How the Destinations’ Authenticity and Popularity Influence the Structure of the Travel Agencies’ Tourism Products

The present paper seeks to put in a relationship, the authenticity of rural destinations and their popularity among tourism consumers, vis a vis of the integration, promotion and marketing through tourism products of travel agencies. Maramureș is perhaps the most authentic area of Romania, both in terms of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The isolated geographical location of the area, in the northern most corner of the country, has involuntary contributed to a good preservation of this heritage. Therefore, my case study focused on rural localities in this area and how they are included, promoted and commercialized through the products of tourism agencies, considering UNESCO's criteria of authenticity, as an atribute of cultural identity and popularity as an attribute of commercial identity. The analysis started from the premise that a tourist identity of an authentic destination apears when, in addition to the cultural identity of the respective destination, there is also a commercial identity through which the destination gets added value.