2004; Maci, 2007; Santulli, 2007). In doing so, they resort to the sensorial form of perception
traditionally associated with objective knowledge within Western epistemology (Urry,
2002). Scholars in tourism communication have often stated the priority of the visual (Long
& Robinson, 2009; Urry, 2002) and it is not by chance that the tourist looks for the ‘sight’,
the ‘must-see’ landmark, the sehenswu¨rdigkeit. Urry (2002, p. 3) defines the model of perception
tourists adopt while on holiday the ‘tourist gaze’, explaining that it functions as a
lens which (de)codifies new images by working with carefully planned filters. The tourist
gaze unfolds as a ‘hermeneutic circle’ (Jenkins, 2003, p. 308), where brochure images are
perceived, captured, projected, reproduced and shown by tourists themselves (Jenkins,
2003; Urry, 2002). Acknowledging that ‘tourist consumption is primarily visual’
(Jenkins, 2003, p. 309), proper and specific analytical tools are needed.
A useful and effective framework can be borrowed, here simplified for space constraints,
from Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006). They have used Halliday’s metafunctions,
introduced within his systemic functional linguistics (Halliday 1978; Halliday & Hasan,
1985) in order to evaluate functional modes and forms of the verbal signifying process.
The metafunctions are then distinct ways language uses in order to create meaning: the ideational
metafunction is related to the expression of content, the interpersonal function
regards sender–addressee interaction, the textual function refers to the way the elements
in a picture are related to each other in order to create a meaningful whole.
As for the ideational metafunction, they suggest considering the interactive participants,
that is the real image producer and viewer, and the represented participants, that
is the people, places and things depicted in an image (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2006). Noteworty,
participant representation in tourism photography involves ideological acts of
inclusion as well as exclusion: poverty, waste, social conflicts are systematically obliterated
by the tourist gaze (Urry, 2002).
In order to analyse the performance of the interpersonal function, the following levels
have to be observed: contact, size of frame, social distance, perspective and modality (Kress
& Van Leeuwen, 2006). Contact refers to whether human represented participants either
look directly at the viewer or not. Size of frame is defined in relation to specific sections
of the human body: in close-ups only the head and the subject’s shoulders are depicted,
in medium shots the subject is cut off at the knees and in long shots the figure is fully represented.
This system can be applied to the representation of objects and it indicates the distance
between the interactive and represented participants. As a consequence of physical
distance, different social relations can be distinguished, ranging from close to public distance.
As far as perspective is concerned, three main angles can be used: in a high angle
interactive participants have power over the represented ones; in a low angle represented
participants have power over the interactive ones; in an eye level the point of view is
equal. The last parameter fulfilling the interpersonal function is modality, concerned with
the representation of truth or falsehood, certainty and doubt, credibility and reliability
(Halliday, 1978). Various modality markers frame this parameter, from colour saturation,
colour differentiation, colour modulation, contextualization, representation, depth, illumination
and brightness.
The compositional nature of images performing the textual function is characterized by
three interrelated systems: information value, salience and framing (Kress & Van Leeuwen,
2006). Information value implies the meaningful location of elements in a picture: on the
left side already given information is placed, on the right side a new message, on the top
the most salient and/or ideal part and on the bottom more specific and practical information.
Visual composition may also be structured along the dimensions of centre, the most crucial
part of the image, and margin, subordinated to the central one(s). As for salience, elements
Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 345
Downloaded by [Prince of Songkla University] at 08:06 17 January 2015
are depicted in order to attract the viewer’s attention in different ways: size, sharpness of
focus, tonal and colour contrasts, placement, perspective and presence of human figures
or cultural symbols. Finally, framing refers to connecting or disconnecting devices
within the image.
At first glance, the visual mode in the MTA brochure is adopted to organize and
identify the text structure, fulfilling a textual function. Sections display a recurrent and
recognizable layout. Each section is two pages long and eight sections show the same
page layout: a whole-page image on the right and a title plus verbal text and two–
three pictures on the left page. Composition in Figure 1 is strategically fulfilled in
order to attribute the most salience to the main element, positioned as novelty in terms
of information value. Placed on the left page around the smaller images, the verbal text
is compact and fulfils accompanying functions of description and commentary. In the brochure
centre, two sections display a different layout: the fourth shows a two-page image
with a superimposed red box with written text, while the fifth divides the two-page space
into three horizontal layers: the ancient capital of Mdina on the upper level, six smaller
pictures in the central layer, and a white verbal text against a red background in the
lower layer. Visible in Figure 2, the Gozo section is also differently organized, featuring
a two-page picture of Victoria Citadel covering two-thirds of the space, while the remaining
one-third shows two small pictures on the left page and a written text on the lower part
of the right page. Besides using the communication potential of image size, this composition
inscribes an elliptic reading path (Kress, 2009; Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2006), positioning
the main image as ideal and the verbal text as real. The latter, in fact, provides
factual details on the island.
Designed as a mainly visual text (Dann, 1993; Dilley, 1986; Ferreira, 2007; Held, 2004;
Jenkins, 2003; Molina & Esteban, 2006), the brochure features a total of 46 pictures, of