01252nas a2200133   4500000000100000008004100001100001200042700001200054700001600066700001200082245010800094520090200202022001401104                                       d1 aCJ Wang1 aYL Wang1 aEdelheim JR1 aJH Zhou00aTourism commercialisation and the frontstage-backstage metaphor in intangible cultural heritage tourism3 aResolving tensions between tourism commercialisation and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) safeguarding is an important objective. Using the frontstage-backstage metaphor as an analytical lens, we investigate how tourism promotes ICH safeguarding and how detrimental aspects of tourism commercialisation can be handled in Miao silverware tourism in Fenghuang, China. Results show that tourism commercialisation is beneficial because it provides new possibilities and promotes the transformation of ICH. However, fake ICH products are detrimental, prioritising commercial value over ICH value. ICH inheritors create two separate commercial spaces to handle the segmented tourism market. The frontstage-backstage metaphor helps to investigate the transformational process of ICH in tourism and socio-psychological dilemmas of cultural practitioners in dealing with the multiplying realities of ICH.  a1468-7976