TOURISM GENRES Dann (1996) identifies tourism text types according to the communication medium they use, i.e. audio, visual, written or sensory, and to their stage within the tourist cycle, i.e. pre-trip (adverts, leaflets, brochures), on-trip (travel guides, travelogues) and post-trip (trip-reports, reviews)

TOURIST GENRES Besides the aforementioned texts, Tourism Discourse presents a much wider range of text types such as, among others, package-tour itineraries, unsolicited promotional letters, simple slogans, posters. _______________________________________________ The most typical genres of Tourism Discourse can be classified according to the pragmatic function of the text: Promotional texts addressed to the general public 2) Specialized texts addressed to experts in the tourist field (e.g. papers on the marketing of tourism, on the sociology and psychology of tourism, on the linguistic aspects of tourist texts)

PROMOTIONAL TEXTS (FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC) Tourism Advertising (it usually advertises a location and provides useful information (contact numbers or web pages)) Tourist Guides (they contain descriptions of places from artistic or historical points of view, as well as practical information about monuments/museums opening times and location, means of transport, shopping suggestions, night-life events, entertainment, food and restaurant, accomodation, maps, special offers, post offices, internet points, tourist information centres etc.

PROMOTIONAL TEXTS (FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC) 3) Brochures and leaflets: their main purpose is selling tourist products (flights, package-holidays, tours, accomodation) and can be considered as the most persuasive texts of the tourism discourse (besides proper ads) 4) Itineraries: They are often contained in leaflets produced by travel agents and contain descriptive information about the places to be visited and the activities offered to the customers (mainly informative but containing also linguistic elements aimet at persuasion)

PROMOTIONAL TEXTS (FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC) 5) Articles in specialized magazines (they are similar to tourist guides as they convey information on locations, but they also provide details of various offers for the same destinations, comparing prices, services and their quality)

PROMOTIONAL TEXTS (FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC) 6) Inflight magazines: free magazines provided on planes; they are part of the flight marketing process since they offer less expensive products than those offered by travel agencies or web-based tour operators. As a matter of fact, they offer the traveller a higher sense of security since they present themselves as among the best experts in the field. Finally they convey the idea of being global and that also their travellers are global-minded (ego-targeting).

SPECIALIZED TEXTS (FOR THE EXPERTS IN THE TOURISM FIELD) These are all texts aimed at the communication between agencies and customers (as for legal matters, for example); between agencies and agencies; between agencies and hotels, tour operators, airlines; between institutions (EU, United Nation World Tourism Organization, British Travel Authority, Federazione Italiana Associazione Imprese Viaggio e Turismo etc). They may comprise contracts, norms and conventions, legislations, but also deal with marketing, tourism planning and governance.

↓ MULTIMODALITY IN PROMOTIONAL TOURISM GENRES 1: Promotional genres largeky recur to illustrations to better focus on the locations they are describing. ↓ 2: The layout of tourist texts follows a very precise composition plan: the positions of the illustrations, texts, the frames in which they are set, their interrelations and interaction form a very precise and thought-through composition in which every single detail has its specific pragmatic function. 3: Elements are positioned so as to attract the reader’s attention and direct it to different level of importance. These levels are created through realtive choices of colour, size, fonts, image sharpness and position.

TOURIST ADVERTISING TEXTS Advertising is successful, and therefore persuasive, if the message of its communicative event is correctly codified by the speaker (while the addresse must be able to decodify its meaning and to appreciate it) In the case of tourist advertising such communicative behaviour is fundamental. Holidays cannot be experienced beforehand nor can they be inspected for purchase, and therefore expectations are constructed on product representation and description, which cannot be viewed before the actual tourist experience.

In order to make advertisement information as appealing as possible, the tourism industry applies all the iconic and verbal strategies adopted by marketing in the creation of a successful advertisement, slogan etc. The primary and essential requisite of a successful advertisement is the immediate comprehension of the text: If this does not happen the communicative purpose of the text has failed. It means that the consumer has not changed his/her ideas in terms of the choice of goods and services he is going to purchase.

The advertising layout It refers to the look, feel, and style of the advertisement itself. The design must REACH OUT to the readers, ATTRACT their attention and HOLD it long enough to COMMUNICATE the appeal and finally, ATTACH it to the brand name which must STAY in the reader’s memory.

ELEMENTS IN TOURISM ADVERTISEMENT LAYOUT 1) In tourism advertising, text normally consists of a large picture, an illustration which makes a visual statement and carefully “summarizes” the place and the expected kind of holiday 2) The image is superimposed by a headline, i.e. large print words that immediately attracts the tourist-to-be (usually it is on the top of the page) 3) The Copy: this is the main text, written in readable size print where the characteristics of the destination are described, as well as the benefits one can get as a tourist 4) The Slogan. It may be a phrase, logo, domain name, graphic symbol or any other device used to immediately identify the destination

THE HEADLINE It should attract attention in order to make the potential customer look closer at the ad. It has to quickly present a topic the potential tourist can easily associate with.For example by emphasizing a particular place, design or taste. It has to be designed in an eye-catching way, with short sentences written in big (often capital), boldm brightly-coloured letters. It often contains puns, play on words or funny expressions. Normally, all of these expression interact with image, they describe it or enhance its meaning.

THE COPY It usually presents a precise, factual and explanatory language. It demonstrates the benefits and features of the holiday and presents what makes that particular destination unique.

In general, to be successful advertising must: Attract a person’s attention sustain the interest it has attracted (especially through language) Be accessible, understandable and communicative Be recognized as familiar (not complex, abstruse or too complex) Be rememebered /stay in the reader’s mind/memory Prompt some kind of action

Attention Value - To obtain attention value and improve the selling power of the product, advertisments employs several elements: - An appealing and startling image - The violation of some rules of the language (spelling, phonetics, grammar, puns, jokes, metaphors, paradox) used as persuasive strategies - The use of some rhetorical tropes, especially irony or humour; code-switching etc. - Simple colloquial and personal forms (readability) - A lasting impression (memorability)