This document analyzes TripAdvisor reviews to identify how tourists define the authenticity of travel experiences in Marrakech, Morocco. It conducted a semantic analysis of 361 reviews from hotels, rural guest houses, riad guest houses, and restaurants. The analysis revealed 3 classes of meaning around tourist perceptions of authenticity: originality associated with riads, singularity with hotels, and identity/projection associated with rural guest houses. The reviews showed that the type of tourism establishment influences tourists' notions of authenticity and contributes to differentiating them. Authenticity appears to be a dynamic, triangular set of characteristics around originality, singularity, and identity that shift based on tourists' experiences.

1. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 1
Authenticity and tourism:
What TripAdvisor reviews reveal
about authentic travel
Larbi Safaaaa
,
Khalid El Housnia
,
François Bédardb
,
a
Ecole Supérieure de Technologie d’Essaouira, Cadi Ayyad University - Morocco
safaa.larbi@uca.ma
khalid.elhousni@uca.ma
b
Ecole des Sciences de Gestion, UQAM - Canada
bedard.francois@uqam.ca

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Outline
• Why Marrakesh?
• Theoretical framework
• Methodological framework
• Results and discussion
• Conclusions

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2016

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time (archaeological origin) place (spatiological origin), a creator (inspirational origin),
technical or technological origin nature (natural origin) a culture (ritualised origin),

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TourismTourism AuthenticityAuthenticity
Increasing
attractiveness
Attracts
tourists
commercial sphere Non
Merchant
Modern and artificial Preserved - unaltered
?
The paradox of tourism authenticity

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Literature review
The marketing of authenticity, or retro-marketing, is based on
the imaginary of the uprooted consumer of the new millennium, in
search of nostalgia. The various marketing practices invite
consumers to reconnect with their roots by means of a reinvention
of the past, the salvaging of rituals, the reconstruction of ethnicity
as well as a museumification (Badot & Cova, 2003).
Anthropology
Marketing
Authenticity is commonly understood as having a positive
value and increases attractiveness ( Chhabra et al. 2003,
Camus (2010)
the term authenticity embodies the myth of an imaginary of
the other, a credo of an alternative tourism, or a grounded
and rooted lifestyle from a time gone by (Amirou, 1995)

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Authenticity and tourism,
polysemic richness and a proliferation of theories
Anthropology
Sociology
Marketing
Ethnology
discipline
Polymorphic
Cognition vs Emotion
Objectif vs Subjective
Ethnocentrist
Definitional
fragmentation
and deficit
Pre-modern
True – false
Modern
Staged Authenticity
Post-modern
Experience
Definition ?paradigm

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Objective of the paper
This article aims to identify how tourists define
the authenticity of a travel experience. For this,
it engages in a semantic analysis of reviews
posted in TripAdvisor by travelers to
Marrakech and its surroundings

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Reviews selection
Selected reviews had been posted in TripAdvisor between February 2014 and the end of January
2015 by travellers to Marrakech who had gone to one of the following four types of tourism
establishments:
- Hotel
- Rural guest house
- Riad guest house
- Restaurant
Methodological framework
Selection criterion
The data collection method consisted of identifying TripAdvisor reviews having one or more than
one occurrence of the term authenticity or of derivatives of the term such as authentic or
authentically.

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The analysis of the reviews
IRAMUTEQ (version 0.7 alpha 2) software
The analysis of the reviews involved computing frequency and proximity statistics of
words used in the text body and was performed using the software IRAMUTEQ (version
0.7 alpha 2).
The software reorganised it based on the repetition and sequence of words, generating a
result that required further interpretation by the researcher.
Type of establishment Number of establishments Number of selected reviews
Hotel
Rural guest house
Riad guest house
Restaurant
40
40
40
40
57
93
134
77
Total 160 361
Four Variables were selected

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Results and
discussion

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Representation of classes of the TripAdvisor reviews using the Reinert method (Source: IRAMUTEQ)
Factorial correspondence
4 classes of meaning
3 branches

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Factorial correspondence analysis of the enlarged body of data (words and classes) (Source: IRAMUTEQ)
Factorial correspondence
3 branches
3 lexical worlds

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Factorial correspondence analysis of the variables of the TripAdvisor reviews (Source: IRAMUTEQ)
Factorial correspondence
3 branches
3 lexical worlds

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Riads originality

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Riads originality
Riads represent 32.5% of the bed capacity of the tourism offer of the city of
Marrakech
 Gives visitors the opportunity to experience a very enriching way of life that, although
dating from a time gone by, is still being preserved.
 Riad guest houses have a rich, refined and decorative architecture and offer a convivial
atmosphere. As a part of their surroundings in the medina, they are also accepted by the local
populations.
The following is an example of typical reviews on riad guest houses:
‘Very well located riad. Lots of charm and a beautiful authentic and traditional
architecture in the heart of the medina.’

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hotels singularity.

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Restaurants singularity.

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Here, the most recurring terms and expressions are ancient way of life or mix of tradition and
modernity.
The following are some examples of hotel reviews:
• ‘The setting of the hotel is truly unique and authentic, both with regard to the greenery and
the architecture!’
• ‘An authentic and singular haven of peace ... we spent a wonderful and sunny week
here in April. The gardens are magnificent and the city is a veritable showcase of historical
monuments.’
The following are examples of reviews of restaurants.
‘Great authentic place, beautiful setting and exceptional cuisine ... We also liked the tea
on the terrace with a splendid view of the Koutoubia Mosque.’
hotels singularity.

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rural guest houses projection and identity

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The main active forms of this class are: rural, natural, sharing and identity. This textual
composition very much approximates the element projection and identity.
The following are some examples of reviews on rural guest houses:
• Authentic and inspiring walk in the mountains, typical beautiful scenery ... Very pleasant and
remote while being within reasonable distance from Marrakech. In short, a return to the
source!’
• ‘A beautiful setting for resting and relaxing with a good meal and an intimate, absolutely
stunning night view that allowed us to discover the authentic marrakech from another angle.’
rural guest houses projection and identity

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The reviews of travellers show that the site of the tourism
experience feeds the traveller’s notion of authenticity,
and even contributes to differentiate it.
Outcome

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Factorial correspondence analysis of the enlarged body of data (words and classes) (Source: IRAMUTEQ)
Factorial correspondence
3 branches
3 lexical worlds

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Authenticity
Singularity
Originality
Identity
Authenticity as dynamic and triangular set
of characteristics
By being organized in a triangle, the three semantic worlds originality, singularity and
identity do not mutually exclude each other. Instead, they feed on the shifting borders just
as they feed, in a transitive manner and in a circular manner between the three lexical worlds.

26. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 26
Authenticity
Construction
DeconstructionReconstruction
Authenticity
Imaginary
Phenomenological
(Experience)
Semiological
Time
Pre During post
Future research

27. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 27
Thank you