Responses to replica (vs. genuine) touristic experiences

Gülen Sarial-Abi, Ezgi Merdin-Uygur and Zeynep Gürhan-Canli

Annals of Tourism Research, 2020, vol. 83, issue C

Abstract: A growing trend in tourism is the use of replica experiences. Yet, consumers' responses to replica (vs. genuine) touristic experiences are mostly overlooked in the literature. In this paper, we propose that consumers' perceptions of authenticity of the replica (vs. genuine) touristic experiences mediate their responses to these experiences. We define three theoretically driven factors that influence the authenticity perceptions of consumers—experience characteristics (restricted experience vs. not restricted experience; within close vs. distant geographical proximity to the genuine) and a consumer characteristic (salient goal: collecting experiences vs. having fun/pleasure), which influence consumers' responses to replica and genuine touristic experiences. We found support for the proposed theory using two field studies from Egypt's Luxor Tutankhamun tomb and three experimental studies.

Keywords: Replica experience; Genuine experience; Authenticity; Restrictions; Collecting experiences; Tourism management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:anture:v:83:y:2020:i:c:s0160738320300712

DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2020.102927

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