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Perceptions of Authenticity: Aboriginal Cultural Tourism in the Northern Territory

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Perceptions of Authenticity: Aboriginal Cultural Tourism in the Northern Territory Perceptions of Authenticity: Aboriginal Cultural Tourism in the Northern Territory by Renata Hodgson A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October, 2007 Volume 1 © R. Hodgson, 2007 Dedication To my parents, who risked so much to give us a better life. To my own family, Shaun and Kaylan, who mean everything to me. Acknowledgements This work would have never seen the light of day without the guidance, support and involvement of many people. My sincere appreciation goes to my supervisors, Associate Professor Terrence Sloan, Associate Professor Deborah Blackman, Dr Tracey Firth and Rayka Presbury. I was very fortunate to have a great supervisory panel, with each member providing me with their special assistance and input towards this study as well as generously giving me their time and ideas. To Debbie, many thanks for your continual support and direction throughout the whole project, in particular, for your constructive criticism and the knowledge I have gained in qualitative research. Terry, thank you for joining the panel as a principal supervisor at a critical time, for your professional support, guidance, and timely feedback. Special thanks are also due to my co-supervisors, Tracey and Rayka, who have provided me with their assistance, advice and valuable feedback on all my drafts. I would also like to thank the University of Western Sydney for awarding me the UWS Postgraduate Research Award Scholarship. Without this financial support, this study would not have been possible. I sincerely acknowledge Tiwi Tours, Aussie Adventure Holidays, Manyallaluk Aboriginal Corporation, Jawoyn Association and Anangu Tours, who allowed me to conduct this study and supported me throughout my research in the Northern Territory. Many thanks to all tourists and employees, who gave their time without hesitation to answer my questions and made the interviewing process most enjoyable. In particular, I would like to thank Angela and Brett, I appreciate your support during my stay at Tiwi Islands and your contribution to this very rewarding experience. I am also grateful to Doreen, Harry, Keith, and John for introducing me to Tiwi culture and their generosity in making me feel welcome. A big thank you to my friend Leigh, who helped me out during my stay in Darwin and shared her ideas and suggestions. My appreciation to Margaret, Ian, Renae and Mandy, who have always given their time to care for Kaylan when it was getting too much for me. Thank you Margaret for your help and support in giving me time off to write my thesis. A special thank you also goes to Renae, who has always been there for me when needed. To my Mum and Dad, who have always given me their love, support and belief in what I wanted to achieve. I appreciate that you have taught me the value of education and perseverance in life. I am grateful to my Mum for coming to Australia to support me with Kaylan whilst I was writing my final draft. Thank you Mum for helping us out, allowing me to finish the thesis on time. Finally, my most sincere thanks goes to my husband Shaun for his love, encouragement and emotional support throughout this long journey. You have shown more than patience and understanding when enduring my all too often stressing and carrying on. You helped me to relax and put everything into perspective in times of frustration. Thank you for always believing in me and giving me the strength to finish this task. Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. …………………………………………………………. (Signature) Abstract Since the 1970s there has been a growing interest in Indigenous cultures globally. In Australia, the recognition that Aboriginal art and culture represents a distinct component of Australian identity has resulted in increased promotion of Aboriginal cultures and heritage sites as unique tourist attractions, mainly since the 1990s. Research indicates that there is a significant international interest in Australian Indigenous cultures. In particular, it has been suggested that tourists want to experience ‘real’ Aboriginal culture and that they desire ‘authentic and genuine’ Aboriginal cultural experiences. Despite the fact that the concept of authenticity remains important to the different stakeholder groups of Aboriginal tourism, including tourists, tour operators and promoters as well as State/Territorial Governments, limited understanding exists as to what ‘authentic’ Aboriginal culture and, in particular, ‘authentic’ Aboriginal tourism experiences constitute in the minds of these stakeholders. Whilst an abundance of research exists that has addressed the issue of authenticity in different tourism settings, the majority of studies have treated the concept of authenticity as something given and have used quantitative tools to analyse the authentic-inauthentic binary. However, research utilising such methods has failed to uncover the different perspectives and meanings respondents may hold of the notion of authenticity. Notably, the perceptions of authenticity in Indigenous tourism have received little attention. The few existing studies on authenticity in Indigenous tourism settings have given emphasis to differing agendas, and have therefore provided only a piecemeal understanding of how authenticity is perceived and interpreted by the different stakeholders of Indigenous tourism. More importantly, research on Aboriginal hosts’ perceptions of authenticity is virtually non-existent. Yet, clarification of how tourists and hosts perceive authenticity in Aboriginal tourism is essential when addressing issues of accreditation and branding as well as key marketing objectives that aim to promote ‘authentic’ Aboriginal tourism experiences. -i- This study seeks to address the gaps within the tourism literature surrounding authenticity in Aboriginal tourism. The aim is to understand the concept of authenticity in Aboriginal tourism from a stakeholder perspective. The study is guided by two main research questions: What are the perceptions of authenticity of tourists as well as tour providers and their employees? and Are theoretical perspectives of the notion of authenticity shared by those stakeholders? More specifically, this study investigated five important issues: 1) tourists’ perceptions of authenticity at three different Aboriginal cultural tours; 2) the perceptions of three Aboriginal cultural tour operators and their employees in regard to authenticity; 3) whether there were any discrepancies and/or similarities between the perceptions of tour operators/employees and tourists about what constitutes an authentic Aboriginal tourism experience; 4) whether any of the different theoretical perspectives of authenticity were shared by tourists and tour operators/employees; and 5) whether a conceptual framework could be developed that provides an overview of salient elements explaining the formation of perceptions of authenticity within Aboriginal cultural tourism experiences. In order to examine the research questions a qualitative research methodology grounded in the constructivist paradigm was adopted. This paradigm was chosen as it reflects the exploratory nature of the research and allows for flexibility throughout the research process. This study utilised qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method together with participant observation. Data was collected from 92 interviews, consisting of 72 tourists and 20 employees, within three Aboriginal cultural tour companies in the Northern Territory. The three different Aboriginal cultural tours chosen for the purpose of this study were: Tiwi Tours at Bathurst Island, Manyallaluk Aboriginal Cultural Tours near Katherine and Anangu Tours at the Uluru-Kata-Tjuta National Park. The results of this research revealed that respondents hold multiple constructions of the notion of authenticity. In general, however, most respondents associated an authentic Aboriginal cultural tour experience with a genuine experience which does not feel contrived, staged or ‘plastic’. In particular, the study found that respondents’ perceptions of authenticity can be grouped into four elements. The first element consisted of the background and role of the Aboriginal tour guide, which was found -ii- to be a major factor influencing respondents’ perceptions on whether the tour was offering an authentic experience. The second element is characterised by the tourists’ search for ‘real’ and ‘genuine’ Aboriginal people. Here, respondents equated authenticity with the opportunity to visit a ‘real’ Aboriginal working community and to be able to experience Aboriginal people in an everyday setting. Respondents were found to hold preconceived notions and images in their minds as to who ‘real’ Aboriginal people are and what their ‘authentic’ lifestyle should involve. In addition, the majority of respondents defined authentic Aboriginal culture as the contemporary culture of Aboriginal people. Consequently, an authentic Aboriginal cultural tour experience was conceived in terms of gaining an insight into the contemporary lifestyle of Aboriginal people. The third element that contributed to the experience of authenticity is associated with having the opportunity to see and/or purchase authentic Aboriginal
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