Framing New Zealand: Understanding tourism TV commercials

Tourism TV commercials (TVCs) are a source of information for tourists. TVCs serve to assist the consumer in forming a mental image of a destination. These commercials, however, are seldom a topic of research. This paper analyses two New Zealand tourism TVCs, launched separately in 1999 and 2007. It combines video content analysis procedures suggested by Dimitrova, Zhang, Shahraray, Sezan, Huang and Zakhor (2002). and Rose (2007), a destination image research framework proposed by Beerli and Martin (2004) and Echtner and Ritchie (1991), and a film analysis methodology proposed by Giannetti (2008). The objective is to present a systematic approach to the understanding of tourism TVCs. It is found that 87% of camera shots in these two tourism TVCs last no more than one or 2 s; this is equivalent to using a montage to create an emotional or intellectual response. In the new TVC, established themes such as “nature” and “adventure” remain salient, and the way of life of the local people is emphasized. The aim of this study is to assess the destination image as framed through tourism TVCs to pave the way for future study on the visual elements that may influence an audience’s response to TVCs.