TV travel shows — A pre-taste of the destination

This paper discusses what is communicated to the viewers through the content of TV travel shows. The concepts of destination image and travel motivation are focused on, and selected Swedish TV travel shows constitute the empirical basis for that discussion. The pictures could easily be used for many tourist destinations around the world — showing TV reporters and anonymous tourists taking part in various activities. However, the results indicate that the studied films are coloured by culture: not necessarily the culture signifying the destinations presented, rather that of the producers and the prospective tourists. It is concluded that new and different destinations are presented in a general way, while the films of established destinations are activity based.