Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Finally, is the use of indexical signs, these in a way represent the result of engaging in tourism,
the use of romance (couples wandering down the deserted beach hand in hand for example) may
be defi ned as an indexical sign as the romance or space for romance is the result of entering into
the physical, environmental and liminality of the destination. This differs from the previous two
categories by focusing on the relationship between an object and an indexical sign, this differ-
ence is marked out by a causal relationship between destination etc. and result. For example the
convention of locating healthy and tanned tourists within tourism marketing materials demon-
strates the causal link between the climate, the sun, the water and their health giving properties.
Thus what we can see is that signs and images can take on differing meanings according to their
context and purpose, for example the picture of a cake in a cooking book would generate mean-
ings of luxury and indulgence, yet if the same picture was placed in a book aimed to help dieting,
then the meaning would change completely.
The semiotics of tourism
The semiotics of tourism is not a new subject area, it has been developed and discussed by a
number of authors who have identifi ed its application within tourism studies (see Dann 1996;
Echtner 1999; Jenkins 2003; Berger 2007; Thurlow and Aiello 2007) while Crick (1989) defi ned
'the semiology of tourism' as one of the three main strands of tourism research. The signifi cance
of the semiotics of tourism is recognised by MacCannell (1999: 3) who considers that '. . .
there is a privileged relationship between tourism and semiotics'. This opinion is reinforced
by Dann who comments, 'Nowhere . . . is a semiotics perspective considered more appropriate
than in the analysis of tourism advertising with its culture coded covert connotations, in the
study of tourism imagery and in treatment of tourism communication as a discourse of myth'
(1996: 6).
The representations of tourism within marketing utilize a semiotic language that has been
formulated and embedded in contemporary travel writing and marketing texts, the language
draws from a set of myths about the experience of tourism, the nature of destinations and the
impact the activity may have on the individual. Therefore, it is important that we think about the
relationship between tourism marketing, the discourse that underpins this and how the individual
interacts and negotiates marketing communications.
Although the area of semiotics has not been fully developed in mainstream tourism studies or
marketing, the signifi cance of semiotics in understanding and communicating of the touristic
experience cannot be denied. In a famous quote Urry (2001: 139) states that: 'One learns that a
thatched cottage with roses around the door represents “ye olde England”, or the waves crashing
on to rocks signifi es “wild, untamed nature”; or especially, that a person with a camera draped
around his/her neck is clearly a tourist'. In the same vein Culler (1981: 158) observes that, 'All
over the world the unsung armies of semioticians, the tourists, are fanning out in search of the
signs of Frenchness, typical Italian behaviour, exemplary Oriental scenes . . .'.
We cannot ignore the signifi cance of semiotics and their construction of the tourism
experience. However, one of the reasons why semiotics has not been fully developed is that it is
categorized as an interpretative methodology, and as such it is diffi cult to utilize in a commercial
environment, as it does not produce replicable or objective readings of texts. What we end up
with, is multiple semiotic readings with each individual creating and negotiating their own
understanding of the messages communicated within marketing texts, this information is
diffi cult to incorporate into mass marketing communications. As such, what we see is the
semiotic language of tourism achieving in marketing texts the 'signposting' of experience
(Jenkins 2003), whereby, the individual tourist's interpretation is guided to a set of experiences
