Title Page
Contents
ABSTRACT 13
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 17
1.1. Introduction 17
1.2. Background of the study 22
1.3. Rationale for the study 24
1.4. Aims and objectives 27
1.5. Structure of the thesis 28
CHAPTER 2. TOURISM AND TOURISM DISCOURSE 30
2.1. Introduction 30
2.2. Destination image 32
2.3. Tourism on the internet 37
2.4. Tourism websites 39
2.5. Online promotional tourism discourse 41
2.6. Verbal discourse 44
2.7. Visual discourse 49
2.8. Conclusion 55
CHAPTER 3. SEMIOTICS 57
3.1. Introduction 57
3.2. Semiotics 58
3.2.1. The American school of semiotics 60
3.2.2. The continental school of semiotics 64
3.3. Social semiotics 70
3.3.1. Definitions and dimensions 70
3.3.2. Semiotic and tourism 72
3.4. Grammar of Visual Design 75
3.4.1. Representational function 77
3.4.2. Interactive function 78
3.4.3. Compositional function 81
3.5. Multimodal Discourse Analysis 83
3.6. Conclusion 85
CHAPTER 4. METHODOLOGY 86
4.1. Introduction 86
4.2. Systemic Functional Theory 86
4.2.1. Ideational metafunction 88
4.2.2. Interpersonal metafunction 89
4.2.3. Textual metafunction 91
4.3. Cultural variability 93
4.3.1. Culture and tourism 93
4.3.2. Culture and context 97
4.4. Culture identity 106
4.5. Research setting 112
4.6. Data collection 115
4.7. Data analysis 119
4.7.1. Focus group discussion analysis 119
4.7.2. Linguistic analysis 120
4.7.3. Visual analysis 122
4.7.4. Mixed methods 122
4.7.5. Triangulation 124
4.8. Conclusion 125
CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS 126
5.1. Introduction 126
5.2. Linguistic attributes 126
5.3. Non-verbal affordances 137
5.3.1. Visual analysis of BOW 138
5.3.2. Visual analysis of LOW 166
5.4. Finding of focus group discussion 174
5.5. Conclusion 176
CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION 177
6.1. Introduction 177
6.2. Promotional strategies 177
6.3. Website design 185
6.4. National cultural identity 191
6.5. Conclusion 197
CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION 198
7.1. Introduction 198
7.2. Contribution to knowledge 198
7.3. Managerial implications 204
7.4. Research limitations 206
7.5. Recommendations for future research 207
7.6. Conclusion 208
References 209
APPENDIXES 12
Appendix I. Verbal texts for linguistic analysis 230
Appendix II. Verbal texts for cultural identity analysis 232
Appendix III. Images for visual analysis 235
[Table 5.1] Types of processes in the BOW and LOW 127
[Table 5.2] Distribution of mood structures 128
[Table 5.3] Use of personal pronouns on BOW and LOW 130
[Table 5.4] Types of process and types of participants distributed across five types... 143
[Figure 4.1] Theoretical framework of the study 117
[Figure 5.1] Elements for exploring representational meaning of images... 138
[Figure 5.2] Distribution of images for five types of tourism resources on Beijing... 140
[Figure 5.3] Process types of images extracted from Beijing Tourism website 149
[Figure 5.4] Participants types of images extracted from Beijing Tourism website 151
[Figure 5.5] Intangible Cultural Heritage of Old Beijing 154
[Figure 5.6] Time-honored Brands of Beijing cuisine 157
[Figure 5.7] Beijing tourist map on the Beijing Tourism website 161
[Figure 5.8] Image for tourism promotion activities extracted from Beijing Tourism website 163
[Figure 5.9] London skyline 166
[Figure 5.10] The Tower of London 168
[Figure 5.11] The Tower Bridge 170
[Figure 5.12] Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church 172
[Figure 6.1] The homepage of Beijing Tourism website 180
[Figure 6.2] The homepage of London Tourism website 182