volendam. Our research objective is:


We would like to ask you for your contribution and sharing your knowledge and expertise, which would help us in our investigation of the topic. Therefore we prepared this interview, which will not take more than 20 minutes. If you agree, my colleague will record the entire interview what will help us later to analyse all the information collected. We suggest you to give us as much extensive and honest answers as possible in order to support reliability of our research and its usefulness for other relevant stakeholders.

Let’s start with some general questions: 1. What are your professions and responsibilities?2. When did you start working at your company?3. Is it a family business?4. Is the company originally from Volendam?5. Do you live in Volendam?

As you probably had noticed, the authenticity is a main issue of our research, we would like to ask you some more questions related to that aspect. Thus:

1. What does authenticity mean according to you?

2. How do you deal with the authenticity as a local entrepreneur?

3. How is authenticity affected by tourism?

4. Is that positive or negative?

5. Have you ever heard about the terms: front stage vs. back stage, but in relation to authenticity? Could say something about that in the context of Volendam?

6. What do you think tourists want to see in Volendam throughout the year?If the answer is costumes: Do you wear a traditional costume yourself? When?

7. Are new ‘authentic’ elements created to please the tourists in some way? If yes, what are they?

8. Are the authentic elements of Volendam being presented in the correct way? Could you argument your answer?

9. What would you consider as a reality or a stimulation in the context of Volendam?

10. What would you eventually improve in your tourism services so the way of presenting Volendam would remain authentic (or even more authentic)?

11. Where do you see possible future challenges in maintaining authenticity in tourism in the context of Volendam?

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Thank you for your time. If you are interested, we will be more than willing to share our results with you after finalizing the research (ask him or her for the e-mail).

2 Labels

Red: Meaning of authenticityBlue: Contributing to authenticityGreen: Front stagePink: Back stageYellow: Development in the futurePurple: TraditionsGrey: CostumesDark blue: Impact tourists

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3 Interview Café Motje

Place: Café MotjeName: Jan RabKind of entrepreneur: Café

Job: To begin with an equal understanding of things, I would like to ask you what you this authentic means, in relation to Volendam?

Jan: Okay, so my experience? Well that is then the fishery, the music and the costumes also. Only thing is that we don’t see a lot of it anymore. Only if you come here once a year with Volendammer dag, then everybody, or around 80% wears the costumes.

Job: Is that the only day?Jan: Yes. Then on that day the music is really important too. Also the old fishing boats you see in

the harbor. And what in my eyes really authentic is, I don’t know if it only is for Volendam, are the boat races, like the potato race. Then you see all the special fishing boats (botters, tjalken) and that is a lot of fun. That also comes back and that is something from the past of course. That attracts a lot of people.

Job: And on all the aspects you just told me, how do you deal with those as an entrepreneur? How are you getting involved?

Jan: Well that, that is a little weird with us. We are behind the dike, namely. And the tourism is on the dike itself, together with the church and the maze and those are the touristic attractions. The dike, maze and everything behind that is collateral. Tells something about the shop. Everything behind the dike is bouncing with the rest of it. With a day like the Volendammer day, the whole dike is full, but only a little comes here. We have to have it from the old customers and the football, but from tourism, then it has to be really busy in the city. And what we did have, is a lot of musical hypes, including the Cats and later BZN etc.

Job: You don’t really see that these kind of things are being influenced by the tourism industry?Jan: Well, I don’t think so. What do you mean by ‘influenced’?Job: What an example could be is Cusco. I tell him something about the influence of tourism on the

authentic elements in Cusco.Jan: Okay, what I’m missing here is the costumes. People are coming here for these traditional

costumes and also for the fishery. Well, have a look in the harbor, there are maybe two or three original boats left, but nothing more. So they don’t have to come for that anymore.Well, there is not a person in an authentic costumes, maybe one or two old ladies in some restaurant serving the food. And when that old lady wears the costume, everybody rushes to her to make a picture.If I go and put on my costume and I walk over the dike, then I can take a picture with everyone, so to say. And that is something that I’m missing. And a consequence is that people don’t really want to wear those costumes anymore.Because, when walking over the dike, literally everybody wanted a photograph and then they couldn’t continue. Well I don’t really like it. We also have those tours of the VVV, with some guide from Volendam in the costumes, and yes, that is what I like. People come here for the costumes. And the funny thing is that they make a picture of the costumes.

Job: That is really important to them, right?Jan: Yeah, totally. And then in the summer, I always play the Volendam music. Another story about

music! Possibly important thing that the man says here is that Volendam is a real close community and you don’t intrude really easy as a newcomer.

Job: Okay, so you see that there is a really close community here.Jan: Yes, indeed. And they want to have a lot of tourists, and they want to be rich, but they don’t

want to do a lot for this.Job: Ok. So they don’t want to adapt, is that what you mean?Jan: Yeah, indeed. The tourists need to adapt to ‘us’, but the Volendammer people don’t adapt

themselves to the tourism. And that is not good. But that is easy for me, because I’m not an original Volendammer, I married a Volendammer and live here for 12 years now with my own business.

Job: What do you think could be a reason that the Volendam community is such a closed one?Jan: I couldn’t think of something to be honest. It is maybe something human. But people from

Volendamare pretty headful in doing things their own way. I have to say that they are good in what they do, but they immediately say that another person couldn’t do it. And you can’t say that! Some more stories about music.

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Job: Alright, let’s go back to what we were talking about. What I would like to ask you, with a little explanation (then I explain something about front stage and back stage to the man), is if you notice if there is a difference between those two in some way, when speaking about the traditional costumes then?

Jan: Well, of course it is beautiful, but not one young girl wears that anymore, neither the boys.Job: What could be a reason for that do you think?Jan: Well, firstly it is pretty heavy clothing. In the past days, we didn’t have a lot else than that and

you needed to wear it. But these days the kids have their own will and they won’t wear it. Go to some shop and try to feel how heavy such a costume is. That is not something from this time. In this case, I can understand. But it is still a shame, because it still is our ‘business card’ (what attracts people to Volendam).

Job: But is that something that tourism created?(He misunderstands me here)Jan: Well, yes of course. The ‘klomp’, and the costumes, those are things that made Volendam a

big thing. That is what I think at least. And look at the postcards of Volendam, it is the harbor or the costumes on there. So that is that. And then if you come to Volendam, empty harbor with no fishing boats and no one in costumes, well yeah then I think, what is the reason you’re coming here?

Job: Clear answer, thank you. That the next question is answered as well: what do people want to see when they come to Volendam? That is mostly the costumes, the boatsand the harbor.

Jan: A good niche in the market here was the idea of getting tourists on a picture in costume. There was only one before, but now there are six I think. But then, honestly, you paid 25 gulden in the past and then after two weeks you got that picture send to your home. And now you get the whole deal for a lot less and you have the photo immediately.

Job: Okay, thank you.Jan: But yes, to come back at the Volendammer day, when everyone is walking around in

costumes, you don’t want to know how busy it is with all those tourists. Right now, there is not a lot to do in Volendam. People from Japan, China etc. come here and then there is nothing! That is not good, of course and they won’t return anymore.

Job: That could be a big improvement for the future.Jan: Yes, certainly. How, I wouldn’t know.Maybe you ought to organize some sort of club of people

who just,group by group, just walk throughthe harbor in costumes, when it is good weather. Even if it were ten people per day, so that the unknown people will see them and say ‘HEY, a Volendam costume!’ I don’t know how many exactly, but there are two or three wooden fishing boats being made. They’re in the harbor………….. He gets distracted by a big bumblebee. So they are lying in the harbor right now, with these beautiful sails, and that is what the people are coming here for.

Job: Are those sailing as well or not?Jan: Well yes, sometimes with the Volendammer day, they go out to sail on the lake.Job: Would there be something possible, to go out with an authentic fishing boat?Jan: Yes, there are one or two persons who do that. You have to make an appointment in advance.

But those people from China and Japan, they won’t be offered these kind of things. When they come with a travelling party here, that is not included in the package. They arrive with a bus, they can walk around the dike once and then they’re being lured into some souvenir shop to buy something. Then within half an hour they’re in the bus again. So that is not good. And they don’t really see, in my experience, what they want to see. I’d rather have people coming here for a day, who wander around the harbor and the dike, who visit the church, go to the maze and go to the museum. And what also a thing is in Volendam, is the eel. The catching of eel has diminished a lot.

Job: Because it is prohibited to do this on a bigger scale, right?Jan: Yes, it is a lot less. But the eel smoking is one of the few things you can see something in and

this is done at SmitBokkum. He tells something about it all, you can see everything, he shows how they’re cleaned and how they’re smoked and you can taste something as well.

Job: So there is a possibility, but there is only one of them?Jan: Yes, there is only one. There is another, from which I don’t even know if he smokes, but you

can’t take a look there. Job: And that could be improved, do you think?Jan: That would be good if you can show that to Volendam. Because that is Volendam!In my eyes,

the people do come here for that. If you would promote… if I would promote Volendam in China, what do you have to say then? You can not only talk about music, you have to say, yes Volendam, it is a beautiful village at the Ijsselmeer (the big lake), known from the

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Zuiderzeewere the eel are beingfished with the botters(fishing boats), the original costumes, wooden shoes and name it! And then they come here but they have to know about it, because otherwise they come for nothing and say, yes this man has told some nonsense to us before! Right?

Job: Good, that is a clear answer that will be useful to us. Let’s see, I wanted to ask something about – I don’t know if you can answer, doesn’t matter if you cannot do that – whether there are certain ‘authentic’ things or elements being created to please tourists in some kind of way?

Jan: Authentic… Well then you have the Volendammer museum, there you can see how Volendam is etc.(the man misunderstands me again totally)

Job: Yes you can see there how authentic Volendam is. There has been some changes this year again, right?

Jan: Yes, and it is only about Volendam. And about the costumes, says something I can’t understand, about the fishery, and since not too long you have UniekVolendam in the football stadium of FC Volendam and that is fun as well. I didn’t see it myself, I still have to go.

Job: Yes, we wanted to go as well today, but they were closed unfortunately. Jan: But that is really good, yes. I heard that it is really beautiful. It only is there for a year now, so it

still is a little bit new. But if people come here and ask me what to do, I always send them to UniekVolendam, because I hear that it is really nice. I also send them to the museum. Not particularly for the museum, but in the museum there is the cigar band house(a small room with a lot of decorations made from cigar bands). Tells something about that cigar band house and that when he was 10, the cigar band house made a big impression on him. So yes, if people come here, I say, you have to go there, that is a nice experience. And I sometimes to go the museum and that just is a really beautiful thing. That is very neat. And then besides that is the VVV and they send the tourists everywhere. There are also guides, who join the groups. We have here in Volendam also ‘Volendam Events’, who organizes horse tours, puzzle tours and tours through Volendam and he shows all kinds of things as well. That is a good development, because that is someone who does something for it. He also comes here sometimes, tells something about the café. He also organizes Volendammer lessons, Volendammer courses. You know. Just like my daughter. Tells something about Volendammer accent, he can’t really speak it but he understands it. The guy from Volendam Events organizes lessons to make people acquainted with this accent, I like that.

Job: That is indeed a nice development. Ehhh, let’s see, I type something from the conversation.Jan: There is a lot more to be taken out of Volendam. But like I said before, if we look at the

catering. There are about thirty catering entrepreneurs who have a meeting once a year. In the meeting they all agree with each other, but once they are out of the front door they dislike each other again. They are never at one level. They say that they do, and they try to do it, but they still don’t. That is something really authentic in Volendam. I don’t mind it anymore, I tried it a lot, to do it like this and this, but it is only self-interest. Gives example from the past, that when he came to Volendam, the people kind of hated him for ‘intruding’ in their community, and even made bets on how long he would stay etc. So when it is weekend, I’ve got a lot to do.

Job: And do you have a lot to do with tourism?Jan: Yes, I have a lot of tourists here. When the weather is good, I open the doors and the terrace

and then there is folk! Now, I don’t go open because there are too few people. Like I said, there has to be a lot of people on the dike and then they slowly come this way. Tells something about wind, sun and beautiful view of the lake.

Job: Well, thank you for all the answers. I guess I asked all of my important questions. Maybe just one more, regarding about what kind of threats you see for the authenticity, Volendam, tourism etc. where something might go wrong sometime?

Jan: Yeah, that is the, that is the ravages of time. I think. That is just like I said, the youngsters don’t put the costumes on anymore. Like me, tells something about music and his mother and him being a DJ right now. What the thing is, the time goes a little bit too fast for Volendam, Volendam can’t keep up anymore. Like the city council. They wanted to break down the whole shopping center there is right now and they want to build a really big new center, with C&A and V&D etc. Take down some old houses and make that. How crazy are you when that are your plans? Leave it be. The best would be to break down the shopping center, make some new houses there and place a shopping center somewhere else. The thing is, there is not much old stuff left here in Volendam, so if you take away all the old stuff and place new stuff for it instead, where are the people coming here for then? Take a stroll around the dike, all the old houses are being changed to (points at some houses across the street which look like the

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houses in Amsterdam) those houses, you know. That is not something for Volendam, then you can also just stay in Amsterdam. Look, a real authentic old Volendammer house, you won’t findthose anymore. Maybe I can point four out to you of which you can see, well, let’s have a look at that because that is exactly how Volendam was in the past. But it is not possible anymore, because, who wants to buy those kinds of things? You won’t buy an old kitchen, with wooden doors… you go with the time. The present and the future make place for the past (I think he meant it the other way around though..). it is fun and good that things change… mumbles something inaudible again… you don’t need to talk about the past all the time, and that is the way it is, let’s be honest. You have to look in the future. Then you have to organize fun things… In the past I had some guy who told me, make some sort of board with a picture of some Volendammers. Then take the heads off and take it to the street and then the people can hang their heads behind the board for a picture. And I did that! Really fun, a man and woman and children. I was standing right there and I made about 1000 gulden (former Dutch currency) per day. And then the city council send me away, didn’t like it at all. Tells some more about things he spoke off before…You have to make something fun out of it for the people and that is something that I miss here! Those are really small things, where the people come for in the end.

Job: Well, I think we have our answers. Recording stops.

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4 Interview Old Dutch

Place: Old DutchName: Jan ZwartewoudKind of entrepreneur: Hotel and restaurant

Job: What do you think authenticity means in relation to Volendam?Jan: Authenticity, well, that is in my vision how it was in the past, right?Job: Yes, you can see it like that. Do you think, like how it was in the past, that that is the same or

that there has been a big change in this?Jan: Well, yes there have been big changes of course, which are not like they were in the past. And

that is, well those changes… like there is not much traditional costumes any more. There are not a lot of fisherman any more. And yeah, there are no wooden houses like there were in the past.

Job: Alright, so those wooden houses were there before?Jan: Yeah, sure they were here in Volendam.Job: Okay. And if you have to relate this to your own company, which authentic elements in the

community jump out, with which you deal daily?Jan: Costumes. And fish, the fishermen.Job: And how does that look, talking about these two points, costumes and fishery, how has that

been changed by tourism? Do you see that tourism had a hand in that?Jan: Well, eh if tourism had a hand in that.The course of time just had a big influence in the

changes. People become more modern. The costumes, Volendam became known, well yeah I don’t know how long ago (hundreds of years ago), because of these costumes. Because it looked very good. And yes, slowly after the ’70, that vanished from the scenery kind of. Because the clothing, the fabric wasn’t there any more, people that could make it died, that sort of things. So until today there is maybe only one workgroup who teaches in the making of Volendammer costumes.

Job: Lessons? Could you tell me more about it?Jan: Well, that is what you get when people are interested, they get lessons in making the clothes.

That is a hard thing to do, absolutely.Job: Is it like a workshop for tourists, who come here to get lessons in costumes for like a day?Jan: No, certainly not. That takes a really long time.Job: Is it possible to get tourist to come here to look at how the costumes are being made?Jan: Yeah, something can be made up for that.TheVolendammer museum does those kind of

things, they are busy to set things like that up and to show in the museum how that worked in former times. How it has been knitted and things like that. Tourists would like to see that. It is a shame that nothing is happening for that anymore.

Job: Indeed it is.Jan: Yes, and I hoped that all those elderly people (I call them hanging old people, who walk here

on the dike, making up gossips etc., laughs about it), that those people, and well the city council as well, create a certain budget for that. To make those people go and put on the Volendammer costumes and walk around the dike. But they don’t do that.

Job: They don’t.. Is that the fault of the city council or do you think that it is a lack of people who want to do that?

Jan: Yes, that is a lack of people who want to do that. They don’t go wearing a suit, walking happily on the dike to show themselves, pure for entertainment. They don’t do that.

Job: What is the reason for that? Is that the Volendam stubbornness? Jan: Yeah absolutely.Job: So you think that is now something you can change easily?Jan: No, you can forget about that (laughs).Job: Is there no way to do that, or do you think there is? Or maybe, in what aspect would there be a

way to solve this, do you think?Jan: Well, you could talk with those people. You can organize an evening and hope that people

come. Then you can ask them, well, how this works and maybe if they want to do that? That could be an idea to get this whole things back.And another thing is the catering (e.g. bars, pubs, hotels, restaurants all together), like us, to join those ideas. That is another way of showing the costumes, you know.

Job: Like you do on the ‘Volendammer day’?

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Jan: Yeah exactly. But yeah it isn’t, you can’t work in a costume like that.Job: Because it is too warm or to clumsy?Jan: Yes, it is way too heavy, it is stupid. And with the Volendammer day we do it one time and

then we have the experience that it looks beautiful, in the church and all. But if you wear that during work… we’ve had times that is was about 30 degrees Celsius outside and that doesn’t make you happy at all. That is just too hot.

Job: I can imagine. That is just majeure of course.Jan: Yes, you can’t change a thing about that. Job: Alright, but it is indeed something for the tourists, they have to drink something and they come

to the catering. That is a way to show it. Is that done here in Volendam, except for here in this restaurant and on the Volendammer day, or is that very petty?

Jan: Well, e.g. in Hotel Spaander they still do it, they dress in Volendammer costumes.Job: All the time?Jan: Yes, as far as I know. The ladies there dress in original clothing.Job: Okay. But besides that and the museum?Jan: Yes, in the retirement house there would be some people in costumes.Job: Okay, they sit there in the original clothing?Jan: Yes.Job: But that is of course not something that has the possibility to become a touristic attraction, I

would say.Jan: No surely not. That is not something that would make you happy. Well maybe in the normal

retirement home, but on the other ‘special’ unit…… laughsJob: Hehe. But, okay, that is very petty, speaking of the costumes.Jan: Yes it surely is.Job: Alright, let’s have a look at what I want to skip because of your time limit. What I would like to

ask you, with a little explanation (then I explain something about front stage and back stage to the man), is if you notice, not only in your case, but in the whole of Volendam, if there is a difference between those two in some way?

Jan: Eh, well no I don’t think so..What we do here is pretty original still, which is the preparation of food, among others. In the restaurant.We do that the authentic way, we still sell the dishes that the fishermen invented. Then he tells something about food etc., not interesting for the research. That means that until today the dishes at Old Dutch are being prepared originally. That is how it’s done in our restaurant. What we do is that when tourists want to have some lunch, we have a menu in which they can peel their own shrimp. They don’t know how that is done and then we serve them with the shield and skin still on that that, yes, we show them how that was done in the past. Like a workshop and that they can peel their own shrimp. That is really funny to see how people react to it. Tells another uninteresting story about Chinese people in the restaurant and other things like food.

Job: So that is an original way of filling in the blanks, giving these workshops?Jan: Yes, that is our own way of doing things.Job: Do you see other places, like Old Dutch, in Volendam where they do these kind of things?Jan: As far as I know, we do it and they also do it in Hotel Spaander, if there is a request for it.

Then there are the dance groups (in Spaander), who clothe themselves in costumes and do a dance and made a cool kind of program, to make it attractive to the tourists.

Job: And things like that, does that stay authentic?Is there something that is done to make it more pleasing for the tourists?

Jan: No, no. It isn’tsupposed to becomea commercial things, you know, eh eheh, thatis, no totally not the meaning. It has to stay original!

Job: Indeed, that is what it is all about!Jan: That is the fun things about it, indeed. The thing I would like to do most is get the tourists in an

apron. We can’t do that of course, but those are fun things. And that is the same with the fishing boats (they are called botters), that are still in the harbor.

Job: Yes?Jan: Luckily there are still some people who care about these boats. Us as a company help with

that as well. We donate some money sometimes, to keep those fishing boats sailing.Job: According to my interview with ‘Motje’, they said that there were plans to put some of those

boats in the harbor, not for sailing, but that the tourists can just have a look at them.Jan: I do know anything about that, what I do know is that there are about four boats and those are

being renovated, repainted and everything on the original authentic manner. Those boats are about 100 years old, and all made of wood. But those have to be renovated and that costs a

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lot of money. But that luckily has happened by the hands of love of volunteers. That is a lot of fun.

Job: Yes we indeed see that a lot that volunteers help with these kind of things. Just like in the museum.

Jan: Yes and the tourists see that too and they like it. But they need to be pointed at these kind of things. They see the boats and they think, what could that be exactly? Sometimes we get asked about the boats and then we want to explain it to them. Well, you have ‘kwakken’, ‘botters’ and more of those. There are a lot of sort of boats. Tell something about his dad. Sometimes I think to myself, make something like a plaque or something, with some info on it. Because no one knows how the water in front of us is called. Do you know that?

Job: Markenmeer.Jan: Yes for example. This is the Gouwe Zee, which is part of the Markenmeer, which is part of the

IJsselmeer. A lot of people don’t know that. Job: You say that there is a lack of information of these sorts.Jan: Yes a little informative, exactly what we need to see. And that, yes that is something that I

miss, it’s a shame. A few years ago there were ‘karen’, big chests, with holes in them, where they kept the eel. They called them karen. Until recently there were still a few of them at the end of the dike and they should’ve made some sort of informative plaque for that. Showing them a little bit to the audience I guess, that is fun.

Job: That is good for the tourists of course, they want to know what they are doing etc. That is interesting, because I wanted to ask you a last question about that, because of your time schedule.

Jan: He interrupts: it is indeed good to provide those people with some information, to let them see how those eel were caught, to name something.

Job: I hear that SmitBokkum is the only one doing that around here, with a workshop for tourists. Is that right?

Jan: Yeah, they still show it. I don’t know the details, but that is right.Job: Do you like the fact that there is at least 1 company doing this, or do you think, why are there

not more of these people who say, let’s do something for the tourists?Jan: Well, SmitBokkum has a part of its restaurant as a workshop. They give a demonstration,

because he was a former eel smoker. And he has been smoking those eel in the past here in the center of the city. That is prohibited now.

Job: Prohibited?Jan: Yes, you’d get fined for it, you know. That was a smell, you wouldn’t want to know, with all

those smokehouses. There were about 25 on a plaza. And all those needed to disappear to the industrial part of Volendam, like SmitBokkum did. And then he created a restaurant in combination with a workshop. He still is an eel smoker, but he got a restaurant with it. He shows people how the smoking works, on the way he does it. But that isn’t the original way anymore.

Job: That might be interesting. I’d like to ask one more question about that. What is the difference between the modern and the original way of smoking, and why did this change do you think? Is it because of technology?

Jan: Yes absolutely. By legislation as well, because the smoking has to happen in a sterile environment, with everything that come with it and in the past that wasn’t really important (the hygiene). So yes, a lot has changed. Then tells something about the way eel is made – with wood or with gas etc. Like we demonstrate on the Volendammer day here on the dike, we do it on the old fashioned way, in a ton with a burlap sack (a real Dutch sack) on it. People do it differently all the time.

Job: Okay. And did tourism play a role in this, in the changing from the authentic to the modern way?

Jan: Nope, tourism didn’t play a role there.Job: You see it as a normal change?Jan: Yes, a normal change, that has to happen, right? You can’t make a mess of it. You can’t.Job: Good! Interesting.Jan: Yeah, you can tell a million things about eel and smoking and the see and tourists. That is

easy as it is. And the tourists also come for that. It is a shame that we don’t act a lot with it.But yeah, there’s no time and no money, which is the whole point. We try to organize different activities to make some money for these kind of things.In three weeks for example we have the potato race, together with a market with authentic things and authentic occupations, all has to do with fishing and boats. That is fun, that nautical happening. Also for the fishing.

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Job: These kinds of things are being organized to make some money?Jan: No, not exactly. It is not all about money. It’s about a race, a potato race. We do something

extra as the catering by setting up a market besides it, to attract tourists to see how it all went in the past.

Job: Okay, so in short, the reason we are here is to look at how tourism influenced authenticity, but you say there aren’t a lot of influences, right?

Jan: Well, there is a lot of influence from tourism. I think that at least 40% of the people here live from tourism.

Job: Yes, I understand, in an economical way, but it didn’t really have a lot of influence on how Volendam presented itself to the outside world.

Jan: No I don’t think that no!Job: That is a really important answer in our project. That is good to know and I also think I got a lot

of good answers from you. Maybe you want to add something yourself?Jan: No, thanks.Job: Then I want to thank you for your time.

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5 Interview photoshop

Place: PhotoshopName: KarienKind of entrepreneur: photoshop with costumes

Jolien: What is your name?Karien: My name is KarienJolien: Do you live in Volendam?Karien: YesJolien: Whendidyou start working at your company?Karien: TwoyearsagoJolien: Is the company originallyfrom Volendam?Karien: Yes it is from 1920Jolien: Is it a family business?Karien: Yes it is a family rented companyJolien: Do you live in Volendam?Karien: Yes

Jolien: What does authenticitymeanaccordingtoyou?Karien: I don’t know how to explain it, but it is more the mentality the people here have.Jolien: How do you deal with the authenticity as a local entrepreneur?Karien: Very wellJolien: How is authenticityaffectedbytourism?Karien: It strengthens the feeling. People are comingtoVolendam because off the authenticityJolien: Is thatpositive or negative?Karien: It is positive, becausethe companies get a lot of money because of this. However, in t

he summertime Volendam is toocrowded. For the local entrepreneurs, but alsofor the tourists.

Kexin: How manypeople are visitingyour company eachday in summertime?Karien: There are about 150 peopleeachday in my shopKexin: Wow that’s a lot..Karien: Yes it isKexin: Have you ever heard about the terms: front stage vs. back stage, but in relation to

authenticity? Could say something about that in the context of Volendam?Karien: No, actually not. So I can’t say anything about it.Kexin: What do you think tourists want to see in Volendam throughout the year? Karien: The costumes are from 1920. It is a tradition that tourists are coming to Volendam

because of the costumesKexin: Are new ‘authentic’ elements created to please the tourists in some way? If yes, what

are they?Karien: An authentic element is the costumes people wear, which are originally clothes.Kexin: Is anything ‘fake’ about that?Karien: No, nothing is fake about that. And the souvenirshops are for example created to

please the touristsKexin: What would you eventually improve in your tourism services so the way of presenting

Volendam would remain authentic (or even more authentic)?Karien: When the tourists are coming to Volendam, they will come by bus. The buses are

bringing the tourists as close as they can get. As you can see at the street, there are a lot of cars driving down the street. This is very dangerous. So an improvement will be that the tourists have to walk more, which is good for them and that it is only allowed to walk down the streets

Kexin: Well, I think we know enough. Thanks for your time and your cooperation.Karien: No problemKexin: Do you have a business card? If you want, we can send you the results of our

research to you?Karien: Yes, thanks

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6 Interview Café De Dijk

Place: Café De DijkName: Kees BrynkkemperKind of entrepreneurs: Café

Jolien: What is your name?Kees: KeesBrynkkemperJolien: Do you live in Volendam?Kees: Yes, I live in Volendam, at the dikeJolien: When did you start working at your company?Kees: Four years agoJolien: Is it a family business?Kees: No, it’snot a family business. It has been 12 years owned by the same boss, before

that he company had another ownerJolien: So the company is originally from Volendam?Kees: Yes, it is a local company from Volendam, it is just this café and nothing else. It now

consists for 120 yearsJolien: 120 years? WowKees: Yes, it has been rebuilt by someone. For the exact year you have to look at the facadeJolien: I will do that right after the interview

Jolien: What does authenticitymeanaccordingtoyou?Kees: I can’tindicatesomethingfromVolendamthat is authentic, becausehereeverything is

flattenedwhenitbecomesoldand real authentic things are more in Edam. Theretheyhonor more culture andtheyrestorethere more. In Volendam you have the oldstyle, but not the oldthings

Jolien: So in your opinion Volendam is notreallyauthentic?Kees: Youcanseethe facades in the oldstyle, but Volendam is a little bit fake. However, the

people in Volendam are oldJolien: How do you deal withauthenticity as a local entrepreneur?Kees: We are a real Volendamcompany,we only have peoplefromVolendamwhoworkhere.

There are notworkingpeoplefrom Edam, Amsterdam andsomething at this company. Thistoface up to the localpeople, becausethere are a lot of tourists, but my company also wants to focus on telocalpeople of Volendam.Forexamplewithlocalholidays, we are focusing on the localpeople of Volendam.Whentouristsseethat, it is amazingforthem. We are also sponsoring the ‘botters’, which are the authenticships. Then we do sailing tours withthem. So we are doing a lot of activities, sothat the historywillbepreserved in a new state

Jolien: Do youthinkVolendam is affectedbytourism?Kees: Yes, I thinkso. In Volendam you have several hotels, vacationparks, shops, etc. and

the tourists have influence on this. Especially in the weekends Volendam is very busy. So the shops are more focusedon the touristsbecause of this

Jolien: Is thispositive or negative?Kees: Yes, it is positive. Becauseabout 150 yearsago the history of Volendamstartedwith

hotel Spaander. Whenpaintersdrawed a painting, theycouldreceivea night in hotel Spaander in return

Jolien: Have you ever heard about the terms: front stage vs. back stage, but in relation to authenticity? Could say something about that in the context of Volendam?

Kees: There is no difference between the front and back stage of Volendam. The costumes are being worn by a few people, but at the dike you have some people who are only wearing it to show the tourists,because the tourists are coming to Volendam for the costumes.They are about 20 people that are wearing it, but they are older people. It is also to earn some money

Jolien: Are new authentic elements created to please the tourists?Kees: Yes, I think so. You for example have Marina park, which is a vacation park, which is

in the style of Volendam. You have the Marken boats. With that ferryboat you can go

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to Marken. You also have the photo shops, so that you can take a picture in an originally costume of Volendam. But that is also because the tourists prefer that

Jolien: Are the tourists coming to Volendam because they want to make a picture in a costume?

Kees: Yes, for sure. They are especially coming to Volendam for thisJolien: Do you think these authentic elements are presented in a good way or are there any

other possibilities?Kees: No, I don’t think there are any other possibilities. I think the elements are presented in

a good way and everyone can get his money because of these elementsJolien: Do you see any future improvements regarding the authenticity of Volendam?Kees: No, I don’t think so, everything is strictly regulated. You can’t start something at the

dijk, because everything is strictly regulated by the municipality. If someone has an idea about build up something for example, it will not work

Jolien: So you can’t come up with an idea?Kees: No, we have a very conservative municipality, so there won’t be any changes the next

few yearsJolien: Ok, well thank you for your time and your clear informationKees: Good luck with your research

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7 Interview Souvenir shop Jonk & Keizer

Place: Souvenir shop Jonk& KeizerName: MargrietJonkKind of entrepreneur: Souvenir shop

Lisa: Hello, we are students from the University Inholland in Haarlem. We are doing a research about the authenticity of Volendam.

Margriet: Okay.Lisa: What we want to know is if the tourism as a impact on the authenticity of Volendam,

so has the authenticity changed or is I remained the same.Lisa: What does authenticity mean according to you?Margriet: Only focussed on Volendam or also on the tourism?Lisa: Focussed on Volendam, but also a bit related to tourism.Margriet: Volendam is a very old village and it is become known by the hardworking people, but

also by the costumes. Volendam was always on a isolated location so they have created their own identity. We have our own dialect and costumes. Because Volendam has managed to maintain this identity it became authentic. The port, the restaurants and even the souvenir shops are here for many years. But I have to say, later when the “palingsound” was discovered, Volendam has got a boost on touristic area.

Lisa: Does Volendam notice that the tourism has increased through the “palingsound”? Or are the tourists come to Volendam to see the port and the costumes?

Margriet: Uhm. The tourists from outside the Netherlands are come here for the costumes, the old village, the ‘Oude kom’ and the port with the fisherman. They are interested in the authenticity. But they think we all wear the costumes and unfortunately that isn’t anymore. The tourist from the Netherlands are come here to see Jan Smit, The 3J’s and other singers of the “palingsound”. But they don’t walk all day among ‘De Dijk’. So the tourism becomes from both sides, but in different ways.

Lisa: Do you think the tourism has affected the authenticity? Does Volendamhas changed or is it still the same?

Margriet: You have to make adjustments for the tourism, both positive and negative. But the Volendammers themselves are very closed so they will not adapt for the tourists, the tourists must adapt.

Lisa: I see that you are wearing a costume. Do you wear it also at home or just at work?Margriet: I’m not wearing my costume at home, because it isn’t comfortable with my lifestyle, but

at work and with special occasions I wear it. It is part of us. Lisa: And among the youth?Margriet: The youth only wears it when it’s required at work.Lisa: Are the Volendammers wearing their costumes more during the tourist season?Margriet: The Volendammers who always wear their costumes do, and a few more. But not

everyone will wear it just for the tourists. When they wear it, they wear it for themselves because they want to.

Lisa: Do you think it will change in the future, will the costumes disappear?Margriet: I hope there will e a change, for example that when people have a costume at home

that they will wear it during the tourist season for a little bit money. So they show it to the tourists. Now they only wear it at Volendammerdag, but that is once per year.

Lisa: Is the Volendammerdag special for the tourists?Margriet: No it is for the Volendammers themselves, but when there are tourists they find it very

interesting.Lisa: I don’t know if you are familiar with the terms front and backstage. But we mean, are

the Volendammers behind the scenes who are wearing the costumes and do the traditions for themselves or for the tourists?

Margriet: When there are tourists there are a few people who will wear their costumes just for the tourists, because they are working in that sector.But behind the scenes, they wear it for themselves. And for example every Friday it is common to eat beetroot and fish, that is a very old tradition.

Lisa: Okay.

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Margriet: There are also a few people from the museum who are committed to remain the making of the costumes, because there are only a few people left who know how it works and they are trying to learn the youth how they have to make it.

Lisa: So they are trying to maintain the costumes for the future?Margriet: Yes, but the youth isn’t that interested in the costumes etc.Lisa: It will be a pity when it will disappear I think.Margriet: Yes, but that is why I hope there will be a few people who will be interested to remain

it and who want to learn it.Lisa: Are there any traditions that are organised just for the tourists?Margriet: No not exactly but during the Volendammerdag there are a few former crafts such as

basket making to show how that was done, but that is always in the same period, so when there are tourists they can see it.

Lisa: Do you think the authenticity of Volendam will disappear in the future?Margriet: ‘De dijk’, the port and the shops will always be here, so that will stay. But the costumes

will be only in the museum I think, so the authenticity will be less then nowadays. But Volendam will always be the same.

Lisa: This was our interview. Thank you for your time and answers. We have learned a lot about Volendam.

Margriet: Your welcome.

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8 Interview Volendams Museum

Place: Volendams museumName: H. Veerman and L. EeckhoutKind of entrepreneur: Museum

Lisa: We are students of the University Inholland Haarlem and we are doing a research about the authenticity of Volendam. What elements do you think that are still authentic in Volendam?

H. Veerman: The places that are still authentic in Volendam are the church and the houses around the church. Also ‘De Dijk’, the little houses and the port. The costumes and our dialect are also still authentic.

Lisa: Do you think that the authenticity is affected by tourism?H. Veerman: No the tourists doesn’t affect the authenticity. It is maintained by people who love the

village. But there are a few people who change some things to please the tourists, but not something big, for example they straighten the terraces. The people who are wearing the costumes are wearing these for themselves because they want to. I think there are two men and 20 women who still wear the costumes.

L. Eeckhout: That are all old people. But the people who work in a restaurant or café wear the costumes just for the tourists.

Jolien: So you think that the tourists doesn’t have a impact on the authenticity?H. Veerman: No not much, but the Volendammers maintain some elements just for the tourists,

because they want to see those things. Otherwise it is not interesting for them to come to Volendam. We are trying to maintain the old elements in the museum so that they can see it.

Jolien: Do you notice that the youth is less concerned with the maintenance of the authenticity?

L. Eeckhout: No, they don’t care about it. They only wear the costumes for special occasions. Lisa: How do you think it will be in the future?L. Eeckhout: I will still maintain, for example with the Volendammerdag. The people will wear their

costumes but they wear it for a few hours. Lisa: But do you think that it in the future is will be just for the tourists?H Veerman: The people who earn their living with tourism will wear the costumes just for that. So it

will not all disappear.L. Eeckout: And the Volendammerdag and our dialect will never disappear.Lisa: How does it come that there are only a few people left who are wearing the costumes?L. Eeckhout: if you wore it outside the village, the others found it funny. Therefore especially the

youth no longer wanted to wear it.Jolien: So it was not required to wear the costumes?H. Veerman: No, when you don’t want to wear it, it is okay. There is the fact that the costumes is

very expensive. The necklace only in €8000, so that is a lot when you are with five women at home.

Lisa: What do you think that had to be done in the future to maintain the authenticity?H. Veerman: I think that it is necessary that the youth will learn how they make the costumes.

Otherwise that will all disappear.Jolien: This was the end of the interview. Thank you for your time.

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