A Little Bit of History and a Lot of Opinion: Biased Authenticity in Belfast and Nicosia (Essay‪)‬

Abstract Tourism has become a significant feature of contemporary capitalist society and the phrase "ethnic tourism" has emerged to account for the increasing ways in which individuals seek to escape the homogenisation of cultures by seeking out new and different "others" within globalisation. In conflict societies, tourism provides an opportunity for visitors to not only be, entertained but to be educated as well. The interest expressed by outsiders allows insiders to preserve but at the same time revisit and perhaps reinvent collective memory. Producers of tourist artefacts have to decide whose history is depicted and in what ways. The purpose of this paper is to explore how these processes are played out in Belfast and Nicosia. Specifically the paper will address how the realities and complexities of the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast and Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in Nicosia are presented by tour operators to tourists visiting each region.