Insights
The Market for Fake Authenticity
Many times, while visiting tourist areas, markets, and souvenir stalls, I have heard buyers ask the same questions: Is this…
When Culture Becomes a Tourist Performance
In 2010, during a business trip to China, I visited Beijing for the first time.While walking through the Forbidden City,…
When Tourism Turns Places Into Performances
At some point, tourism stops being about the place itself.It becomes about reproducing the same experience millions of times.The same…
When “Local Crafts” Are Neither Local nor Crafted
In many tourist destinations, what is presented as “local crafts” is often neither local nor crafted. What happens when tourism…