Promoting the European member states online: A critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the official tourism websites

Abstract

Tourism today is characterised by an omnivorous production of goods and services. Destinations are in a struggle to present their characteristics (nature, history, culture, food) in an attractive way and to stimulate the interest of visitors. Consumers have been armed with knowledge and are able to compose their travel itineraries. The paper aims to bring together the 28 EU member states official tourism websites and review their content. The 28 countries’ Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) websites are studied in an attempt to understand each ones online establishment and to identify both similarities and differences among them in the way that tourism is promoted. The research incorporates critical discourse analysis (CDA) as the method to analyse the content of the websites for tourism promotion. The results of the study suggest that EU member states are positioned online by meeting the aims and interest of the post-/neo-Fordism traveller. The study is original because it considers the official tourism websites of the 28 EU by employing critical discourse analysis.