Selling the Sublime - Representing Arctic Wilderness in Digital Travel Media
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2025-07-15
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en
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Language is crucial in communicating ideas, conveying emotion and shaping perceptions. In the context of Arctic tourism promotion, discourse is how colonial ideology is reinforced through the framing of the region in mythologising terms. In this study, I look at how language is operationalised on Arctic booking sites and blogs to construct representations of Arctic wilderness and culture. My goal is to fill an existing gap in polar studies that examines how discursive power is in part responsible for the ongoing exoticisation of the region in promotional material. Using critical discourse analysis, I looked at 30 websites to find common themes and repeated terminology to see how the Arctic is framed, and if there is any consistency between sites. The results found that there is a dominant Western voice that creates a narrative of contemporary exploration and discovery, under the guise of environmental stewardship and self-reflection. Indigenous culture also plays a role as a touristic product in this construction, leading to their marginalisation and passive position in marketing. Implications of this research show that there is a lack of reflexivity in the language used in Arctic tourism promotion, leading to an enduring colonial narrative.
Keywords: Performativity, colonialism, discourse, last-chance tourism, globalisation.
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Faculteit der Letteren