The role of authenticity in tourism planning: empirical findings from southeast Spain

Tourism is the main economic activity in many towns in the province of Alicante in southeast Spain and has turned this area into a paradigmatic example of mass tourism on the Mediterranean coast. Since the 1960s, the province's coastal towns have opted for a development model centred on what is known as 'residential tourism' or 'second-home tourism', with few exceptions, such as Benidorm. We wish to put forward the argument that the main social agents in the tourism sector have not perceived the 'search for authenticity' as a factor that may attract tourists to this area. To this end, we will start by reviewing critically the theoretical discourse about the role played by authenticity in the motivation of tourists. Then we will discuss some of the results obtained from empirical, qualitative research that included 37 in-depth interviews. As a guide for our empirical research, we use a model based on the stakeholder theory. The epistemological difficulties faced by researchers do not justify certain critical arguments that try to highlight the impossibility of operationalising essential concepts and approaches such as that of authenticity. Therefore, it is necessary that empirical research continues to delve into the sociological keys that determine the 'search for authenticity' in the tourists' experience.

Low doses of ivermectin cause sensory and locomotor disorders in dung beetles

Ivermectin is a veterinary pharmaceutical generally used to control the ecto- and endoparasites of livestock, but its use has resulted in adverse effects on coprophilous insects, causing population decline and biodiversity loss. There is currently no information regarding the direct effects of ivermectin on dung beetle physiology and behaviour. Here, based on electroantennography and spontaneous muscle force tests, we show sub-lethal disorders caused by ivermectin in sensory and locomotor systems of Scarabaeus cicatricosus, a key dung beetle species in Mediterranean ecosystems. Our findings show that ivermectin decreases the olfactory and locomotor capacity of dung beetles, preventing them from performing basic biological activities. These effects are observed at concentrations lower than those usually measured in the dung of treated livestock. Taking into account that ivermectin acts on both glutamate-gated and GABA-gated chloride ion channels of nerve and muscle cells, we predict that ivermectin’s effects at the physiological level could influence many members of the dung pat community. The results indicate that the decline of dung beetle populations could be related to the harmful effects of chemical contamination in the dung.

La correspondencia entre la construcción de experiencias auténticas y la interpretación del patrimonio. Reflexiones desde la autenticidad existencial

En este artículo se aborda la relación entre el concepto de autenticidad y el patrimonio cultural. Se analizan los puntos de encuentro entre ambos términos que se consideran claves para entender los diferentes turismos culturales en la actualidad, caracterizados por la especial relevancia que se le atribuye al componente emocional y sensorial. Estas experiencias se enmarcan en las nuevas tendencias de comportamiento y de motivación que se observan desde el lado de la demanda turística, fruto del contexto social que determina las características de los turistas, sus preferencias y las prácticas turísticas que desean desarrollar, en las que el componente sensorial y emocional constituye uno de los aspectos más relevantes que pueden definir al turismo cultural contemporáneo. En este sentido, se incide en las evidentes posibilidades que ofrece la interpretación del patrimonio para la creación de experiencias patrimoniales que podrían ser denominadas como auténticas.