Looking for the Real Me: Locating the Self in Heritage Tourism

This paper considers the relationship between concepts of authenticity and the consumption of heritage attractions. Critiques of the heritage industry have often revolved around the idea that its visitors can only experience a false representation of history. Although valuable in many ways, such an approach does not explore the full complexity of these experiences. This paper seeks to develop an alternative theoretical framework to understand such visits by referring to discussions generated within those fields concerned with touristic experiences, identity and modernity. These argue that the nature of the authenticity at stake in these experiences is not one dimensional but must look to the concept of a subjective authenticity of self, as well as an authenticity that is judged according to objective realities. These concepts are explored in the context of exhibitionary forms and the meanings people invest in collective memories and cultural identities - that is, the strategies of interpretation and mechanisms of display used at heritage attractions.