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Representations of Waikiki: An analysis of Hawaiian tourism through hotel brochures and websites
Downey, Victoria S.
Downey, Victoria S.
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Abstract
Tourism dominates the Hawaiian economy, and the economic stronghold of the tourism industry is Waikīkī. This thesis focuses on the various representations of Waikīkī from a postcolonial perspective, using textual analysis to examine brochures and websites from hotels in the area. The development of the tourism industry in Waikīkī has its roots in the creation of romanticized images of the Pacific as a whole during the colonial era. Waikīkī continues to be depicted as both a familiar and an exotic entity in mainland United States tourism advertising, perpetuating Orientalist discourse. The themes of excitement, familiarity, exoticism, “native” hospitality, perfection, and nostalgia are used to show the continued commodification of Native Hawaiian culture and the ways in which these representations are contributing to Waikīkī’s tourism development. This research contributes to a larger body of literature which considers the ways postcolonialism and tourism might intersect.
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Thesis (M.A.)--University of Kansas, Geography, 2007.
Date
2007-05-31
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University of Kansas
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Keywords
Tourism, Brochures, Web sites, Studies, Hotels & motels, Social sciences