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A study of authenticity and rituals: A case study on Thai international tourism in Che Kung Temple
Author(s)
Date Issued
2025
Publisher
Hong Kong: Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Description
111 pages
Type
Thesis
Programme
Master of Philosophy in Sociology
Abstract
This thesis examines how Thai international pilgrims negotiate ritual practices, authenticity, and mobility at Hong Kong’s Che Kung Temple, especially during a particular time aligned with personal needs. Through qualitative interviews, participant observation, and ethnography, the study offers insight into transnational inbound religious tourism in a cross-cultural context in Asia. Findings reveal that Thai visitors transcend the pilgrim-tourist binary, engaging in ritual hybridity by blending their own religious background with Daoist rituals at Che Kung Temple to navigate economic and existential uncertainties. Instead of focusing on the "backstage" concept from MacCannell's (1973) notion of "staged authenticity," the research emphasizes spiritual efficacy, assessing legitimacy based on tangible outcomes, such as business recovery, rather than historical fidelity. This approach adds an intriguing layer of complexity to the discourse on authenticity in tourism, as highlighted by Wang (1999) and Cohen (1988), by incorporating an examination of religiosity among tourists and their “tourist gaze” (Urry, 1990).
By documenting how Thai visitors reimagined rituals as active coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study contributes to debates on crisis religiosity, material religion, and non-Western tourism epistemologies. It highlights the modern form of religious tourism in Asia, which potentially operates as a glocalized practice. where global mobility and localized meaning-making co-produce sacred legitimacy. The thesis ultimately advocates for a discussion of pilgrimage tourism and authenticity in tourism scholarship by privileging Southeast Asian perspectives on ritual, authenticity, while also aiming to shift the focus from static authenticity to ‘spiritual efficacy-driven authenticity’.
File(s)
Name
23S702M_Tong Ho Yeung Neil.pdf
Size
752.83 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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