Does authenticity exist in cultural theme parks? A case study of Millennium City Park in Henan, China

Authenticity has always been a salient concept in tourism studies. Most previous studies focused on cultural heritage sites while much less research was conducted on man-made attractions. Given the importance of authenticity in the tourism industry, this research investigates different authenticity concepts in a unique context: a Chinese cultural theme park. Millennium City Park is a typical cultural theme park in Kaifeng, Henan, China, and was chosen as the case study. This study identifies the perception of authenticity from the perspectives of both park managers and park visitors. It is found that visitors value authentic experience in the experience economy. Authenticity plays an important role in the tourism industry, in which activity-related authenticity is more important to visitors than object-related authenticity in cultural theme parks since visitors prefer more participation and involvement during their visits. It is suggested that park planners emphasize cultural elements in various products in cultural theme parks.