AbstractThis chapter discusses three phenomena within the field of tourism. First, the manner in which discourse shapes and defines perceived tourist realities is examined, drawing on the perspective of Foucault. Secondly, the supposed desire of the tourist to uncover the authentic is considered, for which the work of MacCannell provides the principal theoretical background. Thirdly, the response of the business discipline of marketing to the need to create and extend the tourist destination is considered. The intention is to demonstrate, by means of theoretical argument, that conventional marketing wisdom, itself a discourse, runs contrary to what can be learned about fashionable consumption from definitive media discourses relating to the authentic, thus creating a paradox of consumption. It is suggested, first, that discourses about tourism, in particular those circulated by cultural intermediaries and ideologically dependent on fashionability and novelty, have a salient role in shaping perceived realities. Secondly, it is suggested that business-based product extension strategies for tourist destinations, prescribed from conventional marketing theory, should be treated with caution when applied to destinations whose principal selling proposition is an invitation to explore and discover.