International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 387394

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International Journal of Hospitality Management
j our nal home page: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ i j hosman
A netnographic examination of constructive authenticity in Victoria Falls tourist
(restaurant) experiences

Muchazondida Mkono
Southern Cross University, School of Tourismand Hospitality Management, P.O. Box 157, Lismore, New South Wales 2480, Australia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Keywords:
Constructive authenticity
Eatertainment
Victoria Falls
Netnography
a b s t r a c t
The concept of constructive authenticity is seen as encapsulating the subjective nature of authenticity
evaluations in tourism experiences. However, very few studies discuss the notion in the context of cultural
eatertainment. This paper presents a netnographic analysis of tourists restaurant reviews and examines
how authenticity is projected onto cultural objects. Online tourist reviews of two popular Victoria Falls
restaurants, namely Mama Africa Eating House and The Boma Place of Eating, were downloaded and
analysed. Findings demonstrate that tourists are concerned about authenticity of cultural representations
in restaurant experiences, although their constructions of what constitutes real African culture are
extremely uid. The study also discusses the implications of ndings for theory and practice, and offers
suggestions for further enquiry.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
A growing trend in Victoria Falls hotels (Zimbabwe) is to aug-
ment foodservice experiences via traditional (African) cultural
eatertainment (Ritzers (1999) termfor entertainment of eaters).
Thus hotel restaurants offer various forms of cultural products and
performances including traditional music and dance, sculptures
and carving displays and demonstrations, hair-braiding demon-
strations, ethnic architecture and dcor, traditional dress display
andsale, traditional storytelling, traditional face painting, local eth-
nic cuisines, and local fortune telling, among others.
The restaurants relevant to this study, namely Mama Africa
Eating House and The Boma Place of Eating, are two of the
most popular tourist attractions in Victoria Falls, and as such, they
attract tourists from all over the globe. These restaurants also
have the largest numbers of reviews posted about them online.
Mama Africa, on the restaurants webpage, in addition to multi-
cultural/multiracial tourist pictures, is described as a traditional
township style place of eating featuring dishes from all over
the African continent and a local township jazz style live band
(Dingani.com, 2011). The Boma Place of Eating webpage on the
other hand markets the restaurant as a unique cultural experience

Note: The reviews analysed were accessed 17 March 2011 and are available
from http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant Review-g293761-d780177-
Reviews-Boma Place of Eating-Victoria Falls.html and http://www.tripadvisor.ca/
Restaurant Review-g293761-d1142139-Reviews-Mama Africa Eating House-
Victoria Falls.html.
E-mail addresses: muchajosie@gmail.com, mmkono10@scu.edu.au
that bombards the senses with the tastes, sights, sounds & smells
of Africa, which specializes in a superb selection of traditional
Zimbabwean dishes. The description draws attention to local
delicacies such as warthog steaks and game stews, as well as tra-
ditional entertainment performances, which are described as the
highlight of the evening.
These marketing communications capture the intended expec-
tation from guests or tourists. Therefore, tourists who visit the
relevant websites (this of course is not uncommon among modern
tourists) prior to dining at the restaurants anticipate an experi-
ence beyond a meal. As a result, their post-consumption reviews
reect the culturality of the experience, which often lends themto
authenticity evaluations.
As the evaluation of authenticity in cultural representation
entails dening the relevant cultural identities which are show-
cased, abrief outlineof theethnic-cultural backgroundfor thestudy
is in line. For Zimbabwe, ethnicity and cultural authority have been
part of social and political discourses for decades (Levinson, 1998).
The country is home to more than 20 ethnic groups. The indige-
nous tribes represent over 97% of the population. The remainder
consists of people of European ancestry (chiey English, German,
Afrikaaner, Dutch), mixed races (chiey African-European), and
Asians. Shona tribes (Karanga, Korekore, Manyika, Zezuru, Rozvi,
among others) and Ndebele tribes (examples are Xosa, Zulu, Swati)
account for at least 87% of the population; of that, the Shona repre-
sents at least 70%. Other minorityethnicities areShangani, Nambya,
Nyanja, Chewa, Venda, Ndau, Remba, Sena, Kalanga, and Sotho
(Levinson, 1998; Ranger, 1989).
With this background in mind, this paper examines how
tourists negotiate and project authenticity onto toured cultural
0278-4319/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2011.06.013
388 M. Mkono / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 387394
objects in restaurant/eatertainment experiences. The premise is
that, in essence, tourists construct their own idea of authentic
Zimbabweanness/Africanness, and use this to form authenticity
judgements. It is worth commenting that international tourists are
unlikely to be familiar with the intricate details concerning the
ethnicities found in Zimbabwe. They therefore would lack a fac-
tual basis for making authenticity judgements, although this does
not deter them, as the ndings of the study will demonstrate. This
only makes the case for the constructivist nature of authenticity
much stronger, thereby providing a strong rationale for this study.
The paper also gleans from tourists reviews the subjective signif-
icance of object authenticity in tourismexperiences. In doing this,
the intention is to examine whether suggestions in recent litera-
ture, (for example Reisinger and Steiner, 2006), that tourists have
become indifferent to authenticity of objects (implying that object
authenticity as a topic of inquiry is redundant), are valid.
While the concept of constructive authenticity is widely dis-
cussed in tourism theory as encapsulating the subjective nature
of in tourism experiences, it has rarely been examined within
the context of cultural eatertainment. Within African contexts in
particular, cultural eatertainment is under-researched, yet it is a
commonplace tourist offering. Specically, the paper investigates
the construction of Zimbabweanness and Africanness in relation to
two Victoria Falls restaurants. In its empirically based explication
of the construction and deconstruction of authenticity in relation
tocultural representations ineatertainment, it operationalises con-
structive authenticity as it is applies to tourists.
2. Authenticity in tourist experience
The last few decades have seen increased academic interest
in the subject of authenticity since MacCannell introduced it to
academe as part of his staged authenticity theory (Goulding, 2000;
Kjell, 2002; Kontogeorgopoulos, 2003; Leigh et al., 2006; Notar,
2006; Olsen, 2002; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006; Tilley, 1997; Wang,
1999; Warner, 2009; Weissmann, 2008; Wherry, 2006; Xie and
Wall, 2002; Yang and Wall, 2009; Yu and Littrell, 2003; Zeppel,
1995). MacCannells seminal work portrayed tourists as hungering
for an authentic experience to compensate for what had become
mundane existence in their home environments (Chhabra, 2010;
Jennings and Stehlik, 2001). Tourismin this view is seen as driven
by curiosity to see how others live their lives (Prentice, 2001).
Although this viewhas been widely criticised, (Cole, 2007; Conran,
2006; Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Lacy and Douglass, 2002; Lau,
2010; Nyiri, 2006), MacCannells theory started a debate that is set
to persist for centuries.
While this is the case, understanding what authenticity means
remains problematic. Denitions of authenticity are highly con-
volutedandhave beenwidely contested(Beer, 2008; Conran, 2006;
Graham, 2001; Selwyn, 1996; Silver, 1993; Taylor, 2001; Wall
and Xie, 2005). For some, authentic may refer to objects and
expressions that have not been altered by the modernisation or
commodication; that have strong associations with traditional
societies; that are interesting to tourists because they diverge from
the mainstream (Chang et al., 2008; Smith and Duffy, 2003). It
denotes that something proceeds from its stated source (Jones,
2010). However this represents only one perspective, and there are
many other types or sub-conceptualisations of authenticity each
with its respective denition or theoretical orientation: construc-
tive authenticity, symbolic authenticity, existential authenticity,
cool authenticity, activity-related authenticity, object/objectivist
authenticity, emotional authenticity, performative authenticity,
and so on (Goulding, 2000; Grieves, 1982; Humphreys et al., 2011;
Kimand Jamal, 2007; Kontogeorgopoulos, 2003; Leigh et al., 2006;
Notar, 2006; Olsen, 2002; Pearce, 2007; Ram, 2007; Reisinger and
Steiner, 2006; Selwyn, 1996; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006; Tilley,
1997; Wherry, 2006).
The frustration with trying to nd a universal denition of
authenticity has led some academics to conclude that the con-
cept must be abandoned altogether as the confusion surrounding
its meaning is so great that it negates any contribution to knowl-
edge it might have brought to the eld of tourism (Beer, 2008;
Reisinger and Steiner, 2006). However Wangs (2000) frame-
work offers a more simplied typology: object-related authenticity
(which includes objective authenticity and constructive authentic-
ity), andexistential, or activity-relatedauthenticity. Theexperience
of existential authenticity is quite separate fromthe experience of
object-related authenticity: existential authenticity is not depen-
dent onthe authenticityof touredobjects (Goulding, 2000; Kimand
Jamal, 2007; Kjell, 2002; Olsen, 2002; Steiner and Reisinger, 2006).
Existential authenticity relates to being true to oneself, being
happy, being human, being in touch with ones inner being, living
in harmony with ones sense of self, being who you want to be, to
assert ones ownwill, andhavingthefreedomtointerpret theworld
freely from institutionalised conventions (Berger, 1973; Berman,
1970; Crang, 1996; Golomb, 1995; Hegel, 1977; Heidegger, 1996;
Sartre, 1992; Steiner andReisinger, 2006). Thus intourismthere is a
negotiation of authentic objects and authentic selves (Jones, 2010).
Objective authenticity onthe other handrefers tothe museum-
sense of authenticity where experts judge whether an object is the
original it is claimed to be:
where persons expert insuchmatters test whether objects of art
are what they appear to be or are claimed to be, and therefore
worth the price that is asked for them- or, if this has already
been paid, worth the admiration they are being given (Trilling,
1972, p. 93).
It is a realist conception which advocates a discernible basis
for the authenticity of tangible cultural objects that include arte-
facts, events, cuisines, practices, anddress. There is therefore a clear
divide between essentialist perspectives and non-object related
perspectives. There have been attempts however to bridge this
divide, with the creation of a middle ground between the two
extremes, anapproachreferredto as theoplacity (Belhassenet al.,
2008; Chhabra, 2010). Despite these efforts, most authors are still
inclined to maintain a sharp demarcation between the two concep-
tions.
3. Understanding constructive authenticity
The constructivist view (thus constructive authenticity) sees
authenticity as a product of social construction, lending itself to
subjectivity andnegotiability. Thus it represents anattribute which
is projected onto toured objects by tourists or tourism suppli-
ers based on their imagery, expectations, preferences or powers.
Within this view therefore, authenticity and inauthenticity are a
result of howindividuals perceive andinterpret objects andexpres-
sions. Inother words, thebasis of authenticityis social andpersonal,
so that ultimately all tourismexperiences and judgements thereof
are personal (Beer, 2008; Reisinger and Steiner, 2006). A closely
related concept is Prentices (2001) learned authenticity, which he
denes as built around the expert opinion of tour guides and/or
other authorities. Tourists may defer to the subjective opinions of
these experts, and revise their own perceptions. As such authen-
ticity becomes a product of a multitude of personal and social
inuences.
Evidently, the constructionist perspective of authenticity is
informed by a cultural constructionist epistemology. Cultural con-
structionism asserts that knowledge and reality are products of
their cultural context. Thus emphasis is placed on subjective
M. Mkono / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 387394 389
meaning that is only accepted within a specic context. Construc-
tionisms main ontological assumption is that there is no unique
real world that pre-exists independently of human mental activ-
ity and human symbolic language (Hollinshead, 2006; Ryan and
Gu, 2010). Thus reality is best viewed under this framework as
pluralistic and plastic; as the result of varying versions of human
interpretation and construction; in simpler terms, as the result
of perspective. Within the authenticity debate, a constructionist
perspective holds that authenticity or inauthenticity is the result
of how persons perceive things. Consequently, the experience of
authenticity is pluralistic, relative to each type of tourist, who
may have their own way of denition, experience, and interpre-
tation. Thus, tourists make judgements about the authenticity of
toured objects so that their perceptions are real in their own
right, regardless of experts view from an objective viewpoint.
Constructionists see authenticity as subject to cultural selectivity
and/or interpretation and the hegemonic voices of cultural mar-
keters, scholars, local authorities, and more (Hollinshead, 2006;
Iwashita, 2003; Kim and Jamal, 2007, p. 183; Varlander, 2009;
Whyte, 1996). Constructive authenticity has also been described
as cool authenticity, wherein tourists make judgements about the
authenticity of toured objects (Selwyn, 1996; Smith and Duffy,
2003).
A further related concept is emergent authenticity (Cohen,
1988). Since authenticity canbe appropriatedby association, emer-
gent authenticity can be produced when an inauthentic object
is immersed into what is perceived as authentic (Robinson and
Clifford, 2007). Over the course of time, cultural objects that were
previously understood to be fake may become accepted as authen-
tic.
But perhaps the most expressive description of the constructed,
that is, negotiable nature of authenticity is that provided by Chang
et al. (2008, p. 391): the concept of authenticity. . ., like beauty, is
in the eye of the beholder. This analogy is the authors preferred
understanding of constructive authenticity in tourism.
4. Methodology
Conventional customer feedback surveys often offer very lit-
tle insight into customer experiences: since they are solicited,
customers may complete them rashly and then only out of obli-
gation; customers may also misrepresent their evaluations of the
experience if they are in proximity with the service deliverer.
However, netnography (online ethnography) allows researchers
access to highly personal accounts of customers lived experi-
ences throughreviews postedononline blog/message boards. Most
online reviews of tourismexperiences are providedona purely vol-
untary basis. As a result, they are more likely to offer the reviewers
candid views.
Netnography is a relatively novel research technique origi-
nally developed for online marketing research by Robert Kozinet
in the 1990s (Beaven and Laws, 2007; Dwivedi, 2009; Janta and
Ladkin, 2009; Kozinets, 2006; Morgan, 2008). To be more accurate,
netnography is a multimethod, that is, a combination of various
methods and techniques that can include content analysis, his-
torical analysis, semiotics, hermeneutics, narrative analysis, and
thematic analysis, among others (OReilly et al., 2007).
For the present study, the webpage marketing messages and
online reviews of two Victoria Falls restaurants (Boma Place
of Eating and Mama Africa Eating House) which offer cultural
experiences for tourists were downloaded and analysed manually.
Thematic analysis was conducted on the reviews to identify recur-
rent patterns (Baumgartner andSchneider, 2010; BraunandClarke,
2006; Floersch et al., 2010; Gupta and Levenburg, 2010). First, the
reviews were read and reread a fewtimes to get a general sense of
the themes in the data. This was followed by a process of manual
coding (identifying, marking out, and making notes on interesting
and recurrent ideas). Illustrative quotes were then highlighted for
reference and evidence in the discussion of ndings. (Note: In the
presentation of ndings, quotations are provided as they appear
on the tourist review site, and are not edited for typographical
and/or grammatical errors. This was done to obviate the possibility
of misrepresenting the tourists postings.)
It is signicant that although the 30 reviewers were of diverse
nationalities, they were for the most part Western (German,
Canada, Italy, Australia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States),
with only three from Africa (two from South Africa, two from
Botswana), and one from Japan. It is fair therefore to say that in
this study, the views of non-Westerners, in particular Africans, are
not represented. Indeed the absence of an African tourist perspec-
tive in tourismliterature in general is the primary rationale for the
authors future eldwork in Victoria Falls, for which the present
study serves as a preparatory analysis.
A fewof the reviews were in Italian and German. As the author
does not speak either of these languages, the Google Translation
function was used, and checked against translations provided by
peers who are native speakers of these languages.
5. Themes and discussion
5.1. Constructions of a cultural experience
Most tourists made reference to cultural augmentations in the
restaurant experience, although their evaluations were in the main
relating to the total experience. There were several references to an
African/Zimbabwean/cultural experience in some formor other.
The theme of a cultural experience that went beyond a meal was
recurrent throughout. In the case of cultural restaurants therefore,
an important criterion for evaluating the quality of the restaurant
experience relates to the perceived authenticity of cultural repre-
sentations.
Much more than a meal, it is a cultural experience.
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
playing, fortune telling etc. . .
dont come here just for the food
The cultural experience is described stereotypically by one
tourist as a native one. Suchlanguageuseis thediscourseengaged
with by postcolonial writers, who point out the Othering and
exoticisation of African and other non-Western destinations (for
example Osagie and Buzinde, 2011). The construction of authentic-
ity is therefore implicated in the hegemonic undertones in tourism
experiences:
From being draped in an African dress to face painting, hair
braiding, learning to play drums, watching the native perform-
ers.
Some reviews demonstrate the reviewers eye for detail in
scrutinising cultural object augmentations, an observation which
clearly supports Belhassen and Catons thesis that authenticity (of
objects) still matters to most, if not all, tourists.
On entrance, your adorned in an African robe and face painted
with some sort of African symbol which seemed to look all the
same, but all had a different meaning as I overheard the painters
describe their work to the guests. . .This is followed by African
tribal chanting, dancing, then a drumming session where every-
one gets a drum and gets to beat along with the drumming
group.
390 M. Mkono / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 387394
The theme is African food and culture, and besides the food
there are a number of things going on each night, starting with
being draped in an African dress, a face painter and a sangoma
throwing bones going round, dancers, singers and of course
the drummers who will have everybody participate.
In some instances, two reviewers are describing the same cul-
tural object, but their descriptions differ signicantly. For example,
for the tourist above, the sangoma throws the bones, but in the
following example, a witch doctor throws the bones. But this is
typical of restrospective constructions of experiences: they rely on
fallible memory. As such, the evaluation of authenticity lends itself
to a awed process of recollecting events and tourists evolving
meanings, perceptions, knowledge, andassumptions as timepasses
after the experience:
At intervals during our meal, we were entertained by Shangaan
dancers and singers, and also by the Sangoma, a storyteller,
relating country folklore, culture and heritage through wonder-
ful stories. There were also two witch doctors offering to tell our
fortunes by throwing bones.
The interest in toured objects conveyed in the above statements
corroborates the view that tangible culture reies the experience
for many tourists. If they touch, it, smell it, hear it, see it, with their
senses, the more real the experience for them. This embodied per-
formance in tourist space has been discussed widely in literature
(for example Perkins and Thorns, 2001; Veijola and Jokinen, 1994).
After the ritual pre-dinner hand-washing and a sip of the local
beer, which was little rough, we moved on to. . .
. . .fun where you can have your fortune told by a witch doctor,
listen to African music or win a certicate for eating the local
delicacy a mopane warm.
The restaurant is set in thatched African style.
However, that restaurant experiences are and should be much
more than a meal is not new to tourism theory, as illustrated in
the concept of basic, core, and augmented product levels (Bojanic
and Kashyap, 2000). But cultural augmentations add more than
functional value to a product or service. Cultural augmentations
elevate the consumption of food to a cultural-capital-enhancing
activity. For diners, the focus is partly diverted from the food to a
process of cultural immersion, education and exchange, thus in the
case of the Boma the place is not really a restaurant as such but
more of a tourist experience, as expressed by one reviewer. For
the reviewer in this case, when cultural elements are added to the
food, the termrestaurant becomes inadequate as a label. This idea
is also expressed by an Australian tourist:
I thought it would be was just a buffet restaurant but there is an
interactive drumming session as well as.
The pleasant surprise in nding that a restaurant is more than
just a buffet restaurant, for instance, is illustrative of the impact
of augmenting services by adding unanticipated attributes. It also
highlights the challenge for restaurateurs to continually enhance
their product/service packaging. But beyond the excitement that
accompanies discovering that a restaurant is really a cultural expe-
rience, tourists nd themselves engaged in an internal debate over
whether this cultural experience proceeds fromits stated source
(Jones, 2010). In this instance they actively negotiate whether local
culture as it is showcased by the Boma or Mama Africa is in fact
Zimbabwean/African culture. But of course, Zimbabwean/African
culture is not a xed, absolute, tested reality out there. At best, for
tourists, it rests on their pre-visit destination research (informa-
tion collected fromfriends who have visited Africa before, website
information, googling, travel agency brochure descriptions, and
so on), and at worst, on their imaginations and stereotypes. Thus
tourists evaluations of authenticity are really their constructions
of it.
5.2. Constructing Africanness and appropriating cultural
authority
Virtually all tourist reviews attempted to evaluate the African-
ness of the restaurant experience. However, as noted above, the
Africanness of an experience is itself a socio-culturally contin-
gent perception, at least within the constructivist line of thinking
(Reisinger and Steiner, 2006). What qualies to be called African
is not an external reality that can be discovered separate fromthe
mind; it is a construction of the individuals perception in interac-
tion with the (social) environment (Hollinshead, 2006; Iwashita,
2003; Ryan and Gu, 2010; Varlander, 2009; Whyte, 1996). The
use of real, touristy, authentic signies, during the tourist
experience, a concurrent evaluative process in relation to cultural
authenticity.
At your tableyouorder appetizers immediatelyas well as drinks,
and are given a traditional (and authentic) beer type beverage.
They give you a real African experience.
Some tourists highlight the added satisfaction in sharing the
experience with other tourists. In the following example, the
tourists constructionof anauthentic experience is therefore rooted
in experiencing with others like themselves. The process is there-
fore not only subjective, but also intersubjective:
We ate here one night and had a lovely evening meeting with
other tourists and hadnt realized we were going to have enter-
tainment with African dancers and band. Very well done.
It is also particularly interesting to note the implicit assumption
among tourists that they have the prerogative to pass authen-
ticity judgements about presumably unfamiliar cultural objects.
Indeed, a discussion of authenticity is always implicated in a cul-
tural authority debate. In these reviews tourists tacitly assume that
they hold cultural authority; that they can authenticate or inau-
thenticate cultural objects. But such an appropriation of cultural
authority has hegemonic and moral connotations and implica-
tions. Do tourists, who are arguably unfamiliar with a native
culture, have a legitimate basis for asserting that a cultural object is
touristy or otherwise? It would be interesting to provide Africans
cultural suppliers with the opportunity to comment on tourists
presumptions in this relation.
A little touristy, but well worth the trip.
The Boma is Darkest Africa with a touch of Disney.
Some tourists attempt to paint as graphic an image as possible,
understandably so that readers of the reviewcanalmost picture the
Boma, or Mama Africa, as the case might be. So they liken aspects of
the experience with global examples, such as Disney, and use pop-
ular descriptive jargon, such as touristy. This use of analogy is also
an attempt in the construction of authenticity to create a common
language among users of travel blogospheres. Users understandthe
need to exchange meanings effectively, as well as the symbolism
of their communication.
Its unabashedly touristy, but if you want a taste of Africa, this
is the place to come. Which was why I was here.
Mama Africa claims to be a traditional township style place of
eating. What it certainly is is an excellent restaurant, . . .
For some tourists, the process of constructing and deconstruct-
ing authenticity perceptions is a cognitive or epistemic (knowledge
M. Mkono / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 387394 391
creating) activity. These tourists see the cultural experience as
an active learning process, in which they attempt to ascertain
facts. Thus they investigate meanings of exotic words, and try
to match their discovered meanings with what they observe rst
hand:
The Boma is a Swahili word meaning armed enclosure; an
opening gathering place where there is a burning re; meals are
prepared and guests are seated in a circle, under open skies. The
Boma in Victoria Falls ts this description perfectly.
The restaurant literature translates Boma as a place of eating,
though Ive also heard it translated as the gathering place or
simply an enclosure. This particular gathering place is meant
to look and feel like a Ndebele village with its forest setting,
thatched roofs, and hypnotic African drums.
The preoccupation with evaluating authenticity demonstrated
in the reviews casts doubt over postmodern theory which opines
that authenticity may be irrelevant to many tourists, who either
do not value it, are suspicious of it, are complicit in its cynical con-
struction for commercial purposes, or are aware that it is merely a
marketing device. (Kim and Jamal, 2007, p. 66). Whether or not
tourists evaluations are in fact accurate cannot be used as an
argument for rejecting object authenticity.
In other words, tourists reviews conrm the personal basis of
judgement, as they offered sometimes diametrically opposite per-
ceptions of authenticity. Thus while some referred to a real African
encounter, others felt that the experience was unabashedly
touristy, for example.
There are also notable contradictions in tourists expressed
authenticity constructions, illustrating the conict in their cogni-
tion of what is African and what is not. For example:
The Boma is Darkest Africa with a touch of Disney. . ., but if you
want a taste of Africa, this is the place to come.
Thus for this tourist, the Boma is not entirely authentic as an
African experience, but it is also appropriate for a taste of Africa.
Beyond the contradiction, the Disney analogy introduces an even
more interesting idea in relation to constructive authenticity; that
of hyperreality. Does such an analogy threaten the realness of the
Boma ina cultural authenticity sense, or does it become, like Disney
better than real, or more real than real, that is, hyperreal (Williams,
2002)?
5.3. Constructing cuisine as a cultural signier
The cuisine itself was viewed as a cultural signier, and as tied
to Zimbabweanidentity andexoticness. This is not surprising, since
the basic product of a restaurant is its food. For a cultural restaurant,
the food must also be culturally relevant in its own capacity. From
a tourist perspective in relation to the Boma and Mama Africa, the
foodis itself therefore supposedtobe or ascribedthe status of being
African/Zimbabwean:
. . ., thenoff the the BBQ(all sorts of Africangame andtraditional
grilling fare), salads and dessert. BBQed warthog or pumba as
its called, is fantastic by the way.
There is a ne line betweengiving tourists a taste of local culture
and tackiness, and Boma manages to stay on the right side of it.
The food was traditional African fare served in black cast iron
pots with sadza.
Again, the detail in describing the food is apparent. Tourists see
themselves to some extent here as culinary experts on a gastro-
nomic adventure. Theydescribetextures, consistency, andmethods
of cooking to afrmtheir culinary opinion:
The restaurant features traditional African dishes that were fun
to try. . . The stews come with the traditional sadza, which is
rmcornmeal-like grits, or polenta.
I passed on the deep fried worms, though my bungee jumping
friends tried them and said they had a good crunch. For the faint
heart theres everything fromchicken to vegetarian lasagne.
The ascription of authentic status onto food is also an Othering
process (White, 2007), emphasising the wide cultural difference
between tourists familiar cuisine and Zimbabwean/African fare.
That the food is so different, even scary, seems to authenticate it
as indeed African:
Yup, if you can brave it, you have the chance to eat a local deli-
cacy, mopani worms. While theyre not very tasty and look a bit
like large, fat maggots, it seems to be looked upon as a manly
pursuit to be able to chomp through a big juicy grub, even if its
as appetising as eating offal. However, it is a great talking point
or even ice breaker.
One of the delicacies offered was deep-fried Mopani Worms
(not for the squeamish).
However, food as a cultural object has been discussed in depth
from various perspectives (Beer, 2008; Kneafsey, 2000; Lind and
Barham, 2004; Lu and Fine, 1995; Miller and Washington, 2009;
Molz, 2007; Robinson and Clifford, 2007; Sims, 2009). From these
review comments, food plays several roles. Beyond hunger satis-
faction, food is a Fear factor challenge; a test for manhood,
in which tourists who can eat the Mopani worm or drink the
rough (authentic) beer are seen as having conquered Zimbab-
wean culture. Secondly, because of the localness of ingredients, it
is an authenticator of the experience; it is a reference point for the
cultural capital gained in the experience. Thirdly, and quite contra-
dictingly, as amixtureof familiaritywithunfamiliarity(for example
chocolate pudding and kudu steak respectively) it is a reassuring
element for tourists out of their familiar environment. Thus while
some novelty is exciting for some tourists, a degree of familiar-
ity is preferred by some, as can be explained using Yiannakis and
Gibsons (1992) framework of tourist roles and the inuence of
personality or personal orientation (Smith, 1990).
It is interesting to note the willingness of tourists to ascribe
realness or authenticity to the total experience even with clearly
non-African fare in the restaurants. This is a particularly signi-
cant observation in that it illustrates the elusiveness of tourists
perceptions. For example, the same tourists who wrote:
Much more than a meal, it is a cultural experience
and
This evening was an evening of total enjoyment, good friends,
beautiful surroundings, great entertainment, delicious food and
a newappreciation of the culture of Zimbabwe,
interestingly, also commented:
Desserts included an incredible chocolate pudding, egg custard,
and a creamcake.
It is legitimate to question whether and in what ways, fromthis
tourists viewpoint, chocolate pudding is consistent with the cul-
ture of Zimbabwe. Tourists criteria for judging authenticity are
evidently contradictory, ambiguous, and perhaps even illogical.
5.4. Constructing authenticity in front regions
Tourist reviews also demonstrate, in contrast with and against
the advice of MacCannells (1971, 1973) theory, tourists perceive
authenticity in front regions (Goffman, 1959). This is central to
392 M. Mkono / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 387394
the case for constructive authenticity: authenticity can be found
anywhere and in everything, as long as the mind sanctions it. Con-
suming food in a restaurant is arguably a front stage experience;
and commercial tourist restaurants are separate from the locals
normal day to day lifestyle. But even in these instances; in the bla-
tant staging of culture (thus staged authenticity), as with the Boma
and Mama Africa, tourists still perceive authenticity. They ascribe
authenticity to cultural performances which are clearly enacted for
their benet and for commercial purposes:
There is a fortunet reader you can visit for a dollar.
The highlight of the evening was the oorshow. The cool African
night was lled with the sounds of 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 it. The food, the colors, the
music, the throbbing rhythms. It was quite an evening.
Further, the statement:
Lots of locals popped in too which was a good sign of a good
place to enjoy your evening.
demonstrates the fusion of front and back regions. There is a sug-
gestion here that if a restaurant is perceived by tourists as a part
of the local culture, then it acquires added authentic appeal. This
relates somewhat with the tourists search for a back region, the
desire to experience the true life of the natives. Thus for the rel-
evant tourist the presence of locals authenticated the experience
in its ability to fuse front regions with back regions, so that tourist
space is not perceived only as the venue for staged authenticity
(Goffman, 1959; Reisinger and Steiner, 2006).
5.5. Authenticity beyond cultural objects
Even more interesting, the projection of authenticity was
not limited to cultural objects, as exemplied in the following
review:
The cool African night was lled with the sounds of. . .
Again, tourists are quite generous with their assignment of
authenticity to experience: if they experience it in Africa, it is
African! Clearly, Africanness and Zimbabweanness are not attained
through a realist/objectivist process of producing an original ver-
sion of culture; instead, they are attributes which tourists feel
themselves qualiedtoassigntoa performance, a night, or a dish, as
the case might be. Whatever criterion international tourists apply
for judging authenticity is a very lenient one. It might yield useful
insights to consider whether domestic (that is Zimbabwean) and
African tourists would be similarly lenient in their judgements or
ascription of Africanness/Zimbabweaness.
6. Conclusion and suggestions for further research
Authenticity is an elusive concept, especially in its construc-
tive form. Tourists project their beliefs about the notion onto
toured cultural objects in no predictable fashion. Thus construc-
tive authenticity perfectly encapsulates the malleability of tourist
impressions of commodied culture. As such Zimbabweanness and
Africanness are mutable constructs; and whatever they are exactly,
they are not a xed reality out there. They do not exist indepen-
dently of the subjects mind.
The study demonstrates empirically how the construction of
authenticity is a socially contingent phenomenon (Kimand Jamal,
2007), where tourists are actors in a social process that elevates
cultural eatertainment objects to authentic status. The construc-
tion of authenticity is a conicted, contradictory, and non-linear
process: tourists move back and forth from cultural objects and
their beliefs, held stereotypes, imagination, background, and so on,
to assign authenticity or inauthenticity to a cultural object or expe-
rience. Inthe process they validate, educate, miseducate, contradict
andinterrogate themselves. Theyquestionthe additiontotheir cul-
tural capital made by the cultural immersion. They are cynical yet
generous with their evaluation of cultural authenticity, thus Dark-
est Africa witha touchof Disney andinthe same statement a taste
of Africa.
But while this is the case, it is clear in this study that tourists do
indeed pay some attention to cultural objects, which highlights a
concern for the authenticity of the Other, apart fromtheir search
for the authentic Self. In support of Belhassen and Caton (2006),
this observation refutes the postmodern view that tourists have
lost interest in (object) authenticity; that authenticity of cultural
objects is redundant as an area of study.
It is interesting also to note that tourists fromPennsylvania, for
instance, could make a bold comment about the authenticity of a
Zimbabweanbeverage . . ., andare givena traditional (andauthen-
tic) beer-type beverage. Howdoes a tourist fromthe United States
arrive at this judgement? What criterion is this judgement formed
from? How did the tourist in this instance distinguish the authen-
tic from the inauthentic? The answers to these questions are part
of an enduring debate in tourismon the projection of authenticity
onto objects, which refutes the idea of authenticity as an attribute
that is intrinsic in cultural objects, as the realist/objectivist school
would argue.
The explicit and latent references to cultural authenticity may
reect a background that includes exposure to public authenticity
discourses in tourismadvertising media that are especially ubiqui-
tous in Western modernity. Website marketing messages, tourist
brochures and other marketing collateral frequently describe
African tourism products as authentic, or real, or other similar
portrayal. As such, tourists who are exposed to these may com-
munications reect on themin their evaluation of the experience.
It would be enlightening to investigate in future whether, for
instance, tourists fromother backgrounds would demonstrate the
same concerns in a broader quantitative study.
An interesting observation relates to the fusibility of front and
back regions in tourist experience. Tourists construction of what
is real or fake is impacted heavily by locals involvement in the
tourist space. Where a tourist facility is also a venue that locals fre-
quent in their normal day to day life, the appropriation of front
and back status to tourist space becomes problematic. Front and
back stages in their traditional sense would refer to geographi-
cally demarcated regions (thus MacCannells advice to get away
fromthe mainstreets, shoppingcentres, andattractions where only
stagedauthenticityis present.) (Reisinger andSteiner, 2006, p. 68).
However the integration of front and back stages fromthis studys
perspective would question the validity of this advice. Back stages
can reside within front stages.
The above suggests the possibility for tourism practitioners to
introduce back stage into front stages. Howthis can be done could
be the subject of future research. However, one idea which derives
from this analysis relates to locals participation in tourism expe-
riences as sources of authentication. Tourism practitioners could
enhance tourists perceptions of the authenticity of their cultural
products by engaging more with a local market. In tourism, part
of this could entail focusing on initiatives that attract both a local
clientele as well as an international one. For Zimbabwe this indeed
resonates with recent developments and lessons in the tourism
industry between 2000 and present. An industry which was overly
reliant on international arrivals had to learn the hard way that
investing in the domestic tourismmarket was essential for survival
in a politically volatile environment; that (international) tourists
could be here today, gone tomorrow.
M. Mkono / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 387394 393
Further, tourismpractitioners, andspecically, Africanhospital-
ity practitioners in tourist destinations, might glean some lessons
from this study. Most important, they might need to be more
aware of market perceptions of the authenticity of their cultural
product augmentations. At the same time, they need to recog-
nise the ckleness of tourists impressions; to understand that
tourists are willing to perceive authenticity in an African cultural
experience which includes chocolate pudding, for example. It is
also worthwhile for hospitality practitioners considering enhanc-
ing their products via local cultural augmentations to consider
the broader socio-cultural implications of commercialising cul-
ture. As tourists inevitably comment on authenticity of cultural
eatertainment, in the process potentially causing offence to local
communities, consulting local community representatives on pro-
posed cultural representations might be expedient.
The largely Western background of reviewers in this study has
signicant implications for future research. It is also demonstra-
tive of the relative lack of access/use of online technologies, in
particular, social networking technologies, among African tourists.
Thus if future research is to be more demographically represen-
tative of tourist perceptions of their experiences in Zimbabwe,
data collection techniques that do not preclude the participation
of some tourist segments would be required. It is hoped that other
researchers, especiallythoseinAfricantertiaryinstitutions, will use
the insights highlighted in this study to frame more empirical work
in African tourist destinations using paradigms and methodologies
that increase access to African participants.
The question of what qualies as Zimbabweaness and African-
ness requires more in-depth reection in future studies. In
particular, newknowledge may be gained fromanalysing perspec-
tives of Zimbabweans and Africans in the same context (that is, in
Victoria Falls restaurant experiences). How would their denition
of a Zimbabwean or an African experience compare with what has
been found here?
As noted in the discussion, a related area which, while recog-
nised as important to authenticity debates, has rarely been
examined, is cultural authority/authorisation (the questions: who
authenticates? and, who has the right to judge authenticity?). Do
tourists possess any right to pass judgement about the authen-
ticity of toured objects? How do these rights arise? Are they
qualied? Reecting on these questions is likely to yield multi-
vocal perspectives which reect the different priorities and quests
of diverse tourism players (for example traditional eatertain-
ers, tourism entrepreneurs, tourists domestic and international,
national tourismplanners, among others). It wouldalsobe interest-
ing for future researchers to give cultural commodiers (in the case
of this study, for example, traditional performers) an opportunity
to respond to tourists implicit appropriation of cultural author-
ity. Could tourists, from an African cultural ethos perspective, be
inadvertently committing a moral offence?
The author proposes that future researchers would make valu-
able contributions to authenticity debates by coupling authenticity
withculturallysensitiveanalyses of thenotionof cultural authority.
Perhaps researchers need to start questioning the politics of con-
structive authenticity more critically, so that ethical guidelines for
tourist behaviour tackle the presumption of authority that visitors
to unfamiliar cultures have for so long appropriated with impunity.
Have tourists taken their freedomof expression too far?
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