Harmony in diversity: exploring cross-linguistic, cross-cultural and multimodal dimensions of temporality within tourism discourse

5.1 The multimodal representation of touristic time

Figure 1 consists of a headline at the top, a catch visual in the center, a slogan under the picture and a body text placed at the right edge of the picture. Furthermore, trademarks, logos and the URL of the Guyana tourism homepage are included in the ad. In order to evaluate the ideational function, i.e., the expression of content of this ad, the focus is on representational structures and participants (interactive vs. represented participants, cf. Francesconi 2014). In the catch visual, the Guyanese flora and fauna are represented without any human presence. According to Francesconi (2014: 82), if there is no human presence in the visual space, “the interactive participant [i.e. the viewer] has an invitation to enter the represented natural […] space, which seems to be waiting to be visited” (cf. also Dann 1996); the sand acts as locative circumstance which surrounds the turtle. The invitation is also expressed verbally in the headline (Où vivre une experience unique? Guyane. Personne ne vous croira.) which frames the visual. The body text offers information about the depicted turtle by describing its characteristics (mystérieuse, puissante, vulnérable), its physical appearance (tortue marine de plus de six cents kilos à la dossière recouverte d’un cuir épais) and its role for the destination (revient depuis des millénaires sur les plages de Guyane pour pondre). Text and image include a ‘suggestive’ symbolic process (cf. Francesconi 2014: 87), i.e., they depict a place in its typical atmosphere.

Figure 1:

Guyana advertisement. Source: Le Nouvel Observateur, 2007.

On the interactional level, the Guyana ad frames a notion of offer in the visual and headline which is enhanced in the body text (à découvrir en autotour sur le littoral, entre avril et août). In terms of social distance and attitude, the viewer can almost grasp the object of the visual text (cf. ‘close personal distance’); the use of eye level angles and frontality establishes a relationship of (maximum) involvement (cf. Kress and van Leeuwen 2020: 136–139). On the linguistic level, interaction is created through the question in the headline and the emphasis on the emotions related to the destination (émotion forte, émotion faune in the body text). Another parameter fulfilling the interpersonal function is modality. The ad expresses a naturalistic orientation through the depiction of reality in the most faithful way possible, i.e., with a “naturalistic palette of colors, naturalistic color modulation and differentiation, and naturalistic distribution of shade and light” (Francesconi 2014: 96).

The compositional nature of the advertising text is on the one hand characterized by its information value. The ad is structured along the dimensions of ‘center’ and ‘margin’ (cf. Kress and van Leeuwen 2020: 190–194): the most crucial part of the text is the visual representing Guyanese fauna and flora; textual elements frame the visual and simultaneously are still prominent through the size of the letters and the use of contrastive colors (white lettering on turquoise background). On the other hand, salience emanates from the size and placement of important verbal and visual elements. Additionally, framing is strong due to the vertical composition (cf. Kress and van Leeuwen 2020: 204–210).

In the ad, verbal and visual modes work together to express vacation time. The ad pre-trip promotes a holiday in Guyana by referring to a unique experience (une expérience unique) in the headline and by using the telic, dynamic and non-durative verb (à) découvrir in the body text which indicates an achievement, a punctual change of state (from everyday life to holiday). The on-trip stage is verbally expressed by the durative verb vivre in the headline, which characterizes a continuous temporal process, and by the adjective immuable in the body text, which indicates a state that does not change or does not appear to change over a relatively long period of time. This durability is visually enhanced by the depiction of a place in its typical atmosphere. The visual contributes to “have tourists feel as if they could see the holiday before leaving home” (Francesconi 2014: 81). Text and visual are connected through the explicit mention of the turtle in the body text (la tortue Luth) and the description of its characteristics and significance for the destination Guyana which also implies a reference to the past (revient depuis des millénaires sur les plages de Guyane pour pondre). An allusion to the post-trip phase is made by the use of the future tense in the slogan personne ne vous croira (‘nobody will believe you’): relative to the ‘now’, the actual holiday, there will be a moment after the holiday where memories and experiences play a role.

The ad employs different dimensions of touristic time and places them in a common context: uniqueness and extraordinary character of the touristic experience; punctual change of state versus durative, permanent state; natural atmosphere of a place including its timeless, frozen, universal value. In the following ads, also other facets of touristic time as well as temporal semantic fields are expressed on the verbal level and represented on the visual level.

5.2 Similar promotional strategy but different temporal isotopies

The following two ads are taken from a Portugal campaign from 2005 and show how temporality is represented differently in print ads even if they use similar images and a similar promotional strategy. The first example is in Italian, the second in German.

In Figure 2, the destination is promoted through the headline Il Portogallo. Fino in fondo. The USP builds on an image-text metaphor whose interface culminates in a linguistic and visual polysemy. On the linguistic level, the metaphorically used conceptual domain of immersion (cf. also Manca 2018: 93) invites the reader to experience the destination fully (fino in fondo). The headline can be read in its literal meaning, referring to an underwater scenario, or in a figurative sense, alluding to a scenario of the Portuguese habitat. On the visual level, the page-wide underwater scenario where divers (here: kids who personalize the enthusiastic vacationers) discover ‘at the bottom of the sea’ a typical section of Portugal’s nature directly visualizes the literal meaning of the headline. This idea, connecting the activities of discovering and diving into the sea, is spun on the body text (Goditi un mare di tranquillità). The ideational function of the ad is therefore to invite the potential tourist to enter the represented space, but also to identify with the depicted participants (here: guests). Within this narrative structure (Kress and van Leeuwen 2020), an ‘action’ process is expressed through vectors originating from the actors and the sunbeams and reaching downwards, towards Portugal’s beach. On the interpersonal level, contact is created through the participants’ direct look at the viewer and the use of the pronoun ti which conveys a feeling of intimacy (cf. Denti 2012: 77). In terms of the textual metafunction, the vertical line of the ad represents the information given ‘on the top’ as the most salient and/or ideal part (‘diving in’), whereas ‘on the bottom’ more specific and practical information is given (‘enjoying holidays in Portugal’, cf. also Francesconi 2014: 97).

Figure 2:

Portugal advertisement I. Source: Panorama, 2005.

In terms of temporality, various isotopies, which include text and image, are present in the ad:

1. tranquility and peace: especially transmitted by the visual (calm sea and [almost] empty beach);

2. the act of enjoying: represented by the verb godersi, indicating a state, and by the smiling kids on the top of the visual;

3. the idea of immersion: the verb immergere, used in the body text, can be described as an inchoative verb, inherently carrying the semantic features +telic, +dynamic; the dynamism of immerging is also depicted in the visual by the diving kids;

4. the idea of accompaniment: on the one hand, this sentiment is conveyed by the body text which personifies the sun (dove il sole ti accompagna), and on the other hand also by the visual, in which the sun’s rays are formed by the immersion of the divers; in addition, the verb accompagnare indicates a non-terminative state (+atelic, +static) and implies a spatial and a temporal meaning; on the spatial level, the verb denotes the activity to accompany someone for a stretch of road whose final end is also expressed in the body text (fino alle bianche spiagge del continente); on the temporal level, to accompany someone means ‘to spend a period of time with somebody’, i.e., the verb specifies an iterative action that takes place in a continuous way.

The different temporal semantic fields in the Portugal ad belong to the pre- and on-trip stage of traveling. The ad works on the pre-trip stage as it tries to turn potential tourists into actual tourists. Simultaneously, the ad conveys on-trip adventures and literally ‘immerses’ the reader into the holiday experience. The idea of immersion is supported by verbally and visually creating a similarity between the destination, the activity of fully diving in, Portuguese habitat as well as tranquility and peace. The result is a creative metaphorical image which can be verbalized as follows: Making holidays in Portugal means immersing yourself (cf. also Pollaroli and Rocci 2015). The Portugal advertisement in German is comparable to the Italian version:

The ad combines two possible activities in a narrative structure during a holiday in Portugal in the verbal and visual message: diving and passing time at the beach (cf. Figure 3). Similar to the Italian ad, the action of diving (in) is represented in its literal and simultaneously in its metaphorical meaning. The temporal-spatial metaphor Making a holiday is diving in is used to express the depth of the holiday experience, resulting from the interplay of the headline (‘Portugal. Dive in.’) and a diving family depicted in the image, who discovers at the bottom of the sea a typical section of Portugal’s nature (cf. also Figure 2). Other than in Figure 2 however, the participants refer by deictic pointing to the center of the image. The gestures act as vectors which guide the attention of the observer in the same direction.

Figure 3:

Portugal advertisement II. Source: Geo Saison, 2006.

On the linguistic level, the ad uses different temporal isotopies to promote a vacation in Portugal. On the one hand, the verb eintauchen (‘dive in’), which is present in the headline and in the body text, indicates an instantaneous achievement, a punctual change of state that takes place immediately (+dynamic, +punctual, +telic). On the other hand, the verb genießen (‘enjoy’) implies an activity which has a duration but no specific endpoint (+dynamic, −punctual, +atelic), i.e., the endpoint is not focused on in the semantic structure of the verbal lexeme. The combination of the two lexical aspects telic and atelic in the promotional message refers to the transition from one state (diving in) into a specific post-state (enjoying, immersing), both belonging to the on-trip stage. Another temporal isotopy represented in text and visual is the shining of the sun all year round. Here temporality is evidenced through the temporal adverbial qualification das ganze Jahr über in the body text; the image visualizes the shining of the sun by the sun rays on the top and the light which illuminates the scenery at the beach in the center.

The Italian and the German ad have in common that they both use the present tense to promote Portugal as a holiday destination. The present is employed for a description, i.e., to represent characteristics of a situation (‘descriptive present’, cf. Haßler 2016: 94). Simultaneously, the present tense refers to an event in the future and shows modal properties (‘deontic present’, cf. Haßler 2016: 106) as it expresses an invitation/a suggestion to visit the promoted destination. However, whereas the structure, the composition, the established interactional rapport between represented participants and observers, the expressed temporal isotopies in both advertisements, and the use of tense are very similar, the two ads differ in the headline. The Italian ad employs the prepositional phrase fino in fondo, the German version makes use of the imperative phrase Tauchen Sie ein. In both phrases, the temporal action of immersion is expressed: more implicitly in Italian, where the prepositional phrase is indicating a direction; very explicitly in the German headline, where also the coherence between text and visual is more explicit and the polysemy is weaker.

It is obvious that the two touristic texts belong to the same campaign. A multimodal design was created in such a way that it can be adapted to other target cultures without major loss of meaning, thus making it transculturally translatable (cf. Held 2008a: 155). However, cross-lingual adaptations are made in the two translations, also with bearing in mind that specific (temporal) connotations, polysemy and coherent connections might disappear or become more prominent. Another difference consists in the representation of the type of ‘nature’ offered to the two groups of potential visitors. Even though both ads give a direction (cf. e.g. the deictic gestures of the divers in the German ad) and guide the observer’s eye to the center of the image, i.e. to Portugal’s habitat and nature, in the Italian ad, the beach is empty and the participants depicted are looking at the reader. In the German ad, vectors stemming from the participants’ arms are clearly visible and the beach is not empty. The picture in the Italian ad can therefore be described as symbolic, whereas the picture in the German ad is narrative.

5.3 Differences in the semantics and pragmatics of touristic time

The following examples promote vacations in Austria by using the same picture in the German and Italian version of the ad. Yet, linguistic elements have an impact on the differing semantic and pragmatic effects in terms of temporality in the two languages.

In terms of their composition, both ads consist of two elements: the visual which represents a red car driving along a lake in the middle of mountains, and the text integrated in a sort of (bus/train/plane) ticket and placed on the top of the picture (cf. Figures 4 and 5). Visual salience is produced by the red color of the car and the text background; framing is strong because of the presentation of the textual element as separate and distinct (cf. Francesconi 2014: 99). On the representational level, the ads express the unfolding of an action (driving in the middle of the Austrian mountains). Interpersonal meaning is generated by the red color, which – according to Francesconi (2014: 94) and van Leeuwen’s (2011) social semiotics of color – evokes vitality and dynamism, fun and joy. Similarities are also present in the arrangement of the text elements on red and white background. The left side is constituted by the headline; on the right side, the slogan and the trademark are expressed. Another similarity resides in the slogan of both languages: the theme, i.e. the prominent element (Austria as destination), is postponed to the rheme. By this marked thematization (cf. also Halliday 2004) a particular rhythm is created, with emphasis on the second part of the message (the destination) (cf. also Eggins 2011: 320).

Figure 4:

Austria advertisement I. Source: Österreich Werbung, 2002.

Figure 5:

Austria advertisement II. Source: Österreich Werbung, 2000.

However, differences between the two ads appear when looking closer on the representation of temporal aspects, especially on the verbal level. The German headline Groß in Fahrt, on an inchoative level, is comparable to the collocations auf große Fahrt gehen ‘departing, leaving (also: to set sail)’ and (groß) Fahrt in kommen ‘get going’. The expression implies the connotative meaning of ‘in a particular way, effort involved’ which is also illustrated typographically with the capitalization of the element Groß. This polysemy is not present in the Italian headline: the simplified declaration attraverso l’Austria gives a direction by involving the destination name (absent in the German headline). The German slogan uses the antithesis raus versus rein to play with the juxtaposition of everyday life (now) and holidays in Austria (future), a punctual change of state, and with pre-trip longings. The Italian slogan instead expresses a gradual change of state which also implies the change of air (Italian vs. Austrian air). Another difference consists in the addressing of the interlocutor: in the Italian ad, the observer is directly addressed by the imperative cambia and the exclamation mark; this direct addressing is absent in the German ad. In addition, the Italian verb aspettare in present indicative form has a predominantly imperfective value (cf. also the signification of predicting, with hope that something will happen; cf. Treccani online 2023). The German version of the advertisement does not make use of verbs, but works with nominal phrases. However, the particles raus and rein could also be part of syntagmatic verbs (e.g., reinnehmen ‘put in’ and rausnehmen ‘put out’). They could be used in an elliptical manner and therefore have to be completed by the co-operative recipient.

In both ads, on the linguistic level, a temporal and dynamic change of state, i.e., from every day to vacation life is indicated and, on the visual level, connected to (car) driving in Austrian nature. Yet, temporality is made more explicit in the Italian version by the use of temporal expressions such as cambia aria or ti aspetta. In the German version, a punctual change of state is specified by the nominal, antithetical juxtaposition Alltag raus, Österreich rein. In the following two examples, which appertain to the same campaign (same slogan) and which again utilize the same promoting picture (here: an Austrian lake), the German ad puts focus on ephemerality, the Italian version centers on durability.

In both ads, the idea of spending holidays immersed in a natural scenario is conveyed (cf. Figures 6 and 7). The German ad exploits the polysemy of the expression auf einen Sprung, which signifies ‘to stop by’. In connection with the image, where the jump into an (Austrian) lake is depicted, the literal meaning of Sprung (‘jump’) is added to the promoting message. The substantive Sprung includes the semantic features non-durable and short-lived. In addition, the use of the subjunctive form of the modal verb wollen and the modal particle doch alludes to a form of reproach which works on the interactive level as an invitation to enter the represented natural space, waiting for the tourist to be visited. The modal verb denotes epistemic modality, which is intensified by the particle doch, i.e., it expresses (on a subjective way) which conditions are given for the statement to be true, suggests that the interlocutor should follow the assumption conveyed in the proposition, and takes on the function of marking an inference (cf. Haßler 2016: 316).

Figure 6:

Austria advertisement III. Source: Österreich Werbung, 1999.

Figure 7:

Austria advertisement IV. Source: Qui Touring, 1998.

In the center of the German ad is the ephemeral character of a vacation in Austria: stopping by, entering and exploring the space. The Italian ad, on the other hand, does not convey ephemerality, even if the same picture is used. The focus of the ad is on durability which is expressed in the headline sul lago dorato and also in the body text (trascorrere delle vacanze). The meaning of the picture here is turned to pure fun (divertimento puro) which is compared to the pureness of lakes in Austria (cf. also the emphasis of the adjective ‘pure’ through anaphora). The ad works with adjectives (dorato, puro) and a comparison to emphasize the beauty of a place. In this way, the ad refers to the sense of seeing: seeing the pureness and beauty of Austrian nature.

The ads in German and Italian thus show different temporal orientations: the Italian ad is oriented towards a state, a non-action and conveys personal feelings (on-trip); the German ad expresses a short-lived action and stresses the importance of a holiday in Austria, emphasized by the illocutionary force of the headline (pre-trip). Diverging orientations in terms of temporality are also observable in the slogans of the same campaign for Austria in different languages, between 1998 and 2003. The English slogan Austria. Europe with a Difference. and the Spanish slogan Austria, ¡… y rompe moldes! focus on the peculiarities of the country, on originality without following the established norms. In the Spanish slogan, additionally, the inchoative lexical aspect of the verb romper ‘to break’ represents an antonymy to the content structure of the noun moldes ‘the mould’. The French slogan Autriche. Changez de rythme., the German slogan Alltag raus, Österreich rein. and the Italian slogan Cambia aria! L’Austria ti aspetta. place the emphasis on a change of state and on the difference between everyday life and vacation life. Yet, common to all five slogans is the semantic component ‘extraordinary’, which is frequently employed in tourism texts to promote a pleasurable experience with different characteristics from the ‘ordinary’ one, experienced in everyday life (cf. Urry 2002). In addition, the slogans work on the pre-trip stage and invite the interlocutor to exchange the actual state (everyday life) with a future state (vacation life). Although the ads and slogans in different languages may mirror different cultural orientations, i.e., a culture’s tendency towards a particular way of perceiving (cf. Manca 2013, 2016a), it is important to note that the different concepts of temporality are not bounded within a nation-state, but do possess changing characteristics.

5.4 Temporal focus altered by translation

In a Spain tourism campaign from 2005 to 2007, the trigger word smile is iconified in the headline Smile, you are in Spain – with possible modification of the localities (cf. also Held 2008a). The iconification of the verb takes place on two visual levels: first, in the constantly changing, indexical depiction of people ‘smiling’ with happiness; and second, as a pictogram drawn over the scenes, which is simultaneously re-stylised into a kind of infogram and provided with pseudo-topographical markings. In this way, a bridge between effect (‘smile’) and cause (‘you are in Spain’) is established. On the temporal level, the three following ads in Italian, French and German focus the on-trip phase by using the present tense – and also the deictic vagueness – of the verb to be.

The three ads have in common that they work with narrative images, i.e., they represent smiling people and display the unfolding of actions (e.g., hiking, relaxing, biking; cf. Figures 8–10). In doing so, the images stimulate in the tourist-viewer a process of identification (cf. Francesconi 2014: 82). On the compositional level, framing is strong (cf. Kress and van Leeuwen 2020: 205): the yellow and violet pictograms are presented as distinct elements within the image. Through their placement in the centre of the picture and the colour contrast, the pictograms attract the viewer’s attention.

Figure 8:

Spain advertisement I. Source: Panorama, 2006.

Figure 9:

Spain advertisement II. Source: Le Figaro Magazine, 2005.

Figure 10:

Spain advertisement III. Source: Geo Saison, 2006.

In the Italian version of the ad (cf. Figure 8), an ‘action’ process is expressed through the pictogram in the function of a vector originating from the actor on the left side going to the actor on the right side of the picture (cf. also “unidirectional transactional action”, Kress and van Leeuwen 2020: 71). The vector simultaneously leads to the name of the city (Santiago de Compostela) which is alluded to in the body text. The ad also uses the vertical axis of the picture to present information as given and new (cf. Kress and van Leeuwen 2020: 186): the elements placed on the left are introduced as given (collecting steps), whereas the elements placed on the right are characterized as new, i.e., as something which is not yet known (the destination). Temporality is expressed in a contiguity relation that is observable in text, image and pictogram: the cause, i.e., walking, stepping or hiking, leads to the effect, i.e., enjoying the effort, arriving at a final destination. Additionally, temporality is present in the text by the use of the noun Storia (cf. also the capitalization).

In the French version of the ad (cf. Figure 9), the vector represented in the pictogram culminates in time on the Andalusian coast. The temporal message is triplicated: in the body text, the temporal sequence of activities is listed and inserted into a contiguity relation; in the visual, the activity of enjoying a beauty treatment before going to the beach is depicted; the pictogram draws a line between spa (now) and beach (afterwards). Another reference to temporality is established in the lexicalized expression prenez le temps de (faire qc) in which the time window is subjectively variable. Interestingly, the Italian and French ads use the verbs sorridere and sourire (‘smile’) which express a dynamic and durative activity as result of the vacation in Spain. The German ad is out of line (cf. Figure 10), because the transposition of smile into freu dich (‘be happy’) results in a cognitive concept change and thus loosens the cohesion of the text design. In addition, the temporal contiguity, which is expressed in the Italian and French body text through prepositional phrases (da…a) and verbal structures indicating immediate posteriority (après avoir fait X, faire Y), is absent in the German body text. There is no explicit, but rather implicit reference to temporal proximity on the visual level, where the activity of biking leads to a siesta/rest.

The examples show that text coherence and cohesion can transform by slight changes on the verbal level. The activity of smiling as a temporal effect of a vacation in Spain, which stands in the centre of the tourism campaign, can be altered by a different translation. The three ads perform the same effect, i.e., they try to convince potential tourists to book the holiday advertised, but this pragmatic effect is realized differently by language (cf. also Manca 2012).

5.5 ‘Temporal’ tourist gaze guided in different directions

The next examples come from the tourism website for Austria (austria.info, accessed on 2023/12/19; permission to use pictures was only obtained for the examples 12–14). They show how the tourist gaze is guided in different directions depending on the language – German, French, English, Italian or Spanish – in which the website is accessed.

On the representational level, the websites work with narrative images that depict the unfolding of actions; except the French website which uses a conceptual image, i.e., it portrays a city as static and timeless concept (Figures 11–13). The Italian and Spanish websites show pictures taken during night: these are characterized by low modality and high symbolism (cf. Manca 2017: 234). On the interactive level, the observer is immersed into the picture, i.e., a certain involvement is created. However, the potential tourist viewing the image is rarely invited, through gaze, to interact with the portrayed participants (cf. the presentation of the participants not as central element, but rather as peripheral; cf. also Thurlow and Jaworski 2010). On the compositional level, the information value is emphasized through the location of textual elements: there is text placed in the picture or under the picture. In the latter case, more emphasis is put on the visual; in the former case, the text is in the foreground.

Figure 11:

Austria advertisement V. Source: Austria Advertising, © Christoph Oberschneider.

Figure 12:

Austria advertisement VI. Source: Austria Advertising, © Christoph Oberschneider.

Figure 13:

Austria advertisement VII. Source: Austria Advertising, © Michael Stabentheiner.

On the German version of the website, echte Erlebnisse (‘real experiences’), i.e., an event or activity that affects the potential tourist in some way is promoted. The temporal focus is on the on- and pre-trip level, i.e., on emotions while practicing sports, on the type of travel and the details of the travel organization. The headline on the French site is comparable to the German headline, but more focus is put on culture (cf. also the picture) and on different possibilities to do and explore during a vacation in Austria (pre-trip level). Additionally, the French headline includes a deontic (i.e. expressing duty or obligation) present tense in the verb retrouver. The two websites differ in the use of pictures: whereas on the German website a narrative image that conveys dynamism and the idea of active holidays is employed, the French website makes use of a non-narrative, conceptual picture that represents timelessness (cf. also Kress and van Leeuwen 2020).

On the English site, the Austrian Way is stressed in the text and the visual (cf. also the capitalization of the noun Way). The Austrian way is represented as a sporty vacation with family and friends. Emphasis is put on the on-trip level through the use of past tense and the adverb just as well as through the use of the temporal nominal lexeme moments. In this way, the ad conveys the message ‘you are already on holiday’. In addition, in the text, a rhetorical question is employed to which immediately an answer is given. Yet, the answer is already specified in the title of the headline and depicted in the visual (a family on a ski slope in Austria).

The webpage in Italian employs different adjectives which activate various inferences: the adjective imperiale alludes to Austrian history; the adjective romantic hints at emotions; last but not least, the adjective goloso puts Austrian gastronomy in the foreground. The three adjectives are added to the noun avvento and characterize it in the form of an asyndeton. The signification of the adjectives is also expressed in the picture: persons passing by in a scenery of illuminated mountain huts during a winter night. Different to the websites in German, French and English, the visual on the Italian site is provided with a button (also the Spanish webpage, see below). By clicking on the button to discover Advent in Austria, the user is redirected to a new page where more information on Austrian Advent is given and where the picture transforms into a video. The focus in the video is on tradition, emotions and magic (cf. also the hashtag #realAustria). In this way, a cohesive line is spun to the picture on the front page and the video viewer is directly zoomed into the event. The headline on the Spanish webpage is similar to the headline on the Italian version of the website. For a Spanish audience too, emphasis is put on passion, emotions, tradition and magic in text and visual. Other than in the Italian headline, however, the Spanish text uses the directive infinitive ir (a) which refers to posteriority and a possible activity in the future (pre-trip). A second analogy between the Italian and the Spanish webpage consists in the presence of a button on the picture. By clicking on the button, the user is directed to a new page where the picture becomes the thumbnail of a video. Both videos, in Italian and in Spanish, conclude with the message to live advent in Austria. In other words, the Italian and Spanish site stress the on-trip-level of the vacation experience. By placing the idea of magic in the foreground, they create “possible worlds” (Rocci 2009: 16), i.e., they evoke imaginary, alternative worlds disconnected from the one inhabited by the potential tourists.

The examples show that tourism professionals ‘manipulate’ the image of Austria as a tourist destination for different audiences. Whereas the webpages in German and French prioritize the different possibilities for guests during their holidays in Austria, on the English site, attention is drawn to winter holidays on snow with the family. The Italian and Spanish version of the website, on the other hand, give prominence to temporal attributes such as tradition, history, emotions, passion and magic. These entities implicitly transmit nominal aspectuality (cf. Kleineberg 2022), i.e., they share the internal temporal features of +atelic, +dynamic and +durative. Additionally, it is observable that the tourist gaze identified on the Italian and Spanish webpages can be described as a subgroup of what Urry (2002: 150) calls the romantic gaze: a gaze in which solitude, privacy and a personal, semi-spiritual relationship with the object of observation is emphasized (cf. also Manca 2017). The tourist gaze develops through confrontation with what is different, i.e., with non-tourist forms of social experience, and it is, therefore, inevitable that factors such as culture and social group play a fundamental role in its construction (cf. Urry 2002). In fact, it can be constructed in two ways: first, internally, through the decoding that the tourist carries out on the basis of their own socio-cultural filters; secondly, externally, by tourism professionals who strategically create an image of the tourist product that will influence the tourist’s expectations. While the internal construction of the tourist gaze can be developed in all three phases of the trip (before, during and after the tourist experience), the external construction is more identified in a pre-trip-stage promotional strategy (cf. Manca 2017). The expectations, i.e., the external tourist gaze created in the analyzed official tourist promotion websites is, therefore, strategically constructed to bring out what it is considered distinctive and of greatest interest or attractiveness to tourists.