Identity encounters. Host-guest interractions in the land of Moţi (Romania).

The paper aims to make a regional analysis of the community of Moţi (residents of the mid Western Carpathians) and to spotlight the way in which tourism relations are established between the host and the guest communities. The concept of staged authenticity, front stage and backstage relations are also debated in the case of old festivals, customs and traditions where authenticity and unnaturalness intermingle. For the regional analysis tourist statistical data referring to the accommodation supply in the Land of Moţi were carried out. The study methodology relies on target sampling-questionnaires applied to former miners to understand which the identity features of the community are and how the former can influence tourism development in an ex-mining region, but on the brinks of regaining this status. The respondents indicated that local identity stems deeply into history, the harsh times and land morphology having polished their strong character and Christian faith. Another sample questionnaire (30 respondents) was also applied to tourists in the Arieseni local resort to highlight tourism motivation drivers.