Digital Storytelling and Authentic Tourist Experiences: Evidence from Rijeka’s Maritime Heritage

This research examines the impact of digital storytelling about Rijeka's maritime heritage on the perceived authenticity of the tourist experience and the sharing of that experience through digital media. The paper addresses the empirical gap in the literature by focusing on the specific context of maritime heritage. A mixed-methods approach was used. Qualitative content analysis preceded quantitative research. Data were collected using an online questionnaire distributed to a convenient sample of N=150 tourists after they watched the storytelling video ‘How to Read a Neighborhood: The First Port of Rijeka’. The instrument included three main scales based on previously validated questionnaires (Likert scale 1-5): storytelling of maritime heritage, authenticity of the experience and sharing of experiences. The data were analyzed using correlation analysis with IBM SPSS. The results show statistically significant positive effects: storytelling on authenticity (r = 0.339; p < 0.001), storytelling on sharing experiences (r = 0.268; p < 0.001) and authenticity on sharing (r = 0.210; p = 0.010). Storytelling had a stronger effect on authenticity than on sharing. The study provides empirical evidence on the role of digital storytelling in creating authentic experiences. It contributes to theory by extending Wang’s typology of authenticity into digital heritage contexts. In practice, the study recommends that DMOs integrate digital storytelling of maritime heritage into their cultural tourism development strategies, invest in involving local communities and tourists as co-creators in disseminating heritage narratives, and monitor improvements in perceived authenticity and the effectiveness of sharing authentic tourist experiences.