¹University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK

Correspondence: Dr Paul R Brunt, Head of Marketing, Tourism and Hospitality, University of Plymouth, Plymouth Business School, Drake Circus, PlymouthPL4 8AA, UK. E-mail: PBrunt@plymouth.ac.uk

Abstract

This study examines the nature and extent of British media reporting of hedonistic tourism via a study of the resort of Faliraki, Rhodes. The nature of the tourism industry is discussed as well as image formation and its importance to a tourism destination. The role of the media in forming an image is considered and a content analysis of news articles from five British media sources is undertaken, which identified several reporting themes. The occurrence of keywords in the articles was also analysed. Results show how reports are amplified through the use of particular words, but show little difference between the reporting styles of the newspapers sampled. The importance of media in amplifying bad publicity resulting in subsequent reductions in tourism demand is disscussed.