Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.1
Epistemological, ontological and axiological influences
Influences that structure the individual's interpretation of tourism marketing texts
Epistemological foundations
(knowledge base)
Ontological foundations
(position in world)
Axiological foundations
(value systems)
Tourist's knowledge
How tourism materials produced
Status of materials
Individual tourist's perception
Individual tourist's memory
Individual tourist's consciousness
Individual tourist's reason
Individual tourist's reality
and influences
Tourist's social and cultural
background
•
Class
•
Education
•
Religion
•
Race
•
Geographical roots
Tourist's values systems
Tourist's moral code
Informed by ontology and
epistemology
Source
: Adapted from Tresidder and Hirst (2012): 131
The inference of this is that each individual tourist, producer and marketer's production and
interpretation of marketing texts will be infl uenced by their individual set of 'knowledges', lived
experience and values. Therefore as marketers we need to acknowledge that there are multiple
worldviews or realities.
Although the interpretation of tourism marketing texts is a personal and refl exive activity in
which tourists will fi nd their own meaning, it is possible to recognize how epistemological,
ontological and axiological infl uences induce certain meanings. It is also possible to recognize
that there are certain themes or messages that transcend individual resistance, these include
authenticity of emotions and the need to escape (see Phillimore and Goodson 2004 for discussion
on epistemological, ontological and axiological in tourism). Therefore, tourism marketing texts
signpost experience, they direct us, infl uence our perceptions of place, people and experience
and ultimately inform our purchasing behavior. The signposting of experience within marketing
texts leads the tourist on a journey in which they traverse the communication by extracting
knowledge from their depository of experiences and worldview, the role of the marketer is to
infl uence the way in which the tourist negotiates these signs and images by signposting and
encouraging the tourist to fi nd their own individual meaning within the text. This is supported
by the convention of using empty landscapes within tourism marketing, the deserted beach or
table at a restaurant, the image is empty, free from other people thus creating a sterile space in
which tourists can invest their emotions, experiences and values and fi nd their own meaning
within the text unhindered by external infl uences such as other diners, families etc.
The method of semiotics
There are various traditions of semiotics that have led to various approaches to the application
of a semiotic methodology, the adoption of a social semiotic approach enables us to identify both
the relationship between interpretation, and the individual and the signifi cance of tourism as a
social and cultural activity. The signs and images used in tourism marketing communications can
be separated into two components, the 'narrative' and the 'conceptual' (Kress and Van Leeuwen
1996: 56). Narrative structures always have a line of communication that directs the consumer to
the message being presented within the communication. Conversely, conceptual representations
