Föreställningen om Australiens outback : En diskursanalys av australiensiska officiella webbsidor

Sammanfattning: The Internet is a constant source of information about the world and has contributed to the globalization of texts and pictures. A part in the tourists process of consumption involves looking at pictures and read about places that create an image of places that they have never been to. Websites are therefore important as a first impression and it is here that places are being represented. Places are created on the Internet and the Australian outback is an example of this. The study is interesting because it can be used to understand the relationship between people and places. The purpose of this study has been to study how the inner part of the Australian country is represented on the Australian official websites. The questions I have asked is about what is represented in the texts and pictures on the websites and what discourse is created whit these texts and images about the inner parts of Australia. I have also asked the questions of what is unique for the outback and what is alike/not alike tourism marketing in general. The study is based on a discourse analysis which means that I have studied how texts and images on the Internet represent places. A discourse is about different kind of representations, to speak about places. The websites that I have chosen to analyze is created by governmental organizations in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Also the official website for Australia as a destination is analyzed. Representation is about describing different things and picturing things in the mind. The analysis showed that the outback is represented as an unknown and mystical place whit spectacular landscapes, adventures, farms and friendly locals. One of the conclusions is that the outback is a place whit meaning of difference depending on who it is that experiences it. Another conclusion is that the discourse about the Australian outback is a part of the tourism marketing discourse order which affects how the discourse is constructed.