Description
The purpose of this paper is to explore how tourists negotiate existential/experiential
authenticity in cultural restaurant experiences as represented in their online reviews
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Existential authenticity in cultural restaurant experiences in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe: a netnographic analysis
Muchazondida Mkono
Article information:
To cite this document:
Muchazondida Mkono , (2013),"Existential authenticity in cultural restaurant experiences in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe: a netnographic
analysis", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 7 Iss 4 pp. 353 - 363
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Existential authenticity in cultural
restaurant experiences in Victoria Falls,
Zimbabwe: a netnographic analysis
Muchazondida Mkono
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how tourists negotiate existential/experiential
authenticity in cultural restaurant experiences as represented in their online reviews.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses netnography, a relatively novel web-based method,
to examine the phenomenon of existential authenticity. Post-visit online reviews were analyzed to glean
meanings and insights into tourists’ lived experiences in Victoria Falls restaurants.
Findings – The analysis illustrates how the experience of existential authenticity is at the centre of
tourist’s recollections and more importantly, how it is a highly internalized, individual process. There is a
strong suggestion in the tourists’ reviews however that the totality of the experience is more important
than its individual components; that a hedonistic search for ‘‘fun’’ characterizes the tourists’ quest in
tourism. Very little emphasis is placed on the authenticity of cultural objects, suggesting that existential
authenticity may be more important in this context than objectivist authenticity.
Practical implications – First, the emphasis on the ‘‘total experience’’ highlights the importance of
thinking beyond the food on the plate. Second, tourists’ reference to having been ‘‘pleasantly surprised’’
should spur restaurateurs to indulge their creative abilities; to give tourists unexpected add-ons.
Restaurants that are nonconformist, original, or unusual are likely to excite international travelers. Third,
the importance of collective authenticity is well illustrated: tourists enjoy ‘‘sociality’’. This means
restaurant marketing collateral needs to re?ect the social interaction concomitant to the experience.
Finally, most tourists appreciate performative experiences, thus practitioners might need to offer more
interactive rather than passive service consumption.
Originality/value – The study provides insights into a previously unresearched context using a
nontraditional data collection method.
Keywords Culture, Entertainment, Existential authenticity, Netnography, Zimbabwe
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Authenticity is at the heart of tourism debate for decades (Alonso et al., 2010; Asplet and
Cooper, 2000; Barthel-Bouchier, 2001; Belhassen et al., 2008; Belhasson and Caton, 2006;
Carnegie and McCabe, 2008a; Chambers, 2009; MacCannell, 1971, 1973; Steiner and
Reisinger, 2006; Taylor, 2001; Tilley, 1997; Waitt, 2000; Wall and Xie, 2005; Weissmann, 2008;
Wherry, 2006; White, 2007; Xie and Lane, 2006; Yang and Wall, 2009; Yu and Littrell, 2003;
Zeppel, 1995; Xie, 2011). However, authenticity is a highly contentious subject which has
different meanings for different people, especially when it relates to cultural objects.
With growing interest in cultural tourism, and Zimbabwe’s current efforts to complement
nature based attractions with cultural appeal, a signi?cant number of restaurants in the town
of Victoria Falls have made efforts to augment their foodservices with cultural elements
(Andriotis, 2009; Asplet and Cooper, 2000; Ateljevic and Doorne, 2003; Ateljevic et al., 2005;
Azarya, 2004; Bailey, 2008; Butcher, 2001; Carnegie and McCabe, 2008b; Cave et al., 2007;
Chhabra, 2010; Shepherd, 2002; Stebbins, 1996; Thompson, 1999; Wall and Xie, 2005;
Zeppel, 2002). However, little is known about international tourists’ experiences in this
DOI 10.1108/IJCTHR-03-2013-0010 VOL. 7 NO. 4 2013, pp. 353-363, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
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PAGE 353
Muchazondida Mkono is
based in the School of
Tourism and Hospitality
Management, Southern
Cross University, Lismore,
Australia
Received 13 March 2013
Revised 13 March 2013
Accepted 13 March 2013
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destination. As an exploratory study that lays a foundation for future, in depth ?eldwork, this
study uses netnography to examine the phenomenon of existential authenticity in tourist
experiences.
The paper also adds to the relatively scanty empirical research on existential authenticity,
as most existing studies have focused on authenticity of cultural objects, thus taking
objectivist and/constructivist approaches (Carnegie and McCabe, 2008a; Chhabra, 2010;
Maruyama et al., 2008; Wall and Xie, 2005; Yang and Wall, 2009). These studies also
often implicitly con?ate the experiential/existential dimension of authenticity with
object-related authenticity.
Unpacking authenticity
Authenticity is de?ned or ‘‘unpacked’’ in a variety of ways, thus objective authenticity,
constructive authenticity, existential/experiential authenticity, emotional authenticity, cool
authenticity, hot authenticity, staged authenticity, emergent authenticity, among other
typi?cations (Chhabra, 2010; Goulding, 2000; Jamal and Hill, 2004; Kim and Jamal, 2007;
Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Kolar and Zabkar, 2010; Leigh et al., 2006; Matheson, 2008;
Notar, 2006; Olsen, 2002; Chang, 2008; Reisinger and Steiner, 2006; Selwyn, 1996; Smith and
Duffy, 2003; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006; Wherry, 2006). Each of the subconceptualizations
views authenticity from a unique standpoint, deriving from various schools of thought.
Knudsen and Waade (2010) introduce the concept of ‘‘performative authenticity’’, which is
arguably an experiential conceptualization of authenticity. Performativity highlights that
tourists can be viewed as bodies performing at speci?c sites; everything that the tourists
sees, touches, hears, smells, and tastes, may be performed and produced both as real and
as authentic. Thus, in Knudsen & Waade’s view ‘‘performativity’’ can be a negotiated,
creative, ironic, and even contradictory activity.
For simplicity, the various ‘‘types’’ of authenticity can be placed in two categories: namely,
object-related authenticity, which includes objective authenticity and constructive
authenticity; and activity-related or existential authenticity which is not related to whether
or not toured objects are authentic (Kim and Jamal, 2007; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006;
Wang, 2000). As such, existential authenticity and constructive authenticity are quite
separate conceptions, and meaningful dialectic requires that an explicit distinction be made
whenever one refers to authenticity. The former has to do with the authentic self (an internal
state), while the latter concerns an authentic other that is attached to tangible and
nontangible culture.
From a postmodernist standpoint though, authenticity (especially of cultural objects) is seen
as irrelevant to many tourists who either view it as trivial, or as a marketing gimmick for
commercial tourism (Beer, 2008; Feifer, 1985; Reisinger and Steiner, 2006). The post-tourist
does not recognize the existence of true authentic objects, and instead plays with an
eclectic mix of experiences (pseudo events) for hedonistic enjoyment (Feifer, 1985;
Mantecon and Huete, 2008). This existentialist notion of authenticity blurs the boundaries
between fake and real and favors a strictly ‘‘no rules apply’’ approach.
Existential authenticity
Existential authenticity denotes an existential state of Being in which individuals feel that they
are ‘‘true to themselves’’, in touch with the real world and with who they ‘‘really’’ are (Berger,
1973; Berman, 1970; Daniel, 1996; Goulding, 2000; Hegel, 1977; Heidegger, 1996; Kant,
1929; Kim and Jamal, 2007; Nehemas, 1999; Olsen, 2002; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006;
Wang, 1999, 2000; Shin, 2010). Thus, unlike object-related authenticity; existential
authenticity is self-oriented authenticity, which is associated with personal identity,
autonomy, individuality, self-development, self-realization and self-actualization (Ryan,
2000; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006).
Existential authenticity therefore relates to an inherently personal emotional state which
tourists can experience in tourism (Chang, 2008; Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Matheson,
2005, 2008). The concept draws from the philosophy of what it means to be happy, being
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what one wants to be, asserting one’s own choices, living in harmony with one’s own sense of
self, and being attuned with one’s individual experiences rather than seeing the world
through institutionalized frameworks (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). As such, this version of
authenticity centers in part on a nonconformist existence (Berger, 1973; Handler, 1986;
Steiner and Reisinger, 2006).
Existential authenticity embodies ‘‘hot authenticity’’, which is centered on the tourists’
internal negotiation of the reality of their experiences. The concept contrasts with cool
authenticity, which is concerned with the authenticity of cultural objects (that is, constructive
authenticity) (Smith and Duffy, 2003). Some authors have argued that tourists ?rst and
foremost negotiate meanings of their ‘‘experience’’, that toured objects are a secondary
matter (Kim and Jamal, 2007; Uriely, 2005; Uriely et al., 2002).
Existential authenticity allows tourists to escape the fakeness of public spheres and public
roles and become true to themselves (Berger, 1973; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). Tourism
therefore enables tourists to become nonconformist; to liberate themselves fromthe scripted
life in modernity (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). Stated differently, the basic premise of the
existential viewof authenticity is that an object or experience has no inherent authenticity, but
only that ascribed to it based on individual belief systems and past background (Robinson
and Clifford, 2007). As (Hall, 2007, p. 1140) argues, the notion of authenticity should ‘‘not be
used with respect to things or places’’.
Existential authenticity is compatible with postmodern theory, in its de-emphasis of
object-related authenticity in favor of reality as an experience. Indeed, with the emergence of
postmodern theory, a post-structuralist perspective which rejects objective authenticity
continues to gain primacy (Ateljevic et al., 2005; Carnegie and McCabe, 2008b; Chhabra,
2010; Goulding, 2000). Postmodernist theory rejects a monovocal, unitary portrayal of
authenticity (Carnegie and McCabe, 2008b; Cohen, 2007; Goulding, 2000; Martin, 2010;
Mazierska, 2002). The emphasis in this school of thought is on the tourist’s existential state
which has little to do with toured objects, authentic or otherwise.
Types of existential authenticity
Two types of existential authenticity are identi?able in the literature, namely intrapersonal and
interpersonal authenticity (Leigh et al., 2006; Wang, 1999). Intrapersonal authenticity relates to
the individual self, and includes physical aspects (for example relaxation and invigoration),
and psychological aspects, such as self-discovery and self-realization. The other dimension,
interpersonal authenticity, describes social authenticity experienced through a collective
sense of self that is derived in part through the strengthening of social bonds in group
activities. Collective experiences provide a platform for tourists to engage in interpersonal
dialogue that often entails credentialing performances in a space where participants may
access their true selves in the presence of ‘‘relevant others’’ (Leigh et al., 2006, p. 483), such
as family and friends, or tourists from similar backgrounds. The conviviality of the collective
experience becomes the embodiment of interpersonal ‘‘realness’’ of the experience.
The restaurants
The restaurants selected for the study, namely Mama Africa Eating House and The Boma –
Place of Eating, are two of the most popular in the town of Victoria Falls. As such, they also
have the highest number of reviews posted online. These restaurants are also very
appropriate for the study because they emphasize offering ‘‘an experience’’ for tourists that
extends far beyond a meal, as highlighted on their web pages. Examining the experientiality
of these restaurants’ products from the point of view of tourists (as gleaned from the reviews)
is the primary interest of this study. The restaurants’ webpage messages include the
following:
Mama Africa Eating House is a traditional township style place of eating. For entertainment there
is a live township band. Private sitting can be arranged. Select something different – our menu
contains dishes from all over the African continent. You can choose to sit inside the brightly lit
colored rooms, on the open air verandah or in the garden. Enjoy our local township jazz style live
band. Dancing is always welcome (Dingani.com, 2011).
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The Boma is presented in more detail:
The Boma – Place of Eating provides a unique cultural experience that bombards the senses with
the tastes, sights, sounds &smells of Africa – together with the warmhospitality of Zimbabwe and
its people. It is open for dinner 365 days of the year. Adjacent to the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.
The Boma nestles in a Gusu Forest and is partly open to the spectacular African night skies.
Guests staying at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge enjoy a courtesy shuttle to/from the Boma whilst
those from other hotels may be transported for a nominal charge.
The Boma specializes in a superb selection of traditional Zimbabwean dishes. We offer four
courses combining an array of starters with a barbeque buffet. Adventurous palettes are enticed
with local delicacies such as warthog steaks and game stews. Dare to sample such ethnic treats
as deep fried Kapenta and Mopani worms. The Boma is open for dinner from 19h00. We highly
recommend that you are seated by 19h15 for an evening ?lled with entertainment. Guests are
welcomed with a traditional greeting in the local languages, Shona and Ndebele. The guests are
then dressed in ‘‘chitenges’’ (traditional robes) and prepared to enter the main enclosure. They
are invited to take part in a hand washing ceremony before sampling traditional beer and snacks,
as a prelude to dinner.
A feast of nightly entertainment incorporates Amakwezi traditional dancers, a local story teller
and a witchdoctor. After dinner, guests are invited to join in the drumming extravaganza from
21h00. This is the highlight of the evening and all are invited to participate in the drumming and
dancing show with our renowned drummers – Amazulu (Tripadvisor, 2011).
Method
Netnography provides a mechanism for accessing and interpreting computer-mediated
textual discourse between anonymous participants on a public forum (Beaven and Laws,
2007; Dwivedi, 2009; Kozinets, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002; Morgan, 2008). The method is an
adaptation of traditional ethnography to the study of online social networks and their culture
(Kozinets, 2002). Compared to ethnography, netnography is faster, less intrusive, and more
convenient than the traditional qualitative techniques of ethnography such as interviews and
focus groups (Beaven and Laws, 2007; Davis and Morais, 2004; Dwivedi, 2009; Janta and
Ladkin, 2009; Kozinets, 2002; Morgan, 2008; O’Reilly et al., 2007; Woodside et al., 2007).
Additionally, netnographic data analysis is far less cumbersome than interviewtechniques in
that data are already in textual format, so there is no need for transcription (O’Reilly et al.,
2007). What is also signi?cant about netnography is that participants are virtually
anonymous and they can thererefore give their opinions or accounts more candidly. As
examples, in this study, participants used online pseudonyms such as ‘‘2010love’’,
‘‘Ultimateline’’, and ‘‘SightsAndSoul’’.
For the present study, a total of 30 tourist reviews pertaining to two restaurants which offer
(African) cultural experiences in Victoria Falls, namely, the Boma Place of Eating, and Mama
Africa, are analyzed manually. These reviews are available from www.tripadvisor.com/
Restaurant_Review-g293761-d780177-Reviews-Boma_Place_of_Eating-Victoria_Falls.html,
www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293761-d1142139-Reviews-Mama_Africa_
Eating_House-Victoria_Falls.html, and www.igougo.com/dining-reviews-b147907-Victoria_
Falls-Boma.html. To back the points made in the analysis of data, the paper lets the voices of
tourists speak through illustrative quotes from the reviews. Thus, the paper presents the
?ndings as thick descriptions. Some reviews were provided originally in Italian and German.
The author used ‘‘Google translation’’ to convert them to English, and also consulted her
Italian and German speaking peers to edit the computer generated translations. The
analysis process involved reading the reviews several times to get an intuitive feel of the
themes, noting down recurrent patterns and themes in the data, marking sections of data
that were illustrative of identi?ed themes, and relating the themes to existing theory[1].
Findings and discussion
There is a recurrent celebration of ‘‘fun’’ in the tourist reviews, which strongly suggests an
association between fun and experiential authenticity. The search for fun is a part of what it
means to be happy, which also in part de?nes existential authenticity (Kim and Jamal, 2007;
Olsen, 2002; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). To feel happy; to have fun in tourism is a signal
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that the experience itself must create access to the real self, because humans are ‘‘happy’’
when they are where they should be, doing what they should be doing, being who they really
are. It is important to note here that this happens independently of the authenticity of toured
objects (Goulding, 2000; Kim and Jamal, 2007; Kjell, 2002; Olsen, 2002; Steiner and
Reisinger, 2006). The following phrases from the reviews illustrate this point:
Great entertainment [. . .], a fun time.
Really fun, relaxed and very delicious.
A great, fun evening, food was mediocre but all in all [. . .].
[. . .] where everyone gets a drum and gets to beat along with the drumming group. Great fun!
[. . .] good food, fun time, cool show, de?nitely worth the price. Would go back.
The irrelevance of the authenticity of toured objects resonates with a postmodernist idea of
tourism which argues that tourists can derive satisfaction from inauthentic (in the
object-related sense) experiences as they do in ‘‘authentic’’ experiences (Carnegie and
McCabe, 2008b; Cohen, 2007; Goulding, 2000; Mazierska, 2002).
As previous studies argue, performativity (active experience/performing tourist activities) is
an important aspect of existentiality (Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Wang, 2000). Several
reviews highlight the performativity of authenticity:
From being draped in an African ‘‘dress’’ to face painting, hair braiding, learning to play drums,
watching the native performers [. . .].
[. . .] dancing. audience participation.
Your offered the chance to eat an African worm during the festivities, and if you so partake, a
certi?cate is awarded.
This place is not really a restaurant as such but more of a tourist experience that you get to eat
food and have activities like drum play, fortune telling, etc. [. . .].
[. . .] there is an interactive drumming session [. . .]
[. . .] what was most fun for me was the interactive drumming session.
Tourists therefore authenticate their experience in an existential sense by doing, seeing,
tasting, touching, and so on. This action orientation, or activity-relatedness of existential
authenticity advocates a shift from merely gazing at native performers – the so-called
‘‘tourist gaze’’ (Abbink, 2009; Clarke and Hiscock, 2009; Enevoldsen, 2003; Hollinshead,
1992; Macdonald, 1997; Urry, 1990; Walsh, 2002; White, 2007), for instance, towards active
involvement in the production and negotiation of the tourist experience. This is corroborated
by several cultural tourism studies (Middleton and Clarke, 2001).
A fundamental aspect of existential authenticity demonstrated in the reviews is
nonconformity and originality of the experience, which relate to tourists’ freedom from
institutionalized behaviors in public spheres. This notion has been highlighted in various
philosophical studies which see the modern man as engaging in tourism to counter the
super?ciality of public sphere roles (Berger, 1973; Goulding, 2000; Handler, 1986; Steiner
and Reisinger, 2006). Thus, reviews celebrate the unusualness, originality, or the
unexpectedness of the experience or some of its elements:
I wish someone would open a branch of the Boma in the United States as it would be very
successful as it is a highly original concept.
[. . .] with some unusual (wild) meats, [. . .].
What fun and so unexpected!. We were treated to [. . .]
Worth trying out for a change.
Existential authenticity derives partly from tourists’ affective responses to tourism
experiences. In the literature, emotions have long been recognized as in?uencing tourists’
satisfaction with the experience (Brown, 2009; Chang, 2008; Knudsen and Waade, 2010;
Matheson, 2005, 2008; McIntosh and Johnson, 2004). Thus, tourists’ accounts are often
?lled with emotion:
The highlight of the evening was the ?oorshow. The cool African night was ?lled with the sounds of
deep resonant male voices and driving beat of drums accompanied by the energy and intensity
of the native dancers, their feet moving with swift rhythm on the dirt ?oor near the central ?re pit.
The food, the colors, the music, the throbbing rhythms. It was quite an evening.
The soup was out of this world.
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[. . .], we SO enjoyed ourselves.
The Boma will bombard your senses with tastes, smells, sights and sounds of its very unique
gastronomic adventure and African entertainment.
Yummy. I wish I could eat there again.
This experience was an entire evening of total enjoyment, good friend, beautiful surroundings,
great entertainment, delicious food and a new appreciation of the culture of Zimbabwe.
[. . .], a real fun easy going time but romantic also.
[. . .] cant wait to go back.
If I found myself again Zimbabwe, I’d be sure to go again.
In these reviews, tourists frequently made evaluations of the total experience, rather than the
individual components of the experience. This again re?ects the experiential nature of
tourism consumption. As such, individual components of the experience must combine
synergistically into one memorable experience:
Overall, take it for what it is and you’ll enjoy it, but don’t come here just for the food.
The place is not really a restaurant as such but more of a tourist experience that you get [. . .]
The food is average, but all in all it was a truly enjoyable experience.
[. . .] was mediocre but all in all worth going [. . .]
They give you a real African experience.
The importance of aligning tourist experiences with one’s self-concept is evident in some
reviews. This is central to existential authenticity (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). Being
authentic is about being true to one’s idea of self (Berger, 1973; Handler, 1986; Hegel, 1977;
Heidegger, 1996; Sartre, 1992; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006; Trilling, 1972):
If you have no conscience and fancy eating the creatures you came to Africa to see in the wild,
then the Boma is the culinary experience for you.
We are not into these kinds of things AT ALL, and we had a great time.
I ama ?sh eating vegetarian and had good eating options. My husband the carnivore found the
game over-cooked and less tasty.
If you are into this sort of thing then I am sure you would ?nd it enjoyable.
The discussion so far, with emphasis on the self, focuses on the intrapersonal dimension of
existential authenticity (Leigh et al., 2006; Wang, 1999). Beyond that, the reviews also point to
the importance of interpersonal existential authenticity, which centers on the collective/social
experience of authenticity. Thus, tourists refer to ‘‘relevant others’’, ‘‘everyone’’, and so on, and
frequently use ‘‘?rst person plural’’ when describing the experience:
Good for a group or family.
We ate here as part [. . .] We are not into these kinds of things ATALL, and we had a great time
[. . .] My husband the carnivore found the game over-cooked and less tasty [. . .].
[. . .] where everyone gets to beat along with the drumming group [. . .].
Lots of locals popped in too which was a good sign of a place to enjoy our evening.
De?nitely a cool experience. We went as a large group at the end of our Kumuka tour.
Seemed like quite a lot to endure for a piece of paper, but my wife did it anyway. She’s a Texan.
I passed on the deep fried worms, though my bungee jumping friends tried themand said they
had a good crunch.
We ate here one night and had a lovely evening meeting other tourists and hadn’t realized we
were going to have [. . .].
This experience was an entire evening of total enjoyment, good friends, beautiful surroundings,
[. . .].
We were treated to traditional dancing and we were invited to join [. . .]
We loved our dinner at Mama Africa and would recommend [. . .]
We found this place our 2nd day and ate there every night.
Our meals were lovely (I had a very yummy vegetarian curry).
We tucked into eland, springbok, kudu, warthog, crocodile, ostrich, [. . .] and worms.
Conclusion and suggestions for future research
The analysis illustrates howthe experience of existential authenticity is at the centre of tourist
experiences and more importantly, how it is a highly personal process. The paper has also
demonstrated the ?uid nature of existential authenticity in tourist (restaurant) experiences.
Tourists negotiate the reality of their own experiences on a purely internalized basis. The
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importance of self-identity, self-realization, and of living in accord with one’s sense of self, is
re?ected in tourist reviews.
A strong suggestion is evident in the tourists’ reviews, however, that the totality of the
experience is more important than its individual components; and further, that a hedonistic
search for ‘‘fun’’ characterizes the tourist’ quest in tourism. Tourist’s comments place very
little emphasis on the authenticity of cultural objects, suggesting that existential authenticity
may be more important in this context than objectivist authenticity.
However, this observation would need veri?cation in more broad quantitative studies. As
such, the ?ndings of the study can be used as a base for future ?eldwork in various African
tourist destination contexts. Research in these places remains noticeably scanty. Further, the
limitations of space are such that authenticity as it relates to cultural objects could not be
discussed in this study, and future researchers may want to examine the phenomenon in the
context of restaurant cultural eatertainment.
For restaurant practitioners, several implications follow. First, the emphasis on the ‘‘total
experience’’ highlights the importance of thinking beyond the food on the plate. Therefore,
service augmentations, cultural or otherwise, are crucial in the tourist’s evaluation of the
experience. Tourists in these reviews, although expressing a concern with the high prices
charged by The Boma for example, still recommended it as worthwhile because ‘‘all in all’’ it
was a good experience.
Second, tourists’ reference to having been ‘‘pleasantly surprised’’ should spur restaurateurs
to indulge their creative abilities; to endeavor to give tourists unexpected add-ons, and to
create an experience ‘‘out of this world’’. Therefore, restaurants that are nonconformist,
original, and unusual, are likely to excite most tourists, although this is debatable.
Third, no restaurant can appeal universally to every tourist, however good it may seem.
Tourists themselves recognize this and are willing to accept that what they may not enjoy
themselves, other tourists may very well ?nd pleasurable: ‘‘If you are into this sort of thing’’.
Thus, tourists are ready to concede that tastes differ, and tourism suppliers, including
restaurateurs, cannot meet everyone’s tastes and preferences. Fourth, the importance of
collective authenticity is well illustrated in the reviews: tourists enjoy the sociality of tourism
experiences, thus the presence of locals, other tourists, ‘‘relevant others’’ (spouse, friends,
other tourists, and so on) is an important component of the overall experience.
For practitioners, this means that marketing collateral needs to re?ect the social interaction
concomitant to the experience. Mentioning group seating arrangements, compatibility with
family (for example seats for children), group discounts, and group activities, are some of the
ways in which interpersonal authenticity appears in re?ections of cultural restaurant
experiences.
Fourth, most tourists appreciate performative experiences in which they participate in the
production and delivery of eatertainment augmentations; thus practitioners might increase
tourists’ enjoyment by making their product augmentations more interactive rather than passive.
What is also certain in these reviews, though, is that different tourists perceive restaurant
experiences differently based on an unlimited set of variables (age, previous tourism
experience, cultural background, and so on). In the ?nal analysis, authenticity, existential or
otherwise, as Chang et al. (2008) expresses, is in the eyes of the beholder.
Note
1. The reviews analyzed in this study are given as they are online, that is, they are not edited for
typographical or other errors.
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About the author
Muchazondida Mkono, prior to joining Southern Cross University as an international PhD
student in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, lived in her native Zimbabwe,
where she began her academic career. Her current PhD focuses on authenticity in
Zimbabwean tourist eatertainment. Muchazondida Mkono can be contacted at:
[email protected]
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1. Yan-Ning Li, Emma H. Wood. 2014. Music festival motivation in China: free the mind. Leisure Studies 1-20. [CrossRef]
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doc_249650415.pdf
The purpose of this paper is to explore how tourists negotiate existential/experiential
authenticity in cultural restaurant experiences as represented in their online reviews
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Existential authenticity in cultural restaurant experiences in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe: a netnographic analysis
Muchazondida Mkono
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Existential authenticity in cultural
restaurant experiences in Victoria Falls,
Zimbabwe: a netnographic analysis
Muchazondida Mkono
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how tourists negotiate existential/experiential
authenticity in cultural restaurant experiences as represented in their online reviews.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses netnography, a relatively novel web-based method,
to examine the phenomenon of existential authenticity. Post-visit online reviews were analyzed to glean
meanings and insights into tourists’ lived experiences in Victoria Falls restaurants.
Findings – The analysis illustrates how the experience of existential authenticity is at the centre of
tourist’s recollections and more importantly, how it is a highly internalized, individual process. There is a
strong suggestion in the tourists’ reviews however that the totality of the experience is more important
than its individual components; that a hedonistic search for ‘‘fun’’ characterizes the tourists’ quest in
tourism. Very little emphasis is placed on the authenticity of cultural objects, suggesting that existential
authenticity may be more important in this context than objectivist authenticity.
Practical implications – First, the emphasis on the ‘‘total experience’’ highlights the importance of
thinking beyond the food on the plate. Second, tourists’ reference to having been ‘‘pleasantly surprised’’
should spur restaurateurs to indulge their creative abilities; to give tourists unexpected add-ons.
Restaurants that are nonconformist, original, or unusual are likely to excite international travelers. Third,
the importance of collective authenticity is well illustrated: tourists enjoy ‘‘sociality’’. This means
restaurant marketing collateral needs to re?ect the social interaction concomitant to the experience.
Finally, most tourists appreciate performative experiences, thus practitioners might need to offer more
interactive rather than passive service consumption.
Originality/value – The study provides insights into a previously unresearched context using a
nontraditional data collection method.
Keywords Culture, Entertainment, Existential authenticity, Netnography, Zimbabwe
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Authenticity is at the heart of tourism debate for decades (Alonso et al., 2010; Asplet and
Cooper, 2000; Barthel-Bouchier, 2001; Belhassen et al., 2008; Belhasson and Caton, 2006;
Carnegie and McCabe, 2008a; Chambers, 2009; MacCannell, 1971, 1973; Steiner and
Reisinger, 2006; Taylor, 2001; Tilley, 1997; Waitt, 2000; Wall and Xie, 2005; Weissmann, 2008;
Wherry, 2006; White, 2007; Xie and Lane, 2006; Yang and Wall, 2009; Yu and Littrell, 2003;
Zeppel, 1995; Xie, 2011). However, authenticity is a highly contentious subject which has
different meanings for different people, especially when it relates to cultural objects.
With growing interest in cultural tourism, and Zimbabwe’s current efforts to complement
nature based attractions with cultural appeal, a signi?cant number of restaurants in the town
of Victoria Falls have made efforts to augment their foodservices with cultural elements
(Andriotis, 2009; Asplet and Cooper, 2000; Ateljevic and Doorne, 2003; Ateljevic et al., 2005;
Azarya, 2004; Bailey, 2008; Butcher, 2001; Carnegie and McCabe, 2008b; Cave et al., 2007;
Chhabra, 2010; Shepherd, 2002; Stebbins, 1996; Thompson, 1999; Wall and Xie, 2005;
Zeppel, 2002). However, little is known about international tourists’ experiences in this
DOI 10.1108/IJCTHR-03-2013-0010 VOL. 7 NO. 4 2013, pp. 353-363, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
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PAGE 353
Muchazondida Mkono is
based in the School of
Tourism and Hospitality
Management, Southern
Cross University, Lismore,
Australia
Received 13 March 2013
Revised 13 March 2013
Accepted 13 March 2013
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destination. As an exploratory study that lays a foundation for future, in depth ?eldwork, this
study uses netnography to examine the phenomenon of existential authenticity in tourist
experiences.
The paper also adds to the relatively scanty empirical research on existential authenticity,
as most existing studies have focused on authenticity of cultural objects, thus taking
objectivist and/constructivist approaches (Carnegie and McCabe, 2008a; Chhabra, 2010;
Maruyama et al., 2008; Wall and Xie, 2005; Yang and Wall, 2009). These studies also
often implicitly con?ate the experiential/existential dimension of authenticity with
object-related authenticity.
Unpacking authenticity
Authenticity is de?ned or ‘‘unpacked’’ in a variety of ways, thus objective authenticity,
constructive authenticity, existential/experiential authenticity, emotional authenticity, cool
authenticity, hot authenticity, staged authenticity, emergent authenticity, among other
typi?cations (Chhabra, 2010; Goulding, 2000; Jamal and Hill, 2004; Kim and Jamal, 2007;
Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Kolar and Zabkar, 2010; Leigh et al., 2006; Matheson, 2008;
Notar, 2006; Olsen, 2002; Chang, 2008; Reisinger and Steiner, 2006; Selwyn, 1996; Smith and
Duffy, 2003; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006; Wherry, 2006). Each of the subconceptualizations
views authenticity from a unique standpoint, deriving from various schools of thought.
Knudsen and Waade (2010) introduce the concept of ‘‘performative authenticity’’, which is
arguably an experiential conceptualization of authenticity. Performativity highlights that
tourists can be viewed as bodies performing at speci?c sites; everything that the tourists
sees, touches, hears, smells, and tastes, may be performed and produced both as real and
as authentic. Thus, in Knudsen & Waade’s view ‘‘performativity’’ can be a negotiated,
creative, ironic, and even contradictory activity.
For simplicity, the various ‘‘types’’ of authenticity can be placed in two categories: namely,
object-related authenticity, which includes objective authenticity and constructive
authenticity; and activity-related or existential authenticity which is not related to whether
or not toured objects are authentic (Kim and Jamal, 2007; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006;
Wang, 2000). As such, existential authenticity and constructive authenticity are quite
separate conceptions, and meaningful dialectic requires that an explicit distinction be made
whenever one refers to authenticity. The former has to do with the authentic self (an internal
state), while the latter concerns an authentic other that is attached to tangible and
nontangible culture.
From a postmodernist standpoint though, authenticity (especially of cultural objects) is seen
as irrelevant to many tourists who either view it as trivial, or as a marketing gimmick for
commercial tourism (Beer, 2008; Feifer, 1985; Reisinger and Steiner, 2006). The post-tourist
does not recognize the existence of true authentic objects, and instead plays with an
eclectic mix of experiences (pseudo events) for hedonistic enjoyment (Feifer, 1985;
Mantecon and Huete, 2008). This existentialist notion of authenticity blurs the boundaries
between fake and real and favors a strictly ‘‘no rules apply’’ approach.
Existential authenticity
Existential authenticity denotes an existential state of Being in which individuals feel that they
are ‘‘true to themselves’’, in touch with the real world and with who they ‘‘really’’ are (Berger,
1973; Berman, 1970; Daniel, 1996; Goulding, 2000; Hegel, 1977; Heidegger, 1996; Kant,
1929; Kim and Jamal, 2007; Nehemas, 1999; Olsen, 2002; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006;
Wang, 1999, 2000; Shin, 2010). Thus, unlike object-related authenticity; existential
authenticity is self-oriented authenticity, which is associated with personal identity,
autonomy, individuality, self-development, self-realization and self-actualization (Ryan,
2000; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006).
Existential authenticity therefore relates to an inherently personal emotional state which
tourists can experience in tourism (Chang, 2008; Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Matheson,
2005, 2008). The concept draws from the philosophy of what it means to be happy, being
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what one wants to be, asserting one’s own choices, living in harmony with one’s own sense of
self, and being attuned with one’s individual experiences rather than seeing the world
through institutionalized frameworks (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). As such, this version of
authenticity centers in part on a nonconformist existence (Berger, 1973; Handler, 1986;
Steiner and Reisinger, 2006).
Existential authenticity embodies ‘‘hot authenticity’’, which is centered on the tourists’
internal negotiation of the reality of their experiences. The concept contrasts with cool
authenticity, which is concerned with the authenticity of cultural objects (that is, constructive
authenticity) (Smith and Duffy, 2003). Some authors have argued that tourists ?rst and
foremost negotiate meanings of their ‘‘experience’’, that toured objects are a secondary
matter (Kim and Jamal, 2007; Uriely, 2005; Uriely et al., 2002).
Existential authenticity allows tourists to escape the fakeness of public spheres and public
roles and become true to themselves (Berger, 1973; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). Tourism
therefore enables tourists to become nonconformist; to liberate themselves fromthe scripted
life in modernity (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). Stated differently, the basic premise of the
existential viewof authenticity is that an object or experience has no inherent authenticity, but
only that ascribed to it based on individual belief systems and past background (Robinson
and Clifford, 2007). As (Hall, 2007, p. 1140) argues, the notion of authenticity should ‘‘not be
used with respect to things or places’’.
Existential authenticity is compatible with postmodern theory, in its de-emphasis of
object-related authenticity in favor of reality as an experience. Indeed, with the emergence of
postmodern theory, a post-structuralist perspective which rejects objective authenticity
continues to gain primacy (Ateljevic et al., 2005; Carnegie and McCabe, 2008b; Chhabra,
2010; Goulding, 2000). Postmodernist theory rejects a monovocal, unitary portrayal of
authenticity (Carnegie and McCabe, 2008b; Cohen, 2007; Goulding, 2000; Martin, 2010;
Mazierska, 2002). The emphasis in this school of thought is on the tourist’s existential state
which has little to do with toured objects, authentic or otherwise.
Types of existential authenticity
Two types of existential authenticity are identi?able in the literature, namely intrapersonal and
interpersonal authenticity (Leigh et al., 2006; Wang, 1999). Intrapersonal authenticity relates to
the individual self, and includes physical aspects (for example relaxation and invigoration),
and psychological aspects, such as self-discovery and self-realization. The other dimension,
interpersonal authenticity, describes social authenticity experienced through a collective
sense of self that is derived in part through the strengthening of social bonds in group
activities. Collective experiences provide a platform for tourists to engage in interpersonal
dialogue that often entails credentialing performances in a space where participants may
access their true selves in the presence of ‘‘relevant others’’ (Leigh et al., 2006, p. 483), such
as family and friends, or tourists from similar backgrounds. The conviviality of the collective
experience becomes the embodiment of interpersonal ‘‘realness’’ of the experience.
The restaurants
The restaurants selected for the study, namely Mama Africa Eating House and The Boma –
Place of Eating, are two of the most popular in the town of Victoria Falls. As such, they also
have the highest number of reviews posted online. These restaurants are also very
appropriate for the study because they emphasize offering ‘‘an experience’’ for tourists that
extends far beyond a meal, as highlighted on their web pages. Examining the experientiality
of these restaurants’ products from the point of view of tourists (as gleaned from the reviews)
is the primary interest of this study. The restaurants’ webpage messages include the
following:
Mama Africa Eating House is a traditional township style place of eating. For entertainment there
is a live township band. Private sitting can be arranged. Select something different – our menu
contains dishes from all over the African continent. You can choose to sit inside the brightly lit
colored rooms, on the open air verandah or in the garden. Enjoy our local township jazz style live
band. Dancing is always welcome (Dingani.com, 2011).
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The Boma is presented in more detail:
The Boma – Place of Eating provides a unique cultural experience that bombards the senses with
the tastes, sights, sounds &smells of Africa – together with the warmhospitality of Zimbabwe and
its people. It is open for dinner 365 days of the year. Adjacent to the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.
The Boma nestles in a Gusu Forest and is partly open to the spectacular African night skies.
Guests staying at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge enjoy a courtesy shuttle to/from the Boma whilst
those from other hotels may be transported for a nominal charge.
The Boma specializes in a superb selection of traditional Zimbabwean dishes. We offer four
courses combining an array of starters with a barbeque buffet. Adventurous palettes are enticed
with local delicacies such as warthog steaks and game stews. Dare to sample such ethnic treats
as deep fried Kapenta and Mopani worms. The Boma is open for dinner from 19h00. We highly
recommend that you are seated by 19h15 for an evening ?lled with entertainment. Guests are
welcomed with a traditional greeting in the local languages, Shona and Ndebele. The guests are
then dressed in ‘‘chitenges’’ (traditional robes) and prepared to enter the main enclosure. They
are invited to take part in a hand washing ceremony before sampling traditional beer and snacks,
as a prelude to dinner.
A feast of nightly entertainment incorporates Amakwezi traditional dancers, a local story teller
and a witchdoctor. After dinner, guests are invited to join in the drumming extravaganza from
21h00. This is the highlight of the evening and all are invited to participate in the drumming and
dancing show with our renowned drummers – Amazulu (Tripadvisor, 2011).
Method
Netnography provides a mechanism for accessing and interpreting computer-mediated
textual discourse between anonymous participants on a public forum (Beaven and Laws,
2007; Dwivedi, 2009; Kozinets, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002; Morgan, 2008). The method is an
adaptation of traditional ethnography to the study of online social networks and their culture
(Kozinets, 2002). Compared to ethnography, netnography is faster, less intrusive, and more
convenient than the traditional qualitative techniques of ethnography such as interviews and
focus groups (Beaven and Laws, 2007; Davis and Morais, 2004; Dwivedi, 2009; Janta and
Ladkin, 2009; Kozinets, 2002; Morgan, 2008; O’Reilly et al., 2007; Woodside et al., 2007).
Additionally, netnographic data analysis is far less cumbersome than interviewtechniques in
that data are already in textual format, so there is no need for transcription (O’Reilly et al.,
2007). What is also signi?cant about netnography is that participants are virtually
anonymous and they can thererefore give their opinions or accounts more candidly. As
examples, in this study, participants used online pseudonyms such as ‘‘2010love’’,
‘‘Ultimateline’’, and ‘‘SightsAndSoul’’.
For the present study, a total of 30 tourist reviews pertaining to two restaurants which offer
(African) cultural experiences in Victoria Falls, namely, the Boma Place of Eating, and Mama
Africa, are analyzed manually. These reviews are available from www.tripadvisor.com/
Restaurant_Review-g293761-d780177-Reviews-Boma_Place_of_Eating-Victoria_Falls.html,
www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293761-d1142139-Reviews-Mama_Africa_
Eating_House-Victoria_Falls.html, and www.igougo.com/dining-reviews-b147907-Victoria_
Falls-Boma.html. To back the points made in the analysis of data, the paper lets the voices of
tourists speak through illustrative quotes from the reviews. Thus, the paper presents the
?ndings as thick descriptions. Some reviews were provided originally in Italian and German.
The author used ‘‘Google translation’’ to convert them to English, and also consulted her
Italian and German speaking peers to edit the computer generated translations. The
analysis process involved reading the reviews several times to get an intuitive feel of the
themes, noting down recurrent patterns and themes in the data, marking sections of data
that were illustrative of identi?ed themes, and relating the themes to existing theory[1].
Findings and discussion
There is a recurrent celebration of ‘‘fun’’ in the tourist reviews, which strongly suggests an
association between fun and experiential authenticity. The search for fun is a part of what it
means to be happy, which also in part de?nes existential authenticity (Kim and Jamal, 2007;
Olsen, 2002; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). To feel happy; to have fun in tourism is a signal
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that the experience itself must create access to the real self, because humans are ‘‘happy’’
when they are where they should be, doing what they should be doing, being who they really
are. It is important to note here that this happens independently of the authenticity of toured
objects (Goulding, 2000; Kim and Jamal, 2007; Kjell, 2002; Olsen, 2002; Steiner and
Reisinger, 2006). The following phrases from the reviews illustrate this point:
Great entertainment [. . .], a fun time.
Really fun, relaxed and very delicious.
A great, fun evening, food was mediocre but all in all [. . .].
[. . .] where everyone gets a drum and gets to beat along with the drumming group. Great fun!
[. . .] good food, fun time, cool show, de?nitely worth the price. Would go back.
The irrelevance of the authenticity of toured objects resonates with a postmodernist idea of
tourism which argues that tourists can derive satisfaction from inauthentic (in the
object-related sense) experiences as they do in ‘‘authentic’’ experiences (Carnegie and
McCabe, 2008b; Cohen, 2007; Goulding, 2000; Mazierska, 2002).
As previous studies argue, performativity (active experience/performing tourist activities) is
an important aspect of existentiality (Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Wang, 2000). Several
reviews highlight the performativity of authenticity:
From being draped in an African ‘‘dress’’ to face painting, hair braiding, learning to play drums,
watching the native performers [. . .].
[. . .] dancing. audience participation.
Your offered the chance to eat an African worm during the festivities, and if you so partake, a
certi?cate is awarded.
This place is not really a restaurant as such but more of a tourist experience that you get to eat
food and have activities like drum play, fortune telling, etc. [. . .].
[. . .] there is an interactive drumming session [. . .]
[. . .] what was most fun for me was the interactive drumming session.
Tourists therefore authenticate their experience in an existential sense by doing, seeing,
tasting, touching, and so on. This action orientation, or activity-relatedness of existential
authenticity advocates a shift from merely gazing at native performers – the so-called
‘‘tourist gaze’’ (Abbink, 2009; Clarke and Hiscock, 2009; Enevoldsen, 2003; Hollinshead,
1992; Macdonald, 1997; Urry, 1990; Walsh, 2002; White, 2007), for instance, towards active
involvement in the production and negotiation of the tourist experience. This is corroborated
by several cultural tourism studies (Middleton and Clarke, 2001).
A fundamental aspect of existential authenticity demonstrated in the reviews is
nonconformity and originality of the experience, which relate to tourists’ freedom from
institutionalized behaviors in public spheres. This notion has been highlighted in various
philosophical studies which see the modern man as engaging in tourism to counter the
super?ciality of public sphere roles (Berger, 1973; Goulding, 2000; Handler, 1986; Steiner
and Reisinger, 2006). Thus, reviews celebrate the unusualness, originality, or the
unexpectedness of the experience or some of its elements:
I wish someone would open a branch of the Boma in the United States as it would be very
successful as it is a highly original concept.
[. . .] with some unusual (wild) meats, [. . .].
What fun and so unexpected!. We were treated to [. . .]
Worth trying out for a change.
Existential authenticity derives partly from tourists’ affective responses to tourism
experiences. In the literature, emotions have long been recognized as in?uencing tourists’
satisfaction with the experience (Brown, 2009; Chang, 2008; Knudsen and Waade, 2010;
Matheson, 2005, 2008; McIntosh and Johnson, 2004). Thus, tourists’ accounts are often
?lled with emotion:
The highlight of the evening was the ?oorshow. The cool African night was ?lled with the sounds of
deep resonant male voices and driving beat of drums accompanied by the energy and intensity
of the native dancers, their feet moving with swift rhythm on the dirt ?oor near the central ?re pit.
The food, the colors, the music, the throbbing rhythms. It was quite an evening.
The soup was out of this world.
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[. . .], we SO enjoyed ourselves.
The Boma will bombard your senses with tastes, smells, sights and sounds of its very unique
gastronomic adventure and African entertainment.
Yummy. I wish I could eat there again.
This experience was an entire evening of total enjoyment, good friend, beautiful surroundings,
great entertainment, delicious food and a new appreciation of the culture of Zimbabwe.
[. . .], a real fun easy going time but romantic also.
[. . .] cant wait to go back.
If I found myself again Zimbabwe, I’d be sure to go again.
In these reviews, tourists frequently made evaluations of the total experience, rather than the
individual components of the experience. This again re?ects the experiential nature of
tourism consumption. As such, individual components of the experience must combine
synergistically into one memorable experience:
Overall, take it for what it is and you’ll enjoy it, but don’t come here just for the food.
The place is not really a restaurant as such but more of a tourist experience that you get [. . .]
The food is average, but all in all it was a truly enjoyable experience.
[. . .] was mediocre but all in all worth going [. . .]
They give you a real African experience.
The importance of aligning tourist experiences with one’s self-concept is evident in some
reviews. This is central to existential authenticity (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). Being
authentic is about being true to one’s idea of self (Berger, 1973; Handler, 1986; Hegel, 1977;
Heidegger, 1996; Sartre, 1992; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006; Trilling, 1972):
If you have no conscience and fancy eating the creatures you came to Africa to see in the wild,
then the Boma is the culinary experience for you.
We are not into these kinds of things AT ALL, and we had a great time.
I ama ?sh eating vegetarian and had good eating options. My husband the carnivore found the
game over-cooked and less tasty.
If you are into this sort of thing then I am sure you would ?nd it enjoyable.
The discussion so far, with emphasis on the self, focuses on the intrapersonal dimension of
existential authenticity (Leigh et al., 2006; Wang, 1999). Beyond that, the reviews also point to
the importance of interpersonal existential authenticity, which centers on the collective/social
experience of authenticity. Thus, tourists refer to ‘‘relevant others’’, ‘‘everyone’’, and so on, and
frequently use ‘‘?rst person plural’’ when describing the experience:
Good for a group or family.
We ate here as part [. . .] We are not into these kinds of things ATALL, and we had a great time
[. . .] My husband the carnivore found the game over-cooked and less tasty [. . .].
[. . .] where everyone gets to beat along with the drumming group [. . .].
Lots of locals popped in too which was a good sign of a place to enjoy our evening.
De?nitely a cool experience. We went as a large group at the end of our Kumuka tour.
Seemed like quite a lot to endure for a piece of paper, but my wife did it anyway. She’s a Texan.
I passed on the deep fried worms, though my bungee jumping friends tried themand said they
had a good crunch.
We ate here one night and had a lovely evening meeting other tourists and hadn’t realized we
were going to have [. . .].
This experience was an entire evening of total enjoyment, good friends, beautiful surroundings,
[. . .].
We were treated to traditional dancing and we were invited to join [. . .]
We loved our dinner at Mama Africa and would recommend [. . .]
We found this place our 2nd day and ate there every night.
Our meals were lovely (I had a very yummy vegetarian curry).
We tucked into eland, springbok, kudu, warthog, crocodile, ostrich, [. . .] and worms.
Conclusion and suggestions for future research
The analysis illustrates howthe experience of existential authenticity is at the centre of tourist
experiences and more importantly, how it is a highly personal process. The paper has also
demonstrated the ?uid nature of existential authenticity in tourist (restaurant) experiences.
Tourists negotiate the reality of their own experiences on a purely internalized basis. The
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importance of self-identity, self-realization, and of living in accord with one’s sense of self, is
re?ected in tourist reviews.
A strong suggestion is evident in the tourists’ reviews, however, that the totality of the
experience is more important than its individual components; and further, that a hedonistic
search for ‘‘fun’’ characterizes the tourist’ quest in tourism. Tourist’s comments place very
little emphasis on the authenticity of cultural objects, suggesting that existential authenticity
may be more important in this context than objectivist authenticity.
However, this observation would need veri?cation in more broad quantitative studies. As
such, the ?ndings of the study can be used as a base for future ?eldwork in various African
tourist destination contexts. Research in these places remains noticeably scanty. Further, the
limitations of space are such that authenticity as it relates to cultural objects could not be
discussed in this study, and future researchers may want to examine the phenomenon in the
context of restaurant cultural eatertainment.
For restaurant practitioners, several implications follow. First, the emphasis on the ‘‘total
experience’’ highlights the importance of thinking beyond the food on the plate. Therefore,
service augmentations, cultural or otherwise, are crucial in the tourist’s evaluation of the
experience. Tourists in these reviews, although expressing a concern with the high prices
charged by The Boma for example, still recommended it as worthwhile because ‘‘all in all’’ it
was a good experience.
Second, tourists’ reference to having been ‘‘pleasantly surprised’’ should spur restaurateurs
to indulge their creative abilities; to endeavor to give tourists unexpected add-ons, and to
create an experience ‘‘out of this world’’. Therefore, restaurants that are nonconformist,
original, and unusual, are likely to excite most tourists, although this is debatable.
Third, no restaurant can appeal universally to every tourist, however good it may seem.
Tourists themselves recognize this and are willing to accept that what they may not enjoy
themselves, other tourists may very well ?nd pleasurable: ‘‘If you are into this sort of thing’’.
Thus, tourists are ready to concede that tastes differ, and tourism suppliers, including
restaurateurs, cannot meet everyone’s tastes and preferences. Fourth, the importance of
collective authenticity is well illustrated in the reviews: tourists enjoy the sociality of tourism
experiences, thus the presence of locals, other tourists, ‘‘relevant others’’ (spouse, friends,
other tourists, and so on) is an important component of the overall experience.
For practitioners, this means that marketing collateral needs to re?ect the social interaction
concomitant to the experience. Mentioning group seating arrangements, compatibility with
family (for example seats for children), group discounts, and group activities, are some of the
ways in which interpersonal authenticity appears in re?ections of cultural restaurant
experiences.
Fourth, most tourists appreciate performative experiences in which they participate in the
production and delivery of eatertainment augmentations; thus practitioners might increase
tourists’ enjoyment by making their product augmentations more interactive rather than passive.
What is also certain in these reviews, though, is that different tourists perceive restaurant
experiences differently based on an unlimited set of variables (age, previous tourism
experience, cultural background, and so on). In the ?nal analysis, authenticity, existential or
otherwise, as Chang et al. (2008) expresses, is in the eyes of the beholder.
Note
1. The reviews analyzed in this study are given as they are online, that is, they are not edited for
typographical or other errors.
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About the author
Muchazondida Mkono, prior to joining Southern Cross University as an international PhD
student in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, lived in her native Zimbabwe,
where she began her academic career. Her current PhD focuses on authenticity in
Zimbabwean tourist eatertainment. Muchazondida Mkono can be contacted at:
[email protected]
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