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Authentic Experiences: Designing Real Experiences, Delivering Real Benefits

By Cheryl Hargrove, President, The HTC Group

Authenticity. Today, it’s the hallmark for excellence and credibility in the marketplace. Yet authenticity is not a new phenomenon in consumer products and services. Indeed, authenticity has gained stature in recent years due in part to an increase in “inauthentic” or fake deliverables not standing up to their hype or promise. Understanding what is real and what is not—and valuing the difference between the two—allows customers to make informed choices based on their own personal perceptions and criteria.

But how does authenticity relate to tourism? Webster’s dictionary defines authenticity as “worthy of acceptance because of accuracy.” Authenticity occurs in travel when the visitor gets a compelling, place-based experience and the destination credibly presents its story with integrity and factual accuracy. Engaging the customer in a real conversation about a real community allows greater opportunity for connectivity between visitor and resident, person and place. Destinations can realize immediate and long-term benefits from authenticity in travel. When visitors have a great experience, they share positive impressions with others. In turn, those customers think favorably of the destination and potentially become future visitors that spend money in the destination.

The tourism litmus test for authenticity is making sure the actual visit meets or exceeds the visitor’s perception. Pine and Gilmour, authors of The Experience Economy, recently wrote in Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, “displayed appearances can be the crucial element of determining authenticity, particularly for places.” Citing how the inauthentic presentation of Tombstone, Arizona is risking the town’s historic integrity, Pine and Gilmour share that it is “all of the representations + perceptions inherent in your displayed appearances” that hold you accountable to a customer’s perception of authenticity. Certainly the built environment provides a concrete way to determine authenticity—if it is old or not, original or reconstructed, or rehabilitated in some way—but you can also differentiate fake from real in other ways. For instance, what your website looks like is as important as the information conveyed there. What messages are you sending, or first impressions are you providing, to the customer? Can you deliver on the products and services you are selling? If so, will they meet the expectations of your audience?

For byways, consider authenticity in the context of the six intrinsic qualities for designation. Authenticity needs to be demonstrated in these qualities to provide distinctive, unique experiences valued by customers. The natural and scenic qualities of a place, the assets that distinguish one destination from another, are the visual elements where authenticity can shine. The attractiveness of open spaces and unbroken sight lines beckon visitors to experience these one-of-a-kind gems. From the tall prairie grass in Kansas’ Flint Hills to the rugged coast of Alaska’s Marine Coast Highway, byways depend on the distinctiveness of their natural and scenic assets to attract visitors and sustain the intrinsic qualities of the place.

Hiking, biking, birding, and other forms of recreation may be similar, but the place where they occur—the type of flora and fauna witnessed along the way, the geological formations and landscapes that provide the platform for access—is unique. Keeping these places distinctive, and not losing their intrinsic recreational significance, is vital.

Historic assets are easily quantified as authentic or not. Almost two decades ago, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized the need to “get real” with travel. This national institution built its heritage tourism program on principles of authenticity and quality as one way to differentiate this segment from other types of mass-market travel. Why? Authenticity in heritage tourism helps the customer to understand—and hopefully value—the difference between a fake façade and a real historic building; to recognize the importance of standing on the site where a significant moment in history occurred; or, to appreciate participating in an event that commemorates or memorializes an event or activity. An historical marker does not evoke as compelling an experience as visiting Ernest Hemingway’s Key West house where he wrote A Farewell to Arms.

Archaeology also lends itself to authenticity, when based on actual finds or documentation. Walking the sacred Pu’u Loa trail on Hawai’i’s Big Island becomes a more personal journey when you learn the origin of this memorial. Authenticity in archaeology requires disclosing the real artifacts versus replicas, protecting sites from vandalism or looting, and educating visitors on what the evidence tells us about the past and its relevance to the present.

Cultural integrity and authenticity are often conveyed through the words or actions of a storyteller. The individual guide, billed as an expert or local insider, can turn narrative into a rich and compelling dialogue. Validation of the cultural message lies in how the information is presented. Conjecture or lore, supposition or oral history, the basis of the story must be clear for cultural authenticity. For the performing arts, authentic dance or music usually relate to or include local traditions or ethnicity. When considering cultural authenticity, ask if an artist is expressing his/her work and describing the object, painting or picture in relation to the place? Are restaurants serving up local cuisine or using local ingredients to tell their story? How and where can you best experience local culture?

The benchmark for authenticity in travel is reviewing all the activities engaged in by visitors—from trip planning to on-site experiences such as dining, shopping, entertainment, lodging, recreation, and touring—and determining how credibly you present the collective experience.

To design your own authentic travel experiences, consider these five steps:

1. Research the “real.” Discover the authentic stories and sites that contribute to your unique place. Seek out little-known facts or trivia to help add flavor or put information into context. Update data frequently to accommodate changes in the political, social, and economic landscape, and record new chapters in the destination’s lifecycle. The Blue Ridge Parkway pioneered parkway engineering and design; near the southern terminus of this All-American Road is also the birthplace of forest conservation in America. Visit the Cradle of Forestry Museum near Brevard to learn more about this landmark event and its impact.

2. Document the sources. Understanding where information comes from, and the credibility of research, is of paramount importance to customers today. While the Internet is a great research tool, not all information—nor all sources—is valid. Make sure you can defend whatever claims you make in exhibits, marketing, interpretive materials, etc. At various sites along Utah and Colorado’s Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, paleontologists excavate bones and prepare museum displays. These experts provide the authoritative voice for the region’s prehistoric artifacts.

3. Tell the truth. Integrity in messaging is key for customers to believe your story. In “The Four Truths of the Storyteller” (Harvard Business Review, December 2007), author Peter Gruber discusses the power of oral narratives to inspire action in others and meet business (community) goals. Gruber says, “great storytelling does not conflict with truth. In the business world and elsewhere, it is always built on the integrity of the story and its teller.” He continues, “…it’s not enough to get the facts right—you’ve got to get the emotional arc right as well. Every storyteller is in the expectations-management business and must take responsibility for leading listeners effectively through the story experience, incorporating both surprise and fulfillment. The ending of a great narrative is the first thing the audience remembers. The job of the teller is to capture his mission in a story that evokes powerful emotions and thereby wins the assent and support of his listeners. Everything he does must serve that mission.”

4. Deliver on the promise. Maintain the integrity of the assets. Even though a place constantly changes, accurately portraying the evolution of a destination defines what is authentic and what is not. Monitor the messages. Engage the customer in the mission. Destinations, especially linear corridors or large areas encompassing multiple communities, must carefully collaborate to deliver quality and consistency without compromising uniqueness, to ensure that the individual attractions contribute to an overall compelling and authentic visit. According to Pine and Gilmore, “businesses that render original authenticity stimulate the buyer’s sense of discovery.” They suggest that companies (or destinations) should “name a Chief Experience Officer or CXO, responsible and accountable for developing, launching and managing the rich portfolio of placemaking experiences you create in order to generate new sources of both revenue and profits in a world where authenticity is becoming the new consumer sensibility.” The authors further recommend, “the CXO should have primary responsibility for ensuring that what customers experience in these places matches what you are as a company.” This emphasizes designing authentic experiences and also managing the delivery of authenticity—concepts that should be embraced by every destination.

5. Reap the benefits. Authentic experiences provide the credibility to compete for respectful visitors and provide them with a reason to travel. For destinations, authenticity offers the opportunity to showcase local assets as the “unique selling proposition” and attract visitor spending that can stimulate sustainable tourism.

Authenticity should be considered in the assessment and development of resources, be a primary reason for preservation and protection of intrinsic qualities, and serve as the benchmark for measuring effective and appropriate delivery of experiences. Bottom line: live your vision and mission, and offer it to others to experience and embrace.

Cheryl M. Hargrove is President of The HTC Group, an alliance of independent consultants specializing in providing quality products and services in cultural heritage tourism; strategic planning; tourism development and management; and marketing. She can be reached at (912) 638-6078 or htcgroup@mindspring.com.