Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 25 ISSUE 2
Written by Carina Andreia DOBRE, Gina FINTINERU, Iuliana ZAHARIA, Adina Magdalena IORGA

The socio-cultural heritage in rural tourism highlights the unique traditional lifestyles of local communities, offering both diversity and genuinely authentic experiences. Vernacular culture, characterized by enduring traditional principles, norms, values, knowledge, habits, practices and material things, encompasses, among others, rural architecture, interior decor, customs, traditions, and local gastronomy - these compounds being facets of authenticity concept in rural tourism. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire on the specific facets mentioned above, applied to tourists from an authentic Romanian guesthouse to assess the impact of vernacular cultural elements on perceptions of authenticity in rural tourism. The results indicate that the vernacular concept is not well recognized by tourists, underscoring the need for greater emphasis on its impact and relevance to agritourism activities. Given the criteria for local authenticity, customers play a crucial role in selecting guesthouses to further support and promote vernacular tradition and local specificity in rural tourism.

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