A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF TOURISTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS CHINATOWN'S AUTHENTICITY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This paper aims to uncover the extent to which tourists’ authentic experiences are affected as a result of the types of attitudes held towards ‘authenticity’ and, the important aspects and dominant features that contribute to the realization of authentic experiences in Chinatown. As authenticity becomes a consumer preference that is increasingly sought after, the attitudes held towards ‘authenticity’ become crucial in the understanding of the selective signals picked up and interpreted. Where actions are an actualization of attitudes, the goal of providing an authentic experience would therefore boils down to the examination of how ‘authenticity’ is defined by the tourists. The three typology of authenticity proposed by Wang (1999) is hence adopted as the basis of study – objective authenticity, constructive authenticity and existential authenticity. The findings revealed that the differential definitions of ‘authenticity’ under the three types of authenticity and consequently a variation in emphases in the different aspects of site presentation have resulted in a less intensive experience for tourists inclined towards objective authenticity. Even as similar aspects were identified, the interpretations of the same stimuli differ. The main contribution of this research is to provide an understanding of the tourists’ mental processes and identify the dominant aspects and features of presentation that iv contribute to the authentic experience. Of which, these aspects could be further delved into to allow the tourist planners, urban planners and private investors to come up with strategies that can achieve a fine balance between tourism/economic pragmatism and heritage conservation.