AnnalSS 5, 2005 (2009)

The Verbal Discourse of Tourist Brochures

Renzo Mocini

The aim of this article, which is part of a broader project on tourism

promotion still underway, is to investigate the role of language in tourist promotion and the ways brochures convey meaning. In particular the focus will be on the descriptive sections of tourist brochures. Fundamental to such an investigation is the belief that, despite the contemporary emphasis on the visual aspects of promotion, the written text performs a key function in the decision-making process which draws people to a tourist destination. Barthes stated that the function of the linguistic message was to anchor the spectrum of possible meanings, by selecting some interpretations and securing the intended meaning. The linguistic level fixes the floating chain of signifieds in such a way as to counter the terror of uncertain signs (Barthes 1964: 37). Very rarely does the language speak through pictures alone. As Dann puts it where photographs are featured, almost without exception they appear in tandem with a verbal message (Dann 1996: 188). Even though in most tourist brochures the emphasis is mainly iconographic, the verbal text plays an important part in the promotion of a tourist product.

Corpus and methodology

My analysis is based on sample descriptions taken from real printed

brochures featuring different destinations and published by English tour operators in the last three years. They are primarily targeted at an English-speaking readership from different parts of the world who can order a brochure online.

The theoretical framework of this study is the semiotics of the text. The main focus will be on the narrative dimension of the text in order to illustrate the deep mechanisms of brochure descriptions and how meaning is generated and conveyed.

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The valued object

The brochure is the spatial representation of a tension between an individual and a targeted valuable object (Greimas and Courts 1979: 305). The colourful images, the very names of tour operators together with their verbal invitations aim at creating an initial Proppian deficiency in the would-be tourist to be fulfilled through a particular holiday. Tourist brochures promise the conjunction of the subject with the announced destination, which becomes the virtual point where the tourist achieves his fulfilment. The brochure construes the valorisation of a destination through accurately chosen images and through a vast array of linguistic devices. Besides making a place worth visiting (wanting-to-do), the language provides the customer with the information and means for overcoming his deficiency (being-able-to-do). A prior disjunction between the individual and his destination is implicitly asserted and a final situation of conjunction is implicitly promised. This is the basic narrative syntax of the tourist brochure.

Why not escape the stresses of life back home with a relaxing holiday at a spa hotel in

Sardinia (Just Sardinia: 16). Discover the magic of the Orient (The Odyssey Experience: 26). Discover paradise in the Indian Ocean (Beachcomber: 9).

Such invitations are messages that aim at creating a Proppian deficiency

in the potential holidaymaker1 to be fulfilled through travel. The language of tourist brochures is structured according to a binary

opposition which contrasts the routine activities of home with novelty and excitement elsewhere:

not your everyday journey (Dragon Overland: 1). youll find its tough going home (Dragon Overland: 18). Just Sardinia offers a selection of countryside hotels, agriturismi, villas and apartments

for you to experience a relaxing holiday away from the bustle of the towns []. Whether you are looking for a small personal hotel in which to unwind, or a farm with traditional cooking and horse riding, or a villa where you and your family can get away from it all, hopefully you will find what you are looking for (Just Sardinia: 7).

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Notice the use of a typical device likening the tourist destination to life back home:

Why not escape the stresses of life back home with a relaxing holiday at a spa hotel in

Sardinia, dedicated to ensuring you return home relaxed and refreshed (Just Sardinia: 16).

Trinco as it is commonly known, has been off the tourist map for many years []. If

you prefer destinations that are not overdeveloped, then now is the time to go (Kuoni Worldwide: 58).

[British Virgin Islands] A paradise for those looking to escape. The hotels offer

most activities as there is little to do except swim, sunbathe and forget your troubles whilst relaxing on some of the most beautiful and idyllic beaches in the Caribbean (Kuoni Worldwide: 358).

Each descriptive section is an act of persuasion which exploits different

linguistic techniques. The most important technique is the interplay of different isotopies within the same descriptive text unit. An isotopy refers to a level of meaning which is established by the recurrence in a text of semes belonging to the same semantic field, and which contributes to our interpretation of theme (Wales 1989: 265):

This is the epic African bush journey that guides you through the plains and tribes

of East Africa and deep into the bushlands and cultures of the south. Weve plied this route for over 24 years now and know it like the back of our hand. We know the stops, the activities and have great contacts with the local community, like the Kariandusi school. Take it slow or see highlights, its really up to you (Dragoman Overland: 22).

In the foregoing description there are some lexical items (underlined)

such as epic, tribes, bushlands, etc., which contain the seme /adventure/ and thus create the main isotopy of /adventure/. There is also another parallel isotopy, that of /expertise/ or /reliability/, which is created by the presence of words or chunks (in bold) such as guides, plied, for over 24 years, know, great contacts. This latter isotopy counterbalances the negative aspects (insecurity, risk etc.) which an adventurous trip inevitably entails. Tourist brochures offer a wide range of descriptions which lead tourists to the discovery of a novel reality but, at the same time, they contain some reassuring markers which will prove to be decisive in the tourists decision-making process. The isotopy of

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/reliability/ defuses some of the anxieties of tourists encounters with an authentically different reality.

Brochure descriptions are often characterised by the interlacement of other isotopies such as /uniqueness/, combined with that of /friendliness/:

Sparkling in the Indian Ocean, the island of Mauritius dazzles its visitors.

Magnificent scenery and glistening white beaches edge calm, crystal seas. Its the stuff dreams are made of.[]. Above all, it is the Mauritian people who shine brightest on the island. Wherever you go, youll be greeted by Mauritians whose warm, genuine disposition ensures the most gracious hospitality and excellent standards of service youre likely to encounter the world over (Beachcomber: 9).

The text constructs the tourist destination through several alluring

expressions such as dazzles its visitor, its the stuff dreams are made of, wherever you go. The aura of /uniqueness/ is also created by the extensive use of emphasisers and superlatives: magnificent, genuine, excellent, brightest, the most gracious. But the whole description is also sprinkled with words like greeted, warm, genuine, gracious, hospitality to create the isotopy of /friendliness/ that is allegedly missing at home.

The persuasive force of holiday descriptions is also achieved through the isotopy of argumentation. It is easy to recognize in the following example some typical moves of argumentative discourse:

To travel overland through Namibia and Botswana is to experience some of Africas

finest wilderness areas, such as the Kalahari and the Namib Deserts. The real pull is the stunning landscape, the wildlife and minority tribal grouping. Unlike most African regions, there are huge tracts of sparsely or unpopulated lands. Despite its remoteness, the area has developed a great infrastructure of roads and campsites. Its an area almost designed for overland travel (Dragoman Overland: 20).

The enunciatee is led by the enunciator through the different stages of

his argument: admission (to travelis to experience), exemplification (such as), contrast (unlike), surprise (despite). The description unfolds logically and persuasively to offer substantial support for the initial analogy. The final its signals the concluding step of the enunciators argument.

According to Halliday and Hasan cohesion refers to unifying relations established among elements of a text that are not structural, but that give

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texture to a text, namely, the property to be a unified whole and not a total of unconnected elements. The destination being presented acts as an isotopic connector by linking different isotopies which are inscribed in brochure descriptions. Looking at the above examples, it can be observed that isotopies not only function as important cohesive ties within a description. Indeed, they are also important tools for promotion since they create different paths of sense. In the act of reading, the reader chooses his own path according to his needs and expectations. The tourist destination has something for everyone:

The result is that whether youre looking for the perfect romantic escape, a full-on adventure, or unforgettable family break, you can count on us to help you create exactly the right holiday for you (Beachcomber: 4).

Stretching in an arc from south of Florida to the northern tip of Venezuela lie the

beautiful islands of the Caribbean, offering everything from lush landscapes to golden coral sand beaches and calm turquoise waters. Whether its rhythms of Jamaican life, the tranquillity of 12 miles of unspoilt Grace Bay Beach in Turks & Caicos, or the familiarity and English atmosphere of Barbados, each and every island is unique, from simple and relaxed, to exotic and sophisticated, So come and enjoy the Caribbean, in the care of Kuoni (Kuoni Worldwide: 314).

The emotional manipulation

The enunciator of the travel brochure engages many senses in the verbal descriptions testifying to the multisensory nature of the tourist experience. Although the tourists first contact with the destination is primarily through the visual mode, the other senses play a decisive role in the shaping of a tourists highly emotive experience. The isotopy of aesthesia permeates most descriptions and unleashes desire. The willing suspension of disbelief is obtained by getting the enunciator and enunciatee to share a spectrum of emotions and sensations. Thanks to this somatic experience, the enunciatee (the readers simulacrum) really feels himself/herself part of the world represented in the travel brochure:

walk the paths of our featured corners of Portugal and you will discover tranquil slopes bathed in sunshine, carpets of spring flowers, cork forests and olive groves, sweeping beaches, lazily flowing rivers and levadas (water channels), as well as sleepy villages of whitewashed houses adorned with intricate tiles depicting maritime scenes (Inntravel:19).

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The emotional response is induced through the frequent use of synaesthesia. In the previous description, the visual setting is complemented by the acoustic landscape: the delicate sound of flowing rivers as well as the silence of sleepy villages and the peaceful atmosphere enveloping the tranquil slopes. The tactile and the olfactory are emphasized through reference to the softness and fragrance of carpets of spring flowers.

The text offers the presentation of the tourist destination, but first al all the epistemic lenses through which the destination should be perceived. A yearning to be there is created in the minds and hearts of those reading such descriptions. Brochures are designed to play on peoples emotions and, by describing the destination they tempt the readers to indulge in that highly emotional experience:

Enjoying an aperitif on the terrace watching the countryside change colour with the

sunset; feasting on oysters and Muscadet from a perch on the harbour wall; picking cherries from a dappled orchard; endless fields of deep purple lavender and brilliant sunflowers; scented air; grasping the skills of the boules team in the market square; marvelling at the colour and animation of country markets; discovering wonderful ancient villages, locked in time memories of France are made of this. (VFB Holidays: 2).

Dialogic interaction

Interaction is one of the primary techniques of involvement, through which the enunciator tries to persuade the enunciatee of the tourist brochure. There are two main enunciative strategies. The objective strategy consists in the occultation of both the enunciator and the enunciatee. The textual markers of their presence are cancelled as much as possible through a process called dbrayage or shifting-out. The result is an impression of objectivity. The enunciatee, that is the textual simulacrum of the potential reader of the brochure, cannot fail to believe in a series of objective utterances:

Namibia is a land of geographical extremes encompassing vast areas of inhospitable

desert, towering mountain ranges and magnificent, unspoilt wilderness areas, home to elephant, rhino, lion, giraffe and a host of unique flora and fauna (The Odyssey Experience: 18).

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Most of the times the enunciator steps into the text (embrayage or shifting-in). This subjective strategy is achieved through different techniques. The use of the imperative marks the presence of the enunciator who urges the enunciatee to join the destination. The enunciatee/reader is projected into the scenery, too. The description unfolds as if the reader were travelling through it:

Discover Namibias South! This trip takes you through the spectacular sandscapes of

the Kalahari Desert, to the majestic Fish River Canyon, into the historical town, Luderitz nestled on the edge of the Prohibited Diamond Area. Admire the highest dunes in the world and enjoy the charm of Swakipmund, Namibias own romantic resort (The Odyssey Experience:19).

The Dordogne conjures up images of warmth, of dramatic cliffs topped by castles and

of a cuisine of goose and duck with the aroma of truffles. This great river meanders through magical landscapes, where hill-top villages appear dreamily above fields of walnut trees and sunflowers. Explore on foot, from village to village, enjoying fresh panoramas at every turn as you head to the ancient hanging village of Rocamadour, a real highlight (Inntravel: 98).

The enunciator wants to attract the attention of the enunciatee by using a

confidential tone. The use of the imperative is a device to create a pseudo-dialogue between the enunciator (the holidays organizer) and the enunciatee (the potential tourist):

Tanzania, a land of wide open spaces, magnificent wildlife and idyllic palm fringed

islands, invites you to discover the wild, romantic Africa of your dreams (The Odyssey Experience: 24).

Notice the dialogic structure we/you:

West Africa and the Sahara, it doesnt get more adventurous than this. We will

explore this seldom-visited region of Africa and do and see stuff that you will not quite believe (Dragoman Overland: 32).

The pseudo-dialogue takes the form of an intimate conversation as if

you were the only person in the world to live such an extraordinary travel experience:

Southern Africa offers so much more than outstanding safari. [] From luxurious country-house hotels of the Cape region to adventurous safari and amazing game viewing, heres just a taste of all that awaits you (Beachcomber: 94).

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The tourist is guided though the familiar you to the discovery of the meaningful aspects of the trip:

[Discover Cuba] This tour has been designed to show you the highlights of both

Havana and some of the culture of the island, sights that will fill your senses and enrich your mind (Kuoni Worldwide: 380).

Sometimes the presence of the enunciator helps give greater authenticity to the account of the destination by virtue of his superior knowledge:

The Andes and the High Altiplano have some of the most remote and visually

spectacular mountains on Earth. We love it, especially the high route to the greens and pinks of Laguna Colorado and Laguna Verde. To sit watching flocks of pink flamingos and herds of grazing Alpaca on the shores of these desolate lakes is a real privilege. Our self-sufficiency allows us to travel these routes far beyond the reach of the usual tourist (Dragoman Overland: 64).

Descriptions are invested with the authority of a straightforward

evidence. The least degree of uncertainty is avoided by the absence of any modality. The authority and thus the reliability of the enunciator are undisputed.

Conclusion Tourist brochures assure the conjunction of the subject (the potential

holidaymaker) with the announced destination. Referring to tourist brochures Gotti says that their aim is to attract the holidaymaker/traveller in order to sell tourist products, such as flights, package holidays, hotel accommodation, etc. Although these materials are also highly informative, their main aim is persuasive (Gotti 2006: 32) The persuasive force which drives a tourist towards a tourist location is achieved through a set of discursive and linguistic strategies that I tried to highlight by resorting to some examples taken from a corpus of authentic travel brochures. Verbal descriptions, along with their glossy displays of photographs represent that very special form of communication typical of tourism industry: via static and moving picture, written texts and audio-visual offerings, the language of tourism attempts to persuade, lure, woo and seduce millions of human

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beings, and, in so doing, convert them from potential into actual clients (Dann 1996: 2).

According to Greimas canonical narrative schema, such descriptions belong to the manipulation stage since they deal with wanting-to-do. The purpose of manipulation is to cause doing. The enticing verbal descriptions imply the same transformation induced by advertising strategies: what they imply is the successful transformation of latent energy into kinetic energy (Jean-Didier Urbain, 1989: 111).

The result of this study must be regarded as a preliminary to a more extensive examination of the mechanisms responsible for certain meaning effects in the field of tourism.

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Notes 1 In this paper I use holidaymaker, traveller and tourist interchangeably even if the semantic

difference between the three terms has been widely investigated in different areas of research.

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Websites www.associazionesemiotica.it www.signosemio.com

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Cited Brochures

Just Sardinia (2008) Dragon Overland (2007) Beachcomber (2006) Inntravel (2007) VFB Holidays (2007) Kuoni Worldwide (2006) The Odyssey Experience (2005)