Art, tourism and authenticity. Dean MacCannell in correspondence with José Díaz Cuyás

Journal of Tourism History, 10, (2), 2018. pp. 165-182.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2018.1477842  

The launch of The Tourist: New Theory of the Leisure Class in 1976, written by Dean MacCannell (New York: Schocken Books), marked the beginning of a new academic discipline in the field of tourism studies. The acknowledgment of his pioneering character has become commonplace for an entire branch of university research that has not ceased to grow and develop over the past few decades. However, this broad consensus comes with a singularity: a misunderstanding about the theoretical foundations that have accompanied the book since its appearance.