Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Yuanxin Zhang, the Ph.D. candidate at the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University. Her research interests including cultural heritage, culture industry, and media economics.

Jonathon Day, an Associate Professor in Purdue’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, has over 25 years of experience in tourism management. An award-winning marketer, he has received recognition for work in public relations, brochures development, training video production, travel trade campaigns, and international marketing.

Zhenhao(Mark) Meng, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism at IU Indiana University Kokomo. Dr. Meng received his Ph.D. from Purdue University, his research interests include cultural heritage, tourism economics, and tourist motivation.

Chengyu Xiong, Professor of Tsinghua University, Academician of European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Humanities (EASAH), the Director of Cultural Industry Research Center.

Abstract (150 Words)

Ethnic culture heritage, as a subculture, provides an important resource for US rural tourism. However, the commodification of culture heritage has affected the representation of cultural heritage in tourism marketing. This study examines 13 counties of Indiana where Amish are a significant proportion of the population and explores how the destination presents Amish culture in their promotional materials. This article conducts content analysis and semiotic analysis of Amish icons and website information through data collection and coding of 50 websites and 458 images. The results calculated the geographic location, symbols, and text distribution of Amish elements in Indiana, and also compared the different usage proportions, meanings, and functions of Amish icons and texts in DMO & commercial websites. And it is also analyzed the Amish meaning system of symbols and culture codes through semiotic models in DMO & commercial websites.

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Amish in Rural Tourism: Representation of Subcultures in Tourism Marketing

Ethnic culture heritage, as a subculture, provides an important resource for US rural tourism. However, the commodification of culture heritage has affected the representation of cultural heritage in tourism marketing. This study examines 13 counties of Indiana where Amish are a significant proportion of the population and explores how the destination presents Amish culture in their promotional materials. This article conducts content analysis and semiotic analysis of Amish icons and website information through data collection and coding of 50 websites and 458 images. The results calculated the geographic location, symbols, and text distribution of Amish elements in Indiana, and also compared the different usage proportions, meanings, and functions of Amish icons and texts in DMO & commercial websites. And it is also analyzed the Amish meaning system of symbols and culture codes through semiotic models in DMO & commercial websites.