Sophie Drake Research Report- 12772013

"What discourses can be found in photographs in online travel brochures. A case study of travel

brochure collections on Destinology.co.uk"

Travel brochure photography is commercial imagery used by a travel agent in their sale of holidays

to the consumers. The collection of images used for this research report is from an internet based

luxury travel company, Destinology.co.uk (Appendix A and C), focusing on images of hotels in

Dubai. This report will investigate the discourses surrounding the production of these images.

Throughout this process the social conditions of the images production will be analysed and the

report will discuss where the images are taken, why they are taken and who takes them, for what

purpose.

Further analysis to deconstruct the text will look at the process of its production, looking at the shots

that are taken and the possible elements of manipulation. Social and contextual processes of the

interaction with the audience will also form part of this study.

This is an exploration into the vast context in which the images are produced, the conditions of the

photo shoot, the travel company and their potential power over what the consumer sees and why.

Throughout the report, theoretical concepts will be identified and applied to the research to underpin

its findings, focusing strongly on genre, orientalism and political economy.

Literature review

To begin the research, the discussions surrounding the fields of interest in academic literature need

to be explored. Adrian Holliday, alongside other writers, explores the great power of western culture

and commercial photography in the book Intercultural communications. In Photography: The key

concepts, David Bate supports these implications of power by explaining that commercial

photography, in its context and as a genre, idealises and entices its consumer, suggesting again

that it holds great power. Intercultural communications is a collection of summaries relating to

different media topics, the discussion of orientalism in relation to travel brochures will be important

in this report. Vincent Moscow discusses the commercial and capitalist trends in political economy

which link to these concepts of financial strengths leading to power.

Research themes for tourism gives a detailed discourse study around some of the current

contemporary debates in tourism management. One of the key arguments provided is that there is a

variation in tourist’s motivations and their needs and reasons for holiday making. This focuses on

the social and contextual discourses related to the images and helps to give a deeper

understanding of the whole product. Alongside many other academic readings, this book also

investigates the authenticity debates over the tourism industry.

Media discourse by Norman Fairclough gives an insight into the importance of discourse as a

methodology to the media, proving its worth when deconstructing media texts whilst also

highlighting a strong relationship with genre. Fairclough wrote in depth about media discourse and

created his own model for use as a guideline. In his approach to media discourse, he talks about

theorist Van Dijk who has also explored a further analytical framework known as the Social-

Cognitive Model. I have not concentrated on Van Dijk within the text, but reading about him in

Fairclough’s work has added to my knowledge and understanding.

A Study of the discourses around the online travel brochure images forms the methodology for this

report. Researching these discourses helps to create a deeper understanding of this aspect of the

photography industry. Something to recognise whilst researching the chosen field is that travel

brochure photography has one main objective, to sell the product in the images to the consumers

for profit maximisation.

Strengths of discourse as a method of analysis are described by Ina Bertrand, she believes that it

creates a deeper understanding of the text and positions the text within its contextual outskirts

(2005, 94).

The travel brochure is the middle man between the consumer and the destination. It is seen as the

representation of the country that they are looking to visit. This introduces questions over the

images true representation, the use of text alongside the images and the contexts in which it is used

all contribute to its overall meaning. Discourse analysis is described by Fairclough as “more

concretely, as a count noun, meaning particular ways of representing part of the world” (2003, 26)

and therefore is a fitting methodology to analyse these images.

Discourse is a polysemic term, it has many meanings that originate in the linguistics and historical

field and also to the media industry. Consequently, it can be applied in various different ways as a

theoretical concept to lots of different ideas. This could lead to confusion in the research as there

are a range of different approaches and academic resources available with varied frameworks.

To overcome this limitation, the predominant focus of this research report will be to discuss

discourses in relation to Norman Fairclough’s work. Using him and his model with seven factors, his

work is a starting point from which the research can branch out. Fairclough’s work will discuss

theorists and concepts that he has applied to his studies and ensure the correct discourse is being

used.

Discourse is based purely on the subjectivity of the analyst and how it is observed by them as an

individual. It is important to remember when doing a discourse analysis to try and remain on the

path of objectivity and be as neutral as possible.

On the course of discourse

The objectives of Destinology are to sell the holiday as a commodity. However the images and the

information on a travel website also serve another purpose which would not necessarily register.

The images also play a role in the understanding of another culture or place, this links closely to the

concept of orientalism. As a discourse in itself, John Hartley defines it as “the intention of

understanding disparate and different cultures” (2004, 170).

Destinology is an online luxury travel company. The chosen text, an online collection of images, is

the representation of their various packages to Dubai. Without critically observing these images, it is

clear that they are aiming to present an ideal location for a holiday destination. The water is crystal

clear, the sky is blue or deeply orange and red at night, the sand is light and smooth and people in

the pictures look happy to be there. The images therefore make the setting appealing as a holiday

destination to the non critical viewer.

The images show the hotels internal environment, giving the viewer an insight into the experience

they would receive as a guest. The pictures inside the hotel are clean, immaculate and designed to

appeal to a holiday maker.

The producers of the images are unknown and in this case, Destinology is the company located

figuratively between the hotel and its visitors. The images available through the website are initially

the product of the hotels own website and promotional materials. This suggests that they originated

and were created for the hotel. Destinology therefore has been given permissions for use by the

hotel, therefore the hotel holds the power over what they want the consumers to see or not see,

even though it is on a separate company’s website.

The images in the text have codes and conventions that belong to a number of possible genres.

The dominant genre that they fall into is commercial photography. It can be argued that commercial

imagery such as this also serves an informative purpose, to give the foreign consumer the eyes to

see what it would be like, also known as a ‘geographical manual’ (Holliday, 2004, 112). Therefore

this imagery can also be classed in a genre field as somewhat documentary, but not entirely. Kim

Golumbisky explains the contrasts in documentary and commercial imagery. Her opinion is that

documentary photography is trust worthy, fact, fair and balanced, whereas she suggests that

commercial photography can be somewhat staged and edited after the shot has been taken (2013,

144).

Questions over the authenticity of the travel industries images steers them away from being classed

as documentary. Heitmann discusses these issues, but also implies that audience views have

changed and our way of seeing reality is now different “the influence of media is further discussed

by postmodernist scholars who argue that our way of thinking about reality has changed due to

technological advances” (2011, 44).

The advancements in technical equipment and the digitisations of software allow changes to be

made to an image during and after the shot is taken. This makes it difficult to distinguish as a

consumer if you are viewing reality or fiction. Although, it has been suggested by Sean Cubitt that

audiences are aware of this and generally accept the idea of fictional images “the technical

manipulation of the image, would become mainstays of commercial photography, where fiction has

been assimilated and accepted” (2011, 244).

An article in the Daily Mail in July of 2007 (Appendix D) exposed the tourism industry to criticism,

through showing the various changes made to a certain holiday company’s images to prove that

consumers were being sold a false product. This is an extreme case, but suggests that the

producers hold a considerable amount of responsibility and can sometimes abuse this for profit.

This poses strong links to a capitalist environment, the political economy of the travel industry

strongly influences the production of the images. Vincent Moscow discusses the political economy

of information and suggests that the struggle for power originates in profit “A fundamental source of

power in capitalist society is profit from the sales of commodities in the marketplace” (1988, 3).

When putting this into the context of travel and tourism it highlights that, on a broad scale,

companies might do anything for profit.

The importance of the images in selling a holiday package is extremely high. The consumer aims to

get a feel for the destination before physically being there. The cliché term of “seeing is believing” is

appropriate here and Holliday suggests this “the image is vital to the sale of the commodity and they

key to successful imagery lies in the enticing pages of the tourist brochure” (2004, 112).

In this case, the placement of the images on the Destinology website follows the same theme by

organising a page to allow the images to become the most vital aspect. With a view to achieving

this, the images are ‘above the fold’, meaning that they are the first thing the consumer will see

when they click onto a page, then they have to scroll down to read information and get details.

When looking briefly at the images in the physical context of the page, there are significant factors

which allow the consumer to be attracted to them rather than the detailing. The images themselves

signify an idealistic and perfect holiday destination but the use of text and positioning also play a

role.

The website has a simple colour scheme of blacks, greys and whites, this emphasises the colourful

and beauty of the images. The images are predominantly shot from a wide angled perspective, this

gets as much of the surroundings in and implies that the area is vast and full. The written text

surrounding the image is anchored with keywords related to the pictures (Appendix C). The image

provides a visual scene and the text gives a deeper knowledge and explains aspects that you

wouldn’t see in the image, such as location and nearby facilities. In doing so, the two factors work

alongside one another and serve the audience with everything they need, possibly giving enough

information to make a sale.

The pictures are a representation of Dubai, they are positive, aesthetically pleasing and document

the beauty of the area. What must be noted however, is that the company will not include images

that have any negative impact and make the destination look unpleasant, this would be against the

objectives of profit and sales and would have a hugely detrimental effect. To be able to prevent this

and optimise the images effects they will have thought about the perfect conditions to take the

images, such as good weather, clean surroundings, un-littered beaches and subjects which will look

appealing. The process of these choices and the photographer’s techniques when shooting the

image de-emphasise any un-attractive elements.

Frederick Garber supports the suggestion of these social constructs related to ‘the perfect moments’

when talking about photographer Jo Spence: “the concept of the ‘decisive’ or ‘perfect’ moment, and

the ‘truth’ of the photographic image. It exposes the image production process” (1995, 175).

When suggesting the audience that is targeted by this text, Destinology has to be observed and

briefly deconstructed. These are known as the social and processes of production. Pricing,

destinations being advertised, wording on the website and other elements surrounding the images

give some clue as to who they are aiming the commodities that are being sold towards.

As an online platform, Destinology is easily available to millions of people through the internet.

Rather than being a physical product which needs distributing, like a printed brochure, the website

sits in ‘cyberspace’ and can be accessed worldwide. The cost of doing so is minimal in comparison

to funding a physical product and maximises the quantity and variation of audiences reached.

Although it is rare, the concepts of the digital age can be applied here. Billions of people use the

internet every day, but not everybody chooses to utilise it, therefore the website could be missing

out on potential customers. Jim Macnamara talks about the causes of digital divides in more detail,

describing some factors such as media literacy, technical ability and awareness (2010, 80).

As a quality and luxury organisation, selling mainly 5 star hotels, all inclusive packages and wealthy

countries, the pricing of the holiday is higher than the norm. The company therefore attracts an

audience who have an income to fit the costs.

Travel motivations also form a great part of the audiences who will consume the text when seeking

out a holiday. MacIntosh et al, has uncovered five motivations that he believes to be partly present

in potential tourists. These are physical, emotional, cultural, inter-personal and Status and prestige.

(1990, cited in Heitmann, S, 2011. 42) These all act as their own discourses by being influenced by

gender, relationships, age, financial status and many others. When observing the stream of images

on Dubai’s page, it is evident that a representation of a variety of motivations has been covered,

suggesting that they aim to appeal to a variety of consumers. Physical examples such as lying on a

beach relaxing and actively waterskiing, cultural examples are images of the nation’s cuisine and

iconic buildings and inter-personal shows a family running along a beach or a couple on the plane.

Burns and Holden said “the operator aims to reaffirm to the consumer through sophisticated

brochure imagery that the holiday on offer can address the perceived needs of the tourist” (1995,

cited in Holliday, 2004, 112). This again links closely to political economy, by providing a range of

images for a range of niches it gives the company the ability to pull sales and maximise profit.

To summarise, there is a set of complex discourses surrounding online travel brochure

photography. Predominantly, the pressure to sell holidays and appeal to the paying customer

seems to constrain the production and processes when creating the images. This can result in

measures of un-true representation, exaggerating or leaving out certain details.

For further research and investigation into this subject area, interviewing a photographer who is

contracted by hotels and holiday companies would be appropriate. This type of investigation would

allow a researcher to get a deeper understanding of the requirements and briefs that are given

before, during and after the production of the image.

The discourse study gives the analyst an opportunity to view the images in a wider perspective,

seeing how it is constructed due to the commercial objectives and social influences. To get a

different angle and research a further perspective, it would be interesting to uncover the rhetorical

devices used to evoke feelings in the audience. It could be suggested that these also link with the

discourses in this report and are also controlled and influenced by political economy and

commercial pressure.

Bibliography

Bertrand, I & Hughes, P. (2005). Research on Audiences. In: Media Research Methods. Hampshire:

PALGRAVE . p94-95.

Cubbitt, S and Politoff, V. (2011). Visual communication and traditional visual concepts. In: Cheney,

G and May, S and Munshi, D The handbook of communicaton ethics. New York : Routledge. p222-

241.

Fairclough, N. (2003). Discourse as an element of social practices: genres, discourses and styles.

In: Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London: Routledge. p26.

Garber, F (1995). Repositionings: Readings of contemporary poetry, photography and performance

art. Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania state university press. p175.

Golumbisky, K and Hagen, R. (2013). Adding visual appeal. In: White space is not your enemy: A

guide to communicating visually . 2nd ed. Burlington: Focal Press. p135-159.

Hartley, J (2004). Communication cultural and media studies: The key concepts. 3rd ed. London:

Routledge. p170.

Heitmann, S. (2011). Authenticy in tourism. In: Robinson, P and Heitmann, S and Dieke,

P Research themes for tourism. Oxfordshire: CAB International . p45-59.

Holliday, A Hyde, M Kullman, J (2004). Intercultural communication: An advanced resource book.

Oxon : Routledge. p112-115.

Macnamara, J. (2010). The digital divide. In: The 21st century (r)evolution: emergent communication

practices. New York : Peter Lang publishing. p77-83.

Moscow, V. (1988). Introduction: Information in a pay-per society. In: Moscow, V and Wasko, J The

political economy of information. Wisconsin: The university of Wisconsin press. p3-26.

Appendices:

"What discourses can be found in photographs in online travel brochures. A case study of travel

brochure collections on Destinology.co.uk"

Appendix A:

A screen shot of the website analysed, the page with a stream of changing images that flick

through the Dubai hotels and scenery.

Appendix B:

Link to the Destinology page as an active website

http://www.destinology.co.uk/promotions/discover-dubai-with-british-airways-1293/

Appendix C:

A screen shot of the accompanying text on the homepage

Appendix D:

Screen shot and link of the Daily mail article for the exposing of the travel company’s fake imagery.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2011774/Travel-website-exposes-reality-glossy-holiday-

brochure-photos.html