Portuguese Heritage in the UAE: Authenticity in Archaeology and Tourism Adriaan De Man Abstract The relatively short-lived, early modern Portuguese military presence along the Omani coast, but also that of the nowadays United Arab Emirates, has left few physical remains. Some forts have been partially excavated, whilst others seem to have been so heavily reconstructed that their original layout remains invisible. As a result, they have little impact on the visitor experience. This paper seeks to provide a framework that renders these forts, and the narratives around them, pertinent in terms of authenticity. A second step deals with their integration as a potentially distinctive heritage resource. Both approaches need to ponder whether such structures are to become major tourist attractions, which seems unfeasible in the near future, yet destinations may still capitalize on them as part of an integrated marketing strategy. As an exercise, the following text can build on comparable examples, ranging from certain prehistoric sites to forms of intangible heritage, as their commodification faces, to some extent at least, similar challenges. In any case, in the heavily Dubai-centered tourism industry of the UAE, the sustainable use of cultural niche areas along the coast does fit well the national design for diversification. Keywords Heritage management Á Forts Á UAE tourism Á Authenticity Branding JEL Classification Z32 1 Introduction and Key Literature The aim of this paper is to connect the concept of authenticity to the wider dis- cussion about commodification in the heritage sector, and more specifically to adverse circumstances, namely the almost total absence of tangibles. This analysis A. De Man (&) United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE e-mail: adriaandeman@uaeu.ac.ae © Springer International Publishing AG 2018 V. Katsoni and K. Velander (eds.), Innovative Approaches to Tourism and Leisure, Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67603-6_1 3