Authenticity as a compromise: a critical discourse analysis of Sámi tourism websites

Abstract

Authenticity is considered a very important means to attract tourists. Different enterprises and destinations compete for visitors and authenticity is an important factor for visitors' travel decisions. Within the context of indigenous and cultural tourism, several studies have criticized the way in which indigenous and local populations are portrayed in order to attract tourists, since they often involve colonial images and descriptions that are no longer corresponding to the contemporary situation. This study presents an alternative perspective on the discussion on tourism marketing in relation to authenticity. Through critical discourse analysis and retroduction, this study has analysed the websites of Sámi tourism companies from Sweden. The discussion put forward in this study is not a generalizing picture of how the Sámi peoples choose to market themselves, but it problematizes how these particular enterprises relate to issues of authenticity in the representation of cultural heritage. This paper also presents a new approach to authenticity seen as a compromise. The results of this study present one side of a multifaceted discussion on the struggle between different discourses on representations and authenticity that are often the main channel to reach and attract potential visitors.

The halal tourism – alternative or mass tourism? Indications of traditional mass tourism on crescent rating guidelines on halal tourism

“…To reduce bias and introduce reliability of the qualitative results (Oleinik, 2011), the results were consulted with reviewers internal of the author university with expertise in tourism management. Previous research with similar methods also analyzed to understand how they reach the conclusion based on their results (Liasidou, 2018; de Bernardi, 2019). In Liasidou’s (2018) study on cultural tourism on the web, written contents of a website are reviewed to develop an understanding of cultural elements promoted by the website.…”

Affect as a multimodal practice

“…Lantto and Mörkenstam, 2008). In global markets, feeling proud of indigenous heritage has further evolved into a strategy for economic growth, and within saturated markets, notions of indigenous people are employed through discourse to signify goods and services as “authentic.” Tellingly, Sámi traditions are valorized as goods and services in many consumer fields, for example, in the branding of hotels and spa treatments, 2 in the branding of clothes as inspired by the Sámi lifestyle, 3 in the marketing of traditional Sámi handicraft, 4 culinary traditions 5 and, of course, in heritage tourism (de Bernardi, 2019; Viken and Müller, 2017b). Such acts of commodification continue a tradition from the late 19th century of representing Sàmi people as desirable to audiences that had purchasing power (Baglo, 2011).…”

Desiring the indigenous: affective commodification of the Sámi

“…Tellingly, these days, Sámi traditions are valorized as goods and services in many consumerist fieldsfor example, in the branding of hotels and spa treatments 2 , in the branding of clothes as inspired by the Sámi lifestyle 3 , in the marketing of traditional Sámi handicraft 4 , culinary traditions 5 and, of course, in heritage tourism (cf. Viken and Müller 2017b;de Bernardi 2019). Parallel to this, there is currently an upswing in mainstream Sámi pop music acts (e.g.…”