The politics of authentication in a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Luang Prabang, Laos

UNESCO's preservation efforts at the World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, Laos, inadvertently shape and regulate local traditions, often aligning them with Western expectations to appeal to tourists. This study reveals that while UNESCO promotes 'cold' authenticity through strict architectural regulations, its influence also drives 'hot' authenticity, where residents adapt their heritage practices under scrutiny. Using long-term ethnography, including interviews with Laotian residents, UNESCO experts, and tourists, the research exposes how these preservation structures perpetuate power dynamics, making UNESCO's role in tradition construction invisible to outsiders.

Bear, L., Feldman, J., & Avieli, N. (2020). The politics of authentication in a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Luang Prabang, Laos. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 18(4), 404–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2020.1717505