Toward a framework integrating authenticity and integrity in heritage tourism

Abstract

While authenticity as a research concept has been widely studied in the tourism field, integrity remains a concept only prominent in heritage conservation. Through a critical review of the concepts of authenticity and integrity in tourism and heritage preservation areas, this study aims to propose a framework in which authenticity and integrity are seen as a dialectic and integrated unity. In the framework, the interactive mechanism between authenticity and integrity is elaborated. The framework highlights the value of both authenticity and integrity; it comprises all tangible and intangible elements that are interconnected to culture continuity, which connects the past to the present, and links the individual parts to the whole of a cultural heritage site.