Right I think tourism is more of a state of mind issue. If you're going with an open mind to visit a country rather than to vacation in a country, I think that's the key.

But what's worse? The tourist looking for an experience or the local who provides a false experience?

I mean that's going to depend a lot on the cirucumstances but I would argue that locals providing "false" experiences do so out of several factors

I assume that's a rhetorical question about the problems with treating culture and identity as commodities, and the impossible positions it places the people who find that their best chance of survival is to find some small profit in their identities being turned into exotic experiences for the pleasure of societies unconcerned with their wellbeing, since the tourism would happen with or without them.

they could be used to people expecting said experiences for example

There's a lot of nuance in the realities being discussed here and purity tests are a bad metric for evaluating them.

Absolutely - but it also very much cuts both ways.

Tourism is an industry, but what people expect when they visit a new place also need to mesh with how that place educates those who visit.

You're eliding the power imbalance in the situation.

I should go to bed. I'll just leave this here.

"Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™" by Rebecca Roanhorse. (also available read by LeVar Burton)

I really wish I didn't feel like you are talking down to me about this. I'm pretty sure we're in agreement, but my impression isn't positive of how I perceive the tone.