Public Relations, Media, Dialogism and the Formation of Tourism Destination Image

The image formation is a complex and cross-cutting issue to various sectors of activity, but on tourism it wins an added importance, because it is the imagined experience and the anticipated experience that conditioned the destination visit decision. This anticipation of experience brings attention to the role of new media, the web, and in particular the photographs in the destination image formation. Photographs are a nuclear agent in communicating the desired experiences at the destination (Michaelidou et al., 2013, p. 540), seduce (Urry, 2002b) and enchant. For this reason, Pettersson (2013) states that photography plays a central role in generating interest, in presentation of content and dissemination of messages, imbued with meaning, thus making the tourist experience a tangible experience (Buhalis & Law, 2008; Tasci & Gartner, 2007). This article aims to understand the role of photograph in shaping the tourist destination image. Thus, we intend to identify denotative elements associated with the identity of the destination represented in the photographs published on the Website of the Tourism of Center. The work corpus consists of photographs published by the Regional Tourism Entity of Center on its website. The methodology is based on a quantitative analysis of data collected through content analysis. This article aims to help expand the body of knowledge of public relations, digital communications and image formation of the destinations, with practical implications in managing the communication of tourism entities.