Authenticity and tourism in Kazakhstan: neo-nomadic culture in the post Soviet era

Abstract: This proposed PhD study will investigate the question of authenticity regarding neo-nomadic culture in Kazakhstan through a multiple stakeholder approach and will aim to determine markers of authenticity within one eco-tour in Central Kazakhstan.
The thesis will adopt an explorative/interpretive research position following a mixed method approach and will be examined from different stakeholders’ perspectives in case study areas located in Central Kazakhstan. Firstly, the research will aim at identifying indicators of a revival of nomadic culture (neonomadic culture) in Kazakhstan and determine how they can contribute to the development of cultural tourism in the country. Second, the research is intending to find out whether some cultural aspects of the neo-nomadic culture can participate in the development of an authentic experiential tourism experience for both local and foreign visitors through one eco-tour in Central Kazakhstan. Lastly, the research intends to examine how Kazakhstani tourism websites with cultural content can support this experiential tourism experience.

Hence, the study offers a comprehensive review on tourism by going beyond the traditional case study approach and incorporates a multiple stakeholder perspective. Therefore, the proposed research aims at making a contribution to the development of the concept of authenticity in a new case study region, allows important contributions to be made to current authenticity literature in tourism as well as
contributes to the development of Kazakhstani tourism practices in the post Soviet era.

Biography: Guillaume Tiberghien joined NZTRI in June 2010 as a PhD student. He has been living in Almaty, the cultural and economical capital of Kazakhstan, for the past seven years and has been teaching specialized courses in Marketing (Consumer Behaviour, Internet Marketing, Cross-Cultural Tourism Marketing) at

KIMEP, the Kazakhstani Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research. This experience gave him a chance to study different Tourism Marketing practices and to travel in almost every part of the country, as well as other Central Asian countries. He is now part of a team working towards the establishment of a Central Asian School of Tourism and Hospitality at KIMEP. Guillaume completed a

Bachelor in International Affairs at Euromed Marseille School of Management and a Master in International Relations from Marne la Vallée University near Paris.

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