Visualising places : An analysis of Uddevalla's destination image online

Visual representations are important components in the construction of our social life. They depict the world around us and shape peoples everyday behavior. They are a medium through which we communicate and can be understood as social constructions dependent upon cultural understandings. Pictorial representations have become part of the economic sphere and are used in tourism in order to overcome its immaterial character by providing a physical evidence for the tourist. Coloured by tourism ideology, they transform a place into a destination. This study examines visual representations of Uddevalla through a lens of promotional photographs published on Instagram and the online tourism destination image they project based on a compound content analysis-semiotic analysis method. The aim is to exemplify the visualisation of places and provide an understanding for the explicit and implicit messages conveyed through denotative and connotative signs in pictures. This is done by answering three questions: (1) What representations are being used to form a destination image and what image is being projected? (2) How does the mediated massage within the pictures correspond to the destination profile?(3) In what way is ideology being expressed? The result show a synecdochical image of a coastal destination which should be experienced outdoors through physical activities or by gazing over picturesque and idyllic landscapes. However, questions remain regarding the relationship between the projected destination image and the intended destination profile developed by tourism planners