Measuring a Visitor’s Authenticity at an UNESCO World Heritage Site

Authenticity has been recognized as having a primary role in world heritage tourism and it has included very complex and multiple meanings. This study developed measurement scales capturing multi-dimensionality of authenticity at a world heritage destination. The study was conducted throughout March, 2016 at Andong Hahoe Folk Village in South Korea with 278 valid data sets being obtained. Survey Questionnaires were designed to measure two different processes of authenticity: 1) ‘output’ which represents a visitor’s perception of tour performance and 2) ‘outcome’ which represents visitor’s perception of a tour result. The findings of this study showed that authenticity was divided into both an objective authenticity related to the tour objective and an existential authenticity based on a tourists’ experience at the destinations. In addition, authenticity was constructed and measured according to the aspects of both the ‘output’ and ‘outcome’ of a tour process. While ‘uniqueness’ was found to be the output of an objective authenticity, ‘realistic perception’ was found to be the outcome of an objective authenticity. Existential authenticity included ‘assimilation’ and ‘self-discovery’ respectively. The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that ‘uniqueness’, ‘realistic perception’, ‘assimilation’ and ‘self-discovery’ have significant effects on the intention to revisit the site. ‘Realistic perception’ and ‘self-discovery’ were both especially derived as an outcome, as they had greater effects on the intention to revisit. This study provides both an empirically valid scale for authentic measurement and a practical tool for visitor management at world heritage destinations.