Tourist Perceptions of Living Authenticity in Indigenous Tourism Destinations: The Case of Smangus Village in Taiwan

Abstract

Tourists' perceptions of authenticity are an essential component in indigenous tourism and it has been acknowledged as a driving force that motivates tourists' intention to revisit the destination. However, previous studies mainly focused on the static concept of nonliving authenticity such as heritage sites and natural landscapes. Perceptions of dynamic concept of living authenticity in indigenous tourism destination are understudied. In order to fill up this gap, this study examines tourists' perceptions of "living authenticity" in Smangus village in Taiwan, and examines how these perceptions influence tourists' intention to revisit the village. The survey was conducted from May 22 to June 14, 2015 based on 194 respondents. Exploratory factor analysis delineated three dimensions of tourists' perceptions of living authenticity in Smangus village: object-related, intrapersonal, and interpersonal authenticity. Ordinal logistic regression model was used to determine the effect of perceptions of living authenticity on the intention to revisit. The results show that perceptions of living authenticity positively influence tourists' intention to revisit Smangus village. By combining theoretical discussions and empirical analysis, this study contributes to a better understanding of tourists' perceptions of living authenticity in the indigenous tourism destination.