Fair Tourism and the “authentic” encounter: realization of a rite of recognition in the context of the myth of authenticity
Résumé
Consequent to our research project on the experiences of tourists who travelled with French Fair tour-operators, we present our initial hypothesis, built at the crossroads of our conceptual ex-ante constructions and the analysis of 10 qualitative interviews conducted on an exploratory basis between late 2010 and early 2011 (we collected, for about an hour in each case, stories and comments about the trips which were made and/or planned). The tourists we interviewed travelled with two associations (in France, non-profit associations can organize and sell leisure travel). The first offers stays in rural villages of West African countries and the second organizes tours in India and Central Asia. We will illustrate our discussion by using data mainly from the tourism conducted by the first operator, with whom we are better acquainted.