A typology of photographic representations for tourism: Depictions of groomed spaces

Photographs are a powerful and plentiful medium for tourism destination promotion. They cast the natural and cultural resources of a destination in the best light and even prescribe the proper host–tourist interactions through their depictions. It could be said that their representational power functionally transforms a place into a destination—a commodity. This paper describes representations as the mechanism of tourism discourses and by doing so joins the discussion on destination image and imagery in tourism theory. In addition, this paper builds a bridge between research paradigms by addressing empirical and interpretive interests. Photographic representations appearing in promotional tourist brochures and guidebooks are collected from 21 destinations and analyzed. A typology of photographic representations is developed using content analysis and an examination of their social effects in tourism is performed using critical analysis. This typology of photographic representations reveals a highly consistent means of depicting tourism destinations, casting doubt on the theoretical multidimensionality of destination image.