Abstract (150 Words)
Based on the theory of social construction of reality, the reality is not established but social constructed. The mass media have great power in the process of social construction of reality. The same is true in the context of tourism. Tourists’ decision of where to go and what to see are affected to a large extent by professionals’ or travel writers’ opinions. In order to identify the various and recurring coverage frames of China as a tourism destination in western media discourse, this paper will conduct a framing analysis of 47 feature articles on China from the travel section of the New York Times between 2005 and 2015. At the same time, general narrative characteristics of these travel articles and the representation of China and Chinese people in western media discourse will be explored.
Framing China as a Tourism Destination: A Study on Media Discourse
Based on the theory of social construction of reality, the reality is not established but social constructed. The mass media have great power in the process of social construction of reality. The same is true in the context of tourism. Tourists’ decision of where to go and what to see are affected to a large extent by professionals’ or travel writers’ opinions. In order to identify the various and recurring coverage frames of China as a tourism destination in western media discourse, this paper will conduct a framing analysis of 47 feature articles on China from the travel section of the New York Times between 2005 and 2015. At the same time, general narrative characteristics of these travel articles and the representation of China and Chinese people in western media discourse will be explored.
