Myths, imagination and reality: constructing tourist attractions with local knowledge

Using China's March 3 Festival of the Zhuang ethnic people as a case, this study examines the process by which local knowledge is transformed into a tourist attraction. A new model of tourist attraction system has been proposed with the addition of the myths makers, which stresses the attributes of social construction for tourist attraction. Relying on primary data collected through in-depth interviews supplemented by online news and tourism review, this qualitative inquiry reveals that: (1) the making of tourism myths is a social construction process that involves destination government, mass media, tourism developers, artists, novelists and local ethnic community. (2) Tourists are also involved by reconstructing, sharing and spreading the myths. (3) The construction of tourist attractions with local knowledge and its myths highlights the placeness, uniqueness and otherness of the destination, thus sharpening its competitive edge. However, tourism developers and destination governments must be aware of and take steps to prevent cultural distortion. The research contributes to theoretical debate on tourist attraction construction and tourism myths making, and also has the potential to benefit the development of ethnic tourism in practice.