Paper short abstract:

The use of culture for the benefit of the tourism industry has generated other debates around a process described as commodification and the lack of authenticity. This paper examines the construction and patterns of values associated with the co-creation of cultural tourism.

Paper long abstract:

Tourists today claim to search for what is real and authentic. But at tourism attractions, cultural expressions, through performances, arts and crafts, village visits, and other aspects of heritage, must necessarily be transformed into commodities to be exchanged and profited from in the heritage tourism industry. This paper examines the construction and patterns of values associated with the co-creation of cultural tourism. I present two case studies: the Sepik River Crocodile Festival, Papua New Guinea, and the Mossman Gorge Centre, Queensland, Australia. The crocodile is central to Sepik culture, with many traditional and beliefs and legends based on this animal. The Crocodile Festival is meant to convey this relationship. The Mossman Gorge Centre is owned and operated by the Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal community north of Cairns, in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, which gained World Heritage status in 1988. In both cases, a form of "authenticity" is created as visitors experience traditional practices of hunting, fishing, and conservation and take part in cultural activities. The construction of authenticity can be seen as a two-way process of exchange for locals to trade cultural products with global societies by making a profit and conserving heritage.