Authenticating traditional food tourism attractions in Suzhou, China

Abstract

There is a call to focus on the nuanced social, political, and cultural process of authenticating tourist attractions. This research looks beyond authenticity perceptions and responds to Cohen's and Cohen's (2012) call for substantiation of their "cool" and "hot" authentication propositions by discussing politically and culturally informed authentication of traditional food tourism attractions. Specifically, this paper aims to examine the authentication process of conventional restaurants in Suzhou, China, from the perspective of owners and managers. It used semi-structured interviews and participant observation to collect research data, subsequently analysed to identify key themes. The analysis reveals that restaurant interviewees authenticated their food products and restaurant settings in two ways. The first authentication strategy is to apply for official certification of the establishment as a "Time-honoured Brand", emphasising that the restaurant is an "authentic" supplier based on a claim to heritage. The second strategy saw the construction of the "authentic" by stating the geographical setting of restaurants, traditional food, exterior and interior decorations, and host-guest interactions. This research also finds that the two authentication strategies seem to be borne from divergent motivations. While the emphasis on a strategy of official certification is economic benefits, their focus on complementary elements is primarily motivated by nostalgic returns.