台灣旅遊書: 以巴黎為例

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(1)國立臺灣師範大學國際與僑教學院歐洲文化與觀光研究所碩士論文 Graduate Institute of European Cultures and Tourism College of International Studies and Education for Oversea Chinese. National Taiwan Normal University Master thesis. 台灣旅遊書: 以巴黎為例 Guidebooks in Taiwan: a Case Study on Paris. 徐薇 Renée Wei Hsu 指導教授: Professor Dinu Luca 中華民國 102 年 11 月 November 2013.

(2) Acknowledgements. This thesis would not be possible without the help of a group of people who have helped me in different ways. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. First and foremost, I am grateful to the guidance of my advisor, Professor Dinu Luca. If it were not for him, I probably would not be able to come this far. He is the teacher I fear most but respect most as well. I would also like to thank my committee members, Professor Chia-Ling Lai and Professor YauLin Hsieh, for offering valuable commentaries on my work. I would also like to express my appreciation to my dear friends. My best friend, Alla, is always there to give me a confidence boost. She kept reminding me of her “impatience” to read my complete work. Madge, Serena, Yohsin and Peter also offered me encouragement and advice when the road got bumpy. Finally, I was blessed with enormous support of my family, my mother especially. She waited patiently for the completion of my paper. It is to her that this work is dedicated..

(3) 中文摘要旅遊書扮演目的地和旅客之間的中介者，翻譯和溝通橋梁的角色。旅遊書是旅遊論述的一部份，而旅遊論述深植於社會脈絡中。透過多方資料的蒐集，比較不同時期旅遊書與比較不同文化背景產出的旅遊書，本論文的目的為找出台灣旅遊書的特性，討論其如何反映台灣社會與文化; 找出台灣觀點與其重要性; 並提供一個媒體和觀光之間相互關係的概要。台灣的旅遊書因社會變遷而改變。隨著時間的演進，旅遊書對於巴黎的描寫加入了新的元素，也保留了幾個特點。首先，大部份台灣旅遊書的標題加入額外的訊息，這決定了書的走向並建議讀者一個看巴黎特定的方式。第二點則是台灣旅遊書中很明顯都有作者的身影。第三點，台灣旅遊書善用巴黎鐵塔的魅力; 如收錄大幅巴黎鐵塔的照片，書中多次提及鐵塔，和介紹鐵塔造型紀念品等。並且，近年來越來越多台灣旅遊書著重以消費角度介紹巴黎。有別於部份翻譯旅遊書，台灣旅遊書較不強調如百科全書般提供全方位的資訊。最後，大部份的台灣旅遊書頃向於忽略旅遊警訊之相關資訊。旅遊書介紹一目的地的方式和風格受文化的影響，因此旅遊書反映了其所在文化與意識形態。此研究發現，典型的台灣旅遊書具有一額外資訊的標題，書中有明顯作者的存在，專著於消費資訊的呈現，具有跟隨潮流的頃向，忽略負面資訊，並且偶像化艾菲爾鐵塔。關鍵字：旅遊書，觀光，巴黎，框架，台灣.

(4) Abstract. Guidebooks are depicted as mediators, interpreters, and communicators of place and people. They are a part of the tourism discourse, and tourism discourse is embedded in a social context. By collecting data from a variety of sources and conducting a temporal and spatial comparison of guidebooks, this paper aims to find out characteristics and specificities of Taiwanese guidebooks on Paris and how they reflect Taiwanese society and culture; find out Taiwanese perspectives and their significance; provide an overview of the media and tourism in Taiwan and their correlation. Locally produced guidebooks have evolved along with society overtime. Several elements have been added while certain features remain consistent in the framing of Paris. First, we see that the majority of local guidebooks include extra information in their title; this defines the direction that books take and proposes a specific way to see Paris. Then, the marked presence of the author can be found in all local guidebooks. Next, Taiwanese guidebooks capitalize on the charm of the Eiffel Tower by means of inserting large-sized glossy photos, making numerous references to it throughout the book, presenting Tower-formed souvenirs, etc. Also, chronologically, we see an increasingly hedonistic aspect in Taiwanese guidebooks; spatially, local guidebooks do not claim to be all-encompassing or encyclopedia-like. Finally, the majority of Taiwanese guides overlook the information on nuisances. Guidebooks overtime have evolved along with social and economic changes. A guidebook reflects a particular culture and ideology, as different framing techniques are employed by guidebooks of different origins. We find out that a quintessential Taiwanese guidebook possesses an informative title, an author with marked presence, a focus on consumption, and a tendency to follow the trend while iconizing the Eiffel Tower and minimizing negative information. Keywords: Guidebooks, Tourism, Paris, Framing, Taiwan..

(5) Table of Contents. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.0 Preliminary considerations …............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Definition of terms …......................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Statement of problem …..................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Purpose of this study …...................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research methods ….......................................................................................................................... 7 1.4.1 Justification …........................................................................................................................... 7 1.4.2 Data collection …...................................................................................................................... 8 1.4.3 Analytical methods .................................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Synopsis of chapters …..................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2 Overview of tourism and media in the ROC 2.0 Introduction ….................................................................................................................................. 12 2.1 Tourism development in Taiwan ...................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Media development in Taiwan ......................................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Printed media .......................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1.1 Newspaper ................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1.2 Magazines and TV guides ............................................................................................17 2.2.1.3 Travelogues and guidebooks ....................................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Visual media ............................................................................................................................ 20 2.2.2.1 Television .................................................................................................................... 21 2.2.2.2.The Internet ................................................................................................................. 22 2.2.3 Media outlets ........................................................................................................................... 24 2.2.3.1 Travel agencies and airline companies ........................................................................ 24 2.2.3.2 Bookstore .................................................................................................................... 26 2.3 Chapter summary ..............................................................................................................................27 Chapter 3 Guidebooks 3.0 History of guidebooks ….................................................................................................................. 28 3.1 Function of guidebooks .................................................................................................................... 29 3.1.1 Framing ................................................................................................................................... 29 3.1.2 Mediating ................................................................................................................................ 31 3.1.3 Serving for other purposes ...................................................................................................... 32 3.2 The guidebook as a genre ................................................................................................................. 33 3.2.1 Geographical text .................................................................................................................... 34 3.2.2 Brochure .................................................................................................................................. 34 3.2.3 Travelogue ............................................................................................................................... 36 3.3 Chapter summary ............................................................................................................................. 36 Chapter 4 Case Study:Paris 4.0 Locally produced and foreign guidebooks on Paris ......................................................................... 38 4.1 Paris in Taiwanese guidebooks ........................................................................................................ 39 4.1.1 Paratextual matters .................................................................................................................. 41 4.1.1.1 Physical outlook .......................................................................................................... 41.

(6) 4.1.1.2 Book cover .................................................................................................................. 43 4.1.1.3 Book title ..............................................................................................................…... 50 4.1.1.4 Name of the author ..................................................................................................... 51 4.1.1.5 Organization ................................................................................................................ 52 4.1.2 Content .................................................................................................................................... 57 4.1.2.1 Text .............................................................................................................................. 57 4.1.2.2 Image ........................................................................................................................... 67 4.2 Characteristics and specificity of Taiwanese guidebooks ................................................................ 71 4.2.1 The iconization of the Eiffel Tower ........................................................................................ 71 4.2.2 Presence and absence .............................................................................................................. 76 4.2.3 Proliferation and diversification of maps ................................................................................ 79 4.3 Chapter summary ............................................................................................................................. 82 Chapter 5 Findings and Conclusion 5.0 Findings and conclusion ................................................................................................................... 84 5.1 Research limitation and direction for future research ...................................................................... 86 References ….….................................................................................................................................... 88 Appendix: Images of the Eiffel Tower in guidebooks ....................................................................... 94.

(7) List of Tables Table 4.1 Taiwanese guidebooks on Paris .............................................................................................. 40 Table 4.2 Hong-Kong guidebooks on Paris ........................................................................................... 40 Table 4.3 Translated guidebooks on Paris ….......................................................................................... 41 Table 4.4 Image choice for guidebook front covers …........................................................................... 49 Table 4.5 Modalizers in Taiwanese guidebooks .…................................................................................ 60 Table 4.6 Length of text and the number of images on the Eiffel Tower in Taiwanese guidebooks …. 64 Table 4.7 Length of text and the number of images on the Eiffel Tower in Hong-Kong guidebooks… 65 Table 4.8 Length of text and the number of images on the Eiffel Tower in translated guidebooks …... 65 Table 4.9 Positive adjectives in the text of the Eiffel Tower in local guidebooks ................................. 72 Table 4.10 Positive adjectives in the text of the Eiffel Tower in Hong-Kong guidebooks …................ 73 Table 4.11 Positive adjectives in the text of the Eiffel Tower in translated guidebooks ….................... 73 Table 4.12 Paris nuisances in 17 Taiwanese guidebooks …................................................................... 77 Table 4.13 Paris nuisances in 7 Hong-Kong guidebooks ....................................................................... 77 Table 4.14 Paris nuisances in 13 translated guidebooks ….................................................................... 78.

(8) List of Images Image 4.1 Book covers of Taiwanese guidebooks ................................................................................. 45 Image 4.2 Book coves of Hong-Kong guidebooks ................................................................................ 47 Image 4.3 Book covers of translated guidebooks .................................................................................. 48 Image 4.4 Table of contents of Paris (Chang, 1999) …......................................................................... 54 Image 4.5 Table of contents of Touring Paris by Yourself (Gao et al., 2009) ….................................... 55 Image 4.6 Table of contents of Touring around Paris by Metro (Yao, 2009)..........................................56 Image 4.7 Next Stop: Paris (Lee, 2007) ................................................................................................. 68 Image 4.8 Short Trip to Paris (Tseng et al., 2004) ................................................................................. 69 Image 4.9 Paris 5 Days and 4 Nights (MOOK, 2007) ...........................................................................69 Image 4.10 Paris (DK, 1995) ................................................................................................................. 70 Image 4.11 Paris (Chen, 2008) ............................................................................................................. 81 Image 4.12 Paris (Yao, 2009) ................................................................................................................ 81.

(9) Chapter 1: Introduction. 1.0 Preliminary considerations The word travel has the same origin as travail, which is derived from the Latin trepalium, meaning “instrument of torture” (Pearsall 1998:1972). As testified by the etymology of the word, travel means to make a laborious journey (Flexner, 1987); more directly, Fussell (1980) equates travel with work. In view of all this, and in order to make the work of traveling less toilsome, a written aid may be of some help. It has in fact been asserted that guidebooks exist because traveling is frightening (Allen, 1996). While this may not be intuitively obvious, it is certain that a guidebook may help make travel less “torturing” by preparing travelers prior to their trips and functioning as a compass along their journey. By its very name, a guidebook is a book that guides people to find their orientation. It delineates a world for people to experience and makes foreign places open, attractive and accessible (McGregor, 2000). Thus, a guidebook mediates the relationship between a traveler and a destination. It provides a cognitive framework for perceiving a destination and interpreting what one perceives (Bhattacharyya, 1997). The framework varies from guidebook to guidebook, however. Gilbert (1999) writes that although most guidebooks share common features, subtle differences exist with regard to how information is organized and presented; this explains why certain sites are marked as worth visiting (MacCannell, 1999) in one guidebook, but are simply left out in another. Cohen (1985) states that all information imparted is rarely, if ever, purely neutral; with its seemingly objective arrangement of information, a guidebook is no exception. One must keep in mind, as one critic reminds us, that “the putative objectivity of the travel guide is established by personal experience on the ground” (Callahan 2011:104). A guidebook is more than a manual for understanding a foreign destination and culture; it is, rather, “an idealized summary” (Carter 1998:351) of what places are like. A particular ideology is hidden behind it. Hence, due to its nature of selection and guidance, Barthes (1957/1972) calls it “an agent of blindness.” As Richardson points out, ‘‘no textual staging is ever innocent” (1990:12)—any piece of writing is inscribed with a certain value. Therefore, a guidebook carries the beliefs and values of its author or editor, and the culture in which it is produced (Lew, 1991; Quinlan 2005; Santos, 2006). Considering all this, let me state the obvious: Taiwanese guidebooks on Paris represent the city through a Taiwanese lens. By writing out a foreign destination, these guidebooks actually provide a 1.

(10) window into the Taiwanese culture of leisure travel. To the exploration of this culture this paper also wishes to make a contribution. Traveling for leisure to other countries does not have a long history in Taiwan. Overseas travel was prohibited for the public before 1979. A small group of people was the exception—diplomats or the affluent; a limited number of students also traveled for reasons of work or study (Chen, 1998; Lee, 2000; Ying, 2007). In many cases, tourism occurred as a byproduct. Travel information was scarce. Geographical texts could help a little in rendering more familiar a foreign destination; so did translated travel programs occasionally shown on TV. Some of these early travelers also wrote down accounts of their trips and had them published. Their work played a certain role in opening a rather closed society, as it introduced foreign destinations and cultures to the people in Taiwan. Then, in 1979, the Travel Ban was lifted. The idea of leisure travel remained new and expensive for the vast majority. A series of policy changes implemented by the government, improved economic conditions, and better access to information for the general public led to a surge in the demand for travel and leisure in the late 1980s (Tseng, 2000). Books of travel accounts proliferated. Sensing an opportunity behind the fast-growing popularity of this leisure activity, several editors started to publish guidebooks or translate foreign works into Chinese. Taiwanese TV travel shows mushroomed during this period as well. As for newspapers, after years of running only occasionally travel-related articles, the three major newspapers in Taiwan, China Times 中國時報, Liberty Times 自由時報, and United Daily 聯合報, inaugurated their travel sections in the early 1990s. By now leisure travel was practiced by a much larger number of people, who gathered their travel information from a variety of sources. As Professor Jin-Yuan Hu 胡錦媛 , a researcher in travel literature, wrote in 2004, leisure travel has become a necessity for people in Taiwan. Writing and travel have always been intimately connected (Hulme & Youngs, 2002). And we can easily verify this connection in the Taiwanese case. Travel writing in Taiwan was first reserved to a small number of people who had the privilege to travel in the earlier days. Zun-Peng Bao 包遵彭 (1957) and Mei-Yin Chung 鍾梅音 (1966), among many others, produced travel accounts after their trips to Europe and thirteen countries in Asia, Europe, and America respectively. Their writing mostly revolved around their itineraries; and included a brief introduction of the geography, history and culture of the places they visited; reporting their observations; and looking into their inner world and reflecting on life. All in all, their writing was an extension of their trips, and it was meant mainly to share their observations and feelings along their journey. Professional guidebooks that aimed at preparing their users prior to and during their journey did not appear in Taiwan until the 1980s. At first, guidebooks written by Taiwanese authors—Traveling in 2.

(11) Western Europe with You 伴您遊覽西歐 by Chiu-Shung Tsai 蔡秋雄 (Taipei: Shin Sheng Times Publishing 新生報社, 1980), for instance—tended to cover many countries in one book. Each country was introduced in a superficial manner, in just a few pages. Images or maps were rarely included. Well into the 1990s, as more people began to choose independent travel over package tours, guidebooks that provided more in-depth introduction on specific destinations began to appear on the market; practical information about such aspects as accommodation and transportation, as well as images, were included. It is also worth pointing out that several books published during this period were a combination between a lecture and a guidebook. They introduced major tourist attractions from historical and cultural perspectives in an objective voice, without personal travel tales or tourist information. They were not travelogues, yet they were different from guidebooks; they belonged, in fact, to an intermediary genre. After the millennium, when independent travel became a much sought-after way of travel, guidebooks greatly diversified. Books with specific themes and concerns became available to cater for a more sophisticated reader market. Not only were more images included, but they were also brighter and more colorful than before. It is against this background that the present research articulates itself. It stems, in fact, from a fact of which I became aware during my last visit to Paris. I had brought along a Lonely Planet guidebook with me. I believed it would provide comprehensive information on Paris, in keeping with the promise of its recognized brand name. Along the way, I met several fellow Taiwanese travelers. As we exchanged information, they asked me if I had tried the bubble tea at a Taiwanese restaurant near the Garnier Opera House. I did not know such a place existed in Paris, so they showed me information about it in their guidebook, which was written by a Taiwanese author. It turned out that my Lonely Planet guide was not as “omniscient” as I thought it was. The Paris I knew was slightly different from the one they knew, because we used different guidebooks! I had never really given much thought to how important for a guidebook the author’s background is, but after that incident I started to wonder how locally produced guidebooks could vary from translated ones. International or foreign published guidebooks usually adopt a global perspective since they operate on a multinational and multicultural market. As a result, information that only interests a particular group of readers is less likely to be included. This explains why information about the bubble tea place was absent from my Lonely Planet guidebook, which is not written from a Taiwanese point of view. The way Paris is framed varies from one guidebook to another, depending on the perspective and agenda that each one has. Exploring this in detail has thus become for me a topic of research.. 3.

(12) 1.1 Definition of terms As a certain number of terms will appear constantly on the following pages, I find it appropriate to include here, before engaging on actual analysis, a series of definitions and circumscribed perspectives. “Traveler” vs. “tourist” Wall (2000) explains that both travel and tourism involve the movement of people between origins and destinations along connecting routes. He indicates that although travel is sometimes used as a synonym for tourism, it is actually a broader concept, because there is a variety of types of travelers, not all of whom may be tourists. This echoes the definition of tourism given by UNWTO—the visitor is a particular type of traveler. Therefore, tourism is a subset of travel. UNWTO defines a traveler as someone who moves between different geographic locations, for any purpose and any duration. According to Fussell (1980), a traveler is someone who enjoys the excitement and risks of an explorer and the comfort and security of a tourist. As for the word “tourist,” Löfgren (2002) argues that almost as soon as it appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, it started to carry derogatory connotations: “The democratization of travel has charged the word with greater irritation and scorn” (2002:262). Those who consider themselves as travelers, with superior motives and tastes, may label other people “tourists.” Their emotional complex is what Fussell (1980) called “tourist angst.” Since this research focuses on guidebooks, rather than their readers or users, the two words, “traveler” and “tourist,” will be used interchangeably. “Guidebook” According to Koshar (1998), it is difficult to give a precise definition of guidebooks because the guidebook genre includes many diverse elements. Although no clear definition can be provided, Towner (2000) classifies guidebooks as “lying more within objective, informative sphere of production, as distinguished from the impressionistic, personal world of the travel book” (2000: 267). Over the past 150 years, what the mainstream guidebooks have had in common is the combination of itineraries, a list of places and objects deemed of interest, along with practical information on transportation, accommodation and expenses (Towner, 2000). For the purposes of this research, I take the guidebook to be a commercially produced and commercially available book with factual information on various destinations. On the other hand, a guidebook, by its very name, is a material in a book form. Therefore, brochures, pamphlets, travel magazines and travelogues are not considered guidebooks. 4.

(13) “Taiwanese guidebooks” This refers to guidebooks that are written by Taiwanese authors and published in Taiwan. “Hong-Kong guidebooks” This refers to guidebooks that are published in traditional Chinese orthography and are sold in multiple countries. The book price in different currencies is usually printed on one of the covers. Books from China, Malaysia and Singapore were initially considered but the sampling result was narrowed down to books originated from Hong Kong. Therefore, this group of books is categorized as HongKong guidebooks. “Translated guidebooks” This refers to guidebooks that are translated from another language into Chinese, written in its traditional orthography. “Genre” Genre is “a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter” (Pearsall 1998:766). Genres share certain traits or an “air de famille,” in Compagnon’s words. Jauss (1982) argues that genres are groups of historical families (as cited in Frow 2006:70). From a different angle, genre is a set of constraints regulated by conventions and social contexts. Genres are culturally specific and historically fluid. In this study, comparison of guidebooks with other forms of travel literature is based on their form, style, and subject matter, within a large generic approach. 1.2 Statement of problem Guidebooks have increased in both number and variety in recent years. They are depicted as mediators, interpreters, and communicators of place and people, yet there are few studies focusing on what information guidebooks present tourists with or how they do it (Lew, 1991; Bhattacharyya, 1997; McGregor, 2000; Quinlan, 2005; Rozier-Rich & Santos, 2010; Tegelberg, 2010; Wong & Liu, 2011). This is also true about Taiwan, as there are indeed only a handful of studies focusing on the format, content, and narrative of guidebooks in connection to Taiwan (Huang, 2004; Wu, 2006; Yeh, 2007; Liu, 2009; Chen, 2011). None of these, moreover, examines the essence of guidebooks in a comprehensive manner. To put it otherwise, there is no in-depth discussion on what a guidebook is in terms of genre 5.

(14) and function; how it categorizes information; how it represents a destination; and in what social context it is produced and consumed. In addition, no previous research has approached Taiwanese professional guidebooks of different periods, nor has it engaged in observing the narrative voice, style, content focus, and image and text ratio of such texts in a chronological manner. Moreover, no comparison of Taiwanese and foreign guidebooks has been endeavored in a bid to tease out cultural differences and preferences. Guidebooks are a part of the tourism discourse. As McGregor (2000) points out, perceptions of places cannot be derived purely from reading printed texts: other media also exert influences on how individuals see the world. Therefore, it is necessary to study other media from a tourism standpoint in order to have a comprehensive understanding of guidebooks in Taiwan. Although research on travel programs or travel writing has been conducted (Chen, 2003; Huang, 2004; Chuang, 2006; Wang, 2006; Chen, 2007; Tan, 2008), thorough investigations of Taiwanese television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, etc. concerning tourism are scarce. There are no synthetic studies that provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship between media and tourism in Taiwan. In addition, information is scattered and existing databases are often incomplete. Since there is no previous structure to build on, this study collects and pieces together information and data gathered from a variety of sources. The limitation of available materials notwithstanding, I hope that this study will be able to offer a fairly accurate picture of the relationship between other media and tourism in Taiwan. 1.3 Purpose of this study Guidebooks are a part of the tourism discourse, and tourism discourse is embedded in a social context; on the other hand, the perspectives and interests of the market are found in guidebooks (Lew, 1991). Hence, it is necessary to study the tourism discourse to find out the relationship between media and tourism, and also to examine the social context in which guidebooks are produced and consumed. Against this background, and by 1) sketching an overview on development of tourism and media in Taiwan; 2) providing an in-depth discussion on the essence of guidebooks (function, genre, and information categorization); and 3), using Taiwanese guidebooks on Paris as a case study to find out how guidebooks frame and represent a destination, this paper aims to answer the following questions: 1. How are guidebooks different from other forms of travel literature? What are their generic features? 2. How do Taiwanese guidebooks frame and represent Paris? 6.

(15) 3. What characteristics and specificities do Taiwanese guidebooks share? How do they reflect Taiwanese society and culture? In this regard, a brief discussion of television, newspaper, magazines, and the Internet is included in this study to serve as background information for guidebook investigation. All these questions are framed against temporal and spatial axes, as follows: Narratives stem from temporality (Richardson, 1990) and are tied to social discourses (Riessman, 1993), which do not remain constant over time. McGregor formulates a similar perspective, for he argues that “texts are actually dynamic agents that are continually influencing, modifying and reifying the meanings, beliefs and ways of seeing, of contemporary cultural groups” (2000:28). Seeing things from this angle, the introduction of tourist attractions reflects changes of travel trends in a society (Huang, 2004). Taiwanese society has undergone changes, big and small, in economy and politics for the past three decades. Guidebooks from the 1970s and guidebooks from today are produced in different social contexts. As a result, they employ different narratives and styles in presenting Paris as a tourist destination. Santos (2004), however, holds a different opinion on this. She argues that instead of creating new representations, tourism narratives tend to work on previously established organizing narratives. Therefore, this study needs to find out whether guidebook narratives evolve in time or there is rather a dominant and coherent narrative among guidebooks of different periods. Apart from the chronological comparison made among local guidebooks, another comparison is made between Taiwanese guidebooks and foreign ones. According to Pritchard, “all representations are created, filtered, mediated through cultural and ideological structures” (2000:246). Texts are embedded with different cultural values of authors and editors (Santos, 2006). Due to social and cultural differences between Taiwan and other countries, it is assumed that different structures and narratives can be found in local and foreign guidebooks. 1.4 Research methods 1.4.1 Justification of destination choice With 79.5 million international arrivals in 2011, France continues to be the world’s top tourism destination (UNWTO, 2012). As the gateway to France, Paris has long been a popular travel destination over the last few centuries. Through its history, culture, nature, gastronomy, entertainment or commerce, the city attracts visitors of all ages and tastes. Paris is chosen here as a case study for two reasons. To begin with, it is the capital of France, the most visited tourist destination in the world. The 7.

(16) other reason is that guidebooks and travel writing that had France as their title before 1990 in Taiwan tended to present France in a partial and selective manner. A book titled “France” often covered Paris and another two or three cities in France only. In many cases, a third of the content was dedicated to Paris alone. This imbalance in content ratio would impede comparison of guidebooks on France over time. As a result, the case study is on the city of Paris instead of the entire country of France. 1.4.2 Data collection Given the lack of historical data mentioned above, this study needs to first take a look at the media at large in order to obtain a general idea of tourism development in Taiwan. Newspapers, TV programs, advertisement, and the publishing industry are all briefly examined. Official statistics and interviews with tourism representatives offer an insight into the tourism development and the travel trends in Taiwan. Then, the research goes through Taiwanese-produced guidebooks on Paris. The basic requirement for selection is for guidebooks to have been published in Taiwan between 1979 and 2011 and be titled “Paris.” Even though books that cover the entire continent of Europe or the whole country France do provide travel information on Paris, they are not included in this study. Information is compressed into a limited space in these books, hence destinations are usually introduced in a partial manner. Results would not be accurate if we compared a three-page presentation of Paris with an entire book dedicated to the city because we do not have the same basis for comparison. Another crucial criterion for selection is that guidebooks encompass a broad spectrum of travel information. I take comprehensiveness as a prerequisite for this investigation, which means that topicspecific books such as Le Goût de Paris 巴黎味 (Tsao, 2007), which is essentially a gourmet guide, and Paris, j'y suis 長眠在巴黎 (Mou, 2009), which in fact is a cemetery guide, are not taken into consideration in this study. For the analysis of Taiwanese guidebooks, foreign guidebooks not only provide a basis for comparison, but also represent an object of research in their own right. Foreign guidebooks can be divided into two groups; the first group is that of books written in traditional Chinese1 but published by transnational companies; the other group is that of books translated from other languages into Chinese written traditionally. As for the source of guidebooks, bookstores are definitely one excellent location for obtaining research samples, but since the majority of them tend to display recently published works, libraries and used book outlets can be used as alternative locations for obtaining guidebooks. Apart from physical 1. Many Taiwanese are able to read simplified Chinese, but the percentage of books written in simplified Chinese is rather. minor, as traditional Chinese is the official and most used written language in Taiwan.. 8.

(17) book locations, the Internet is a particularly good source for acquiring books that are out of print and cannot be found elsewhere. To be more specific, guidebooks for this study come from the three major bookstores2 in Taiwan (Eslite, Kingstone and Books.com.tw3), two libraries (The National Central Library and National Taiwan University Library) and, for books that cannot be found in these locations, an auction website (Yahoo! Taiwan). 1.4.3 Analytical methods The guidebook study is based on a two-way comparison: comparison among Taiwanese guidebooks and comparison between Taiwanese and Hong-Kong/ Taiwanese and translated guidebooks. The examination of Taiwanese guidebooks is intended to point out similarities and differences among different periods, while the comparison of local and Hong-Kong/ local and translated guidebooks is meant to tease out the Taiwanese perspectives. The guidebook examination attempted in this paper begins from the outer elements. This is because, of course, access to the text is mediated by the paratext. The paratext is a “threshold” between the inside and the outside (Genette 1987/1997:2), for it makes it possible for readers to enter the text without much difficulty. The purpose or function of the paratext then is to communicate a piece of information (e.g. the title of a book); to indicate an intention (e.g. message from the author in the preface); to make a promise (e.g. granting a book the status of a travel guidebook, instead of someone’s travel accounts); and to offer advice or comment in some cases (e.g. how the book can or should be used) (Genette, 1987/1997). Although the paratext is only an assistant to the text (Genette 1987/1997:410), it has a great influence on how the text is perceived and experienced. Therefore, a study on the guidebook’s text would not be complete without going through the paratext. What is considered as the paratext in a guidebook then? The answer should be that everything in the book except the text proper belongs to the realm of the paratext, i.e. the book cover (both front and back), flaps, spine, title, table of contents, and preface/ foreword (authorial, editorial or celebrityendorsed); strictly physical elements, like the book size (encyclopedia or pocket-size) or the choice of paper (glossy, matte, thick, or thin) can also be considered together with paratextual information, to the degree that they reveal and emphasize a specific approach, an intended audience, etc.. 2. The three bookstores have been selected for their commercial performances based on bestseller charts of bookstores. included in the Publication Annual published by Government Information Office. 3. Books.com.tw 博客來 is an online bookstore, established in 1996. It has become the largest book retailer in Taiwan since. 2009 (Zhang, 2011).. 9.

(18) The examination of the paratext in this study is processed at two levels—location and element. The front cover, flaps, and table of contents are the three major locations to discuss paratextual elements. As for the guidebook text proper, this study combines elements of stylistics analysis, content analysis as well as semiotic analysis to study the text and images and to see how they correspond to each other. Stylistics (understood in a large sense) is employed to find out the “possible significance of linguistic features in texts, how they can be interpreted as representing an event or situation from a particular perspective or point of view” (Verdonk 2002:29). Next, content analysis is used. Content analysis is a research technique in tourism that is frequently used in studying destination image (Pritchard, 2000). When being utilized in conjunction with other forms of textual investigation, content analysis “creates more critical, richer, and complex interpretations of representations” (Pritchard 2000:250). The study aims to identify words and phrases that are being constantly recycled by guidebooks in order to create certain images and impressions of Paris. Content analysis is conducted on the presentation of the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is taken as an epitome of Paris tourism in this study for four reasons. First, a consensus in choosing the front cover image is found among Taiwanese guidebooks; 11 out of 17 books feature the Tower on their front covers. Its iconic dimension is thus powerfully emphasized. Secondly, among all tourist attractions of Paris, the Eiffel Tower gets the most attention in guidebooks. The Tower generally receives a larger amount of coverage through a greater length of text and a higher number of photos. Next, the Eiffel Tower is often used as a structural indicator in the table of contents; 8 out of 17 guidebooks employ a Tower-centered strategy when introducing the area of the Tower. Finally, the Eiffel Tower is frequently mentioned and referenced in other parts of the guidebook even when the focus is on other tourist locations. The monument is often mentioned in the guidebook introduction, a list of must-see attractions, and sections on other tourist attractions. Finally, for guidebook images, content analysis is first employed to produce statistics that give “objective description,” such as number, size and types of images. Then, semiotic analysis is applied to study the content of images. Semiotic analysis has been used constantly in tourism analyses; examples are MacCannell (1976), Culler (1981), Cohen (1989), Cooper (1994), Bhattacharyya (1997), and Liu (2009). According to Eco, “semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign” (1979:7). Images carry specific messages from authors/editors to guidebook users. Therefore, studying images of Paris in Taiwanese guidebooks sheds light on the image of Paris from a Taiwanese perspective. “The core assumption of the semiotic approach is that the touristic process is constituted through signs that communicate meaning” (Bhattacharyya 1997:374-375). Guidebooks, with their text 10.

(19) and images, take part in helping readers make sense of what a place is like through signs within a certain discourse. These signs function as “vehicles of meaning in culture” (Hall 1997:6). Capitalizing on these insights, the present research first intends to categorize types and themes of images shown in guidebooks, find out if there is a commonality among them and then see if there are any recurring subjects, explicit and implicit meanings and messages behind them are then discussed. 1.5 Synopsis of chapters After the present introduction (Chapter 1) , Chapter 2, investigates printed and visual media and media outlets in regard to tourism, aiming to give an overview of the relationship between media and tourism in Taiwan. In Chapter 3, guidebooks are discussed as a genre. This part includes history, function, and classification of guidebooks. In Chapter 4, a case study is conducted on guidebooks on Paris. A chronological comparison among Taiwanese guidebooks and a spatial comparison between locally produced guidebooks and Hong Kong/translated ones are made in order to tease out characteristics and specificities of Taiwanese guidebooks on Paris. In Chapter 5, a summary of discoveries and conclusions drawn from the case study is reported and discussed. Directions of future research are also suggested. An Appendix dedicated to the “Images of the Eiffel Tower in guidebooks” is also added at the end of this paper and is referred to several times throughout it.. 11.

(20) Chapter 2: Overview of tourism and media in the ROC. 2.0 Introduction It is unlikely for a tourist to head to a destination with a tabula rasa mind (Cohen, 1985; Löfgren, 2002). Before heading to a destination, a tourist’s mind is loaded with sediments of associations, clichés and images (Löfgren, 2002). People’s ideas about a destination are a result of both the accumulation of everyday materials and active efforts made by the tourism sector, as what Gunn (1988) called “organic and induced images.” “The way we react to a piece of landscape today is often the result of a long process of institutionalization, a development that has condensed a scene into a cultural matrix, an icon” (Löfgren 2002:99). People’s anticipation over a place is “constructed and sustained through a variety of non- tourist practices” (Urry 2002:3). The media plays an influential role in the process of image formation. Instead of just being a messenger between destinations and potential tourists, the media is a mediator that creates representation and generates expectations. The tourism industry speaks to the public via the media to advertise and promote itself. Rozier-Rich & Santos (2011) remind us that travel narratives are increasingly found throughout various media outlets, such as print media, television, and the Internet. Either discreetly or indiscreetly, tourism and the media are intimately intertwined. Their collaboration has intricately woven into the fabric of people’s everyday life. 2.1 Tourism development in Taiwan Due to historical reasons, most people in Taiwan started to travel abroad after the Travel Ban was lifted in 1979. Before that, travel was not only expensive but also prohibited for the public by government policies. Diplomats, the wealthy, and a few students were exceptions. They traveled for reasons of work or study. In many cases, tourism occurred as a byproduct. Then, after the Martial Law was lifted in 1987, the number of outbound departures exceeded one million in the same year, a 30 percent increase from the previous year (Taiwan Tourism Bureau 交通部觀光局, 2012). Tseng (2000) writes that in the late 1980s, due to a more open political climate, increase of disposable income and better access to information for the public, the demand for travel and leisure surged. At first, group travel was the major form for most people when traveling abroad “due to a lack of information and language barriers” (Chou 1993:1). Tours to Europe tended to be long and comprehensive (i.e. covering many countries). Ze Yang 楊澤 , Chief Editor of United Daily News 12.

(21) Supplement 聯合報副刊, argues that Taiwanese in the 1990s were eager to see the world and Europe in particular, as Taiwan had long been influenced by European culture (Chen, 1998). However, there was a discrepancy between willingness to travel and actual travel behavior due to time, expenditure, language and visa barriers1 (Huang, Yung & Huang, 1996). Although Europe has been the top preferred destination for Taiwanese tourists, Taiwanese population traveling to Europe has always made and still makes up a small portion, less than 3 percent in average, in the overall outbound departures (Taiwan Tourism Bureau).2 Then Taiwan introduced a five-day workweek every other week in 1998 (and a five-day workweek in 2001). Travel magazines and books were published in droves to offer ideas for weekend getaway (Publication Annual, 1999). Steven Wu3, a senior travel agent, stated in an interview that sometime well into the 1990s group travel finally reached a mature and then a saturate stage. There was a growing demand for more tailor-made trips. Airline companies and travel agencies were quick to respond to the demand of a more independent-minded segment of the tourism market by offering more flexible and customized options. While some people purchased tailor-made tours from travel agencies, some started to gather information and planned their own trips. Starting from the late 1990s, the number of independent travelers has greatly increased in Taiwan (Tan, 2008; Poh, 2011). This phenomenon is in fact a part of a global trend; as Osti, Turner and King write, “the current consumer trend is away from package tourism towards more individually organized travel” (2009:63). Over the course of three decades, overseas travel has gone through many stages; from group package tours to customized or backpack travels; from whirlwind visits to singledestination in-depth trips. People’s expectations about travel have changed considerably as well. Travel has become a necessity for people in Taiwan in the last two decades (Hu, 2004) and overseas travel has become a part of people’s life style (Huang, Yung & Huang, 1996). 2.2 Media development in Taiwan Due to the historical and political reasons, the Taiwanese government took a cautious approach toward the mass media. The media was strictly controlled by the authorities during the Martial Law years, 1949-1987 (Li, 1993). TV-broadcasts, radio, newspaper and publishing were all censored and 1. According to a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 22, 2010, starting from January 11, 2011,. Taiwanese passport holders no longer need a visa to travel to the EU for visits shorter than 90 days within a six-month period. 2. There were 18,000 departures in 1990; 280,000 in 2000; and 170,000 in 2010.. 3. Steven Wu 吳西謙 has more than 50 years of experience in the tourism industry. He is now the president of Zion Tour 錫. 安旅行社, established in 1967 (Source: Interview and www.zion.com.tw).. 13.

(22) kept under the watchful eye of the government. Communism-related ideas and criticism of the government were taboo subjects. Taiwan remained a relatively closed society until the late 1980s. Most Taiwanese relied on the controlled media and printed text, such as TV programs, newspapers, and travelogues, to get to know foreign countries at the time when overseas travel was not allowed. The abolition of the Martial Law in 1987 signaled the beginning of transition for Taiwanese society, which started to move away from a conservative and traditional regime to a liberal and dynamic one. The era of state-controlled media came to an end when freedom of speech came to be enjoyed by people in Taiwan (Wang, 2005). TV travel programs proliferated in the late 1980s to quench people’s thirst for overseas travel. In the meantime, travel texts and guidebooks were published in droves (Shao, 1989). After years of reading travel accounts and newspaper travel columns, the long suppressed desire to see the world led to a travel boom when overseas leisure travel was allowed and affordable.4 2.2.1 Printed media Starting from the 1970s, Taiwan’s booming economy and the gradually looser regulations imposed by the government provided an excellent condition for the development of the publishing industry (Xin, 2001). The period between the 1970s and the abolition of the Martial Law in 1987 witnessed enormous socio-political changes. The increase of household revenue and the nine-year compulsory education contributed to a large increase of reading population. Along with the development and diversification of the printed media, an overwhelming amount of travel information can now be found in newspapers, magazines and travel books. 2.2.1.1 Newspapers Information on international etiquette started to appear in the 1980s. The United Daily News, for instance, ran a series of articles for two weeks in 1991, introducing dos and don’ts when traveling abroad, in order to promote a good image of Taiwanese citizens (United Daily News, 1991). The idea that a person represents his/her country when traveling overseas and that it was his/her responsibility to behave in an appropriate manner was repeatedly emphasized. In addition, as even a casual look at newspapers from 1980 to 1993 at the newspaper archive of the National Central Library in Taiwan 國. 4. The Travel Ban was lifted in Taiwan in 1979. Men (due to military service restriction, only those over the age of 30) and. all women were allowed to travel overseas. Per capita income rapidly increased from USD 3,000 in 1985 to 10,000 in 1993 (Accounting and Statistics 行政院主計總處, 2012).. 14.

(23) 家圖書館 will show, half or full page advertisements for international airplane tickets or package tours appeared quite often. As for travel series, they long existed before the three major newspapers, United Daily News, China Times and Liberty Times, incorporated travel sections in the early 1990s. Mei-Yin Chung, for example, had her stories run serially by The Central Daily News Supplement and later (1966) had them published them into a book called Reflections of a Whirlwind Trip 海天遊蹤; this was reprinted for a total of sixteen times (Database for Literature Magazines and Writers in the 1950s 50 年代文藝雜誌及作家影像資料庫).5 Her writing was mainly about her travel with her husband to twenty-five cities in thirteen countries for eighty days in 1964. Apart from her appreciation of foreign landscapes, she looked into the history, culture and social issues of each place visited and reflected on problems and development in Taiwan. A decade later, another female writer, San Mao 三毛, took travel writing to a next level. She did not just travel and go back home writing her stories. Instead, her stories were published while she was on the go. United Daily News started running a serial article of her travel experiences and everyday life in the Sahara Desert in 1976 (Chen, 1998). The series was later made into books. Her stories were mainly about foreign landscapes, adventures and life with her Spanish husband in the desert. As a Taiwanese female writer, she opened up a door of imagination to the foreign and the exotic for the public in Taiwan at the time when most people were banned from traveling overseas. To a certain degree, people’s curiosity about other cultures and the yearning to see the world were satisfied by reading San Mao’s stories. With her foreign travel experiences and mesmerizing storytelling techniques, she was seen as a legendary lady roving all over the world (Huang, 2010). Later in 1981, United Daily News sponsored her “Literature Tour” 文學之旅 to Central and South America (United Daily News Group 聯合報系, 2010). Her writing led to a “San-Mao Fever” in the Chinese-speaking world. She was not the first female travel writer in Taiwan, but her works were the most widely read and remained popular for almost two decades (Tan, 2008). The next figure who contributed to travel writing in Taiwan is Hua-Juan Zheng 鄭華娟 , a renowned Taiwanese singer and composer. She had her stories published in Minsheng Bao 民生報, a sister publication of the United Daily News, during her six-month tour backpacking in Europe in 1988. Her stories were especially inspiring because overseas independent travel in the late 1980s no longer seemed as mysterious and impossible as it was the case during the time of San Mao (Taiwan Panorama, 2009). Some compared her with San Mao, for they were both married to foreigners, lived abroad, and they enlightened readers about the concept of travel. 5. Available online at www.tlm50.twl.ncku.edu.tw/.. 15.

(24) 1987 was the year that Martial Law was abolished. It also marked the opening of the Taiwan Straits, when the government of Taiwan permitted Taiwanese to travel to Mainland China for the purpose of visiting family. The ban on newspapers was lifted in the subsequent year, in 1988. The political climate and social atmosphere became more open. The number of outbound departures exceeded one million in 1987 (Tourism Bureau 觀光局 , 2012). Travel information was in great demand. After years of running unsystematically travel-related stories and advertisement, travel sections were officially launched in the three major newspapers in the early 1990s. At first, domestic travel was the focus. Tourist information on international travel soon followed suit. Apart from the practical aspect, reports on more profound aspects such as culture and art have been also available since then. China Times, for example, ran a full-page report on French art history, table manners and street art in Paris in January 1993 (China Times, 1993). A few weeks later China Times presented a special issue on overseas travel for the Chinese New Year holidays. Later, after the two-day weekend was fully implemented, information on domestic travel—“weekend gateways”— could be found in all three major newspapers on a regular basis. In 2004, the Hong Kong-based Apple Daily entered Taiwan market and soon became the most popular newspaper on the island (in terms of sales). The travel section in Apple Daily is about two to three pages, while it is usually just one page in the other three newspapers. None of the four newspapers seems to have a consistent policy in introducing a destination. A city, a country or sometimes a region is selected and presented. The travel guide style is the most common form. Large pictures and practical information are usually included. Meanwhile, travelogues written by travel gurus or celebrities giving instructions and travel tips appear quite often as well. Together with television and radio, newspapers used to be an important part of people’s daily life. They were one of the main sources for people to obtain information, although they were often considered government propaganda tools during the Martial Law Era. After the lifting of the Martial Law, what used to be taboo could now be openly discussed. Diversity and creativity began to be respected. However, the opening up of cable TV channels in 1993 and the rise of the Internet led to a decline in newspaper readership. Due to their printed nature, newspapers cannot compete with TV and the Internet, which provide 24/7 news updates. Within a decade, daily newspaper readership in Taiwan dropped from 73 % in 1994 to 49 % in 2004 (Wang, 2005). “Five newspapers went out of business in 2006, making 2006 the most challenging year in the history of print newspapers” (Wang 2008:97). Starting from the early 1970s, advertisement related to outbound travel could be found in newspapers; this is the case with Cathay Pacific’s flights from Taiwan to Bangkok and Malaysia Airlines’ flights from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur (China Times). The first advertisement related to 16.

(25) travel to Europe was put in 1983 by KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), the first airline carrier flying directly from Taiwan to Europe (ROC Advertising Yearbook 中華民國廣告年鑑 , 1983). Over the years, advertisement on outbound tourism by airline companies and travel agencies came to be included in almost every newspaper. It can be easily noticed that most advertisement by travel agencies is about tour packages. It was a trend to tie several countries together in one package for tours to Europe (e.g. France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in 15 days), and this is still popular today. Travel agencies and airline companies also sponsor events and activities as a way to promote business and advertise themselves. This will be discussed later in the section of media outlets. 2.2.1.2 Magazines and TV guides Magazines specialized in travel appeared at around the same time as newspaper travel sections. Today, there are about twenty travel magazines available in the Chinese language6. Following is a brief discussion of early and major travel magazines in Taiwan. Published in 1990, Blanca 博覽家 was the first travel magazine7 in Taiwan (Liu, 2009). It focused mainly on overseas travel. Soon, Travel.com 行遍天下 was published in 19928. It provided both domestic and overseas travel information. Five years later, TO’GO began publication in 1997. It was the first magazine aiming specifically at independent travelers (Wu & Fan, 2005; Liu, 2009). After the millennium, MOOK Publishing 墨刻出版 launched several magazines of specific focus to cater to audiences of different interests. MOOK Traveler 旅遊情報誌季刊, a quarterly magazine, was started in 2001. It features seasonal highlights and events. MOOK Taiwan Play 作客遊台灣 , published as of 2001 as well, focuses on domestic travel. MOOK Food &Travel 美食旅行 was first published in 2003. By its self-explanatory title, the magazine is a gourmet travel guide. First published in 2005, MOOK Traveler Luxe 旅人誌 promotes travel in style, with “travel in luxury and elegance” as its motto. AZ Travel 旅遊生活雜誌 began publication in 20039, offering both domestic and overseas travel information. Lonely Planet Traveller 孤獨星球雜誌 published its first Taiwan edition in 2011. Other travel magazines such as Or China 旅讀中國 , alive 品味書 , and Bon Voyage 一次旅行 are also available on the market.. This number is based on a search performed on the Books.com.tw site. www.books.com.tw/exep/prod/magazine/mag_2008/browse.php?Source=mgic&type=1#type15. Access date July 11, 2013. 7 This was established by James Shiihara 椎原正浩. The magazine is no longer in publication. 8 This is a subsidiary of Hong Shuo Cultural Enterprise 宏碩文化事業, owned by a Taiwanese automaker, Yulon Motor 裕隆汽車. The official website is tw.molife.com. Apart from guidebooks for both domestic and overseas travel, Hong Shuo Cultural Enterprise also publishes the DK Eyewitness series in Taiwan. 9 It was created by 椎原正浩, founder of Blanca magazine, in 1990. 6. 17.

(26) Apart from travel magazines, travel information can also be found in general magazines. Taipei Walker and HERE10 feature domestic travel although they focus more on cuisine and leisure activities in Taiwan. News-oriented magazines often include a section or column dedicated to travel. China Times Weekly 時報周刊 , for instance, has a section called “Traveler” 旅人 , introducing tourist destinations with in-depth reports on local cultures and customs. TVBS Weekly TVBS 周刊 and Next Magazine 壹週刊 also feature domestic and overseas travel information. As for TV guides, soon after the launch of the television broadcast service in 1960s, the three channels at the time, TTV 台視, CTV 中視, and CTS 華視, published their own TV guides, TTV’s TV Weekly 電視周刊, CVS’s China TV Weekly 中國電視周刊, and CTS’s Comprehensive TV Weekly 綜合周刊, to provide information on their programs and entertainment news. Other weekly publications that did not belong to any TV stations such as Comprehensive TV Weekly 電視綜合周刊 and Show TV Weekly 你我他 came to the market in the late 1970s (Wang, 2008). As their focus revolved around TV programs and celebrity updates, travel-related information was seldom included. 2.2.1.3 Travelogues and guidebooks Travelogues have long existed before the appearance of professional guidebooks. Early travel writers were either diplomats and their spouses or students, who were allowed to travel abroad during the Martial Law period. Due to her husband’s diplomatic career, Chung-Pei Hsu 徐鍾佩 spent several years traveling and living abroad. She shared her travel stories and experiences in her work My London Days 多少英倫舊事 (1964) and Remembering Spain 追憶西班牙 (1976). Another important figure of travel literature in Taiwan is Mei-Yin Chung. As mentioned earlier in the discussion of newspapers, she traveled with her husband and had her observation and experiences published into a book Reflections of a Whirlwind Trip, a travelogue of her trip to 25 cities in 13 countries, in 1966. In it, Paris is introduced with her visit to Montmartre, the Louvre Museum and Versailles. Parisians are described as elegant and graceful. Go to Paris for Fun 到巴黎去玩兒, published in 1969, is a children’s book. With a familiar speaking voice and simple language, the book is meant to introduce culture and cityscape of Paris to children. After the abolition of the Martial Law in 1987, classic literature or the so-called “serious” books lost their market dominance (Xin, 2001). Instead, books on computers, leisure and entertainment became a strong force. Guidebooks were published in large numbers (Government Information Office 新聞局, 1989). Especially after the launch of the five-day workweek every other week in 1998 and the subsequent five-day workweek in 2001, the publishing industry witnessed a boom in leisure magazines 10. HERE magazine stopped publication in 2009.. 18.

(27) and travel books (Publication Annual 出版年鑑, 1998). We find more travelogue writers today than thirty years ago as more people travel and have stories to share. In addition, because people’s expectation and preferences for travel have undergone great changes, travelogues now take on many different forms. An increasing amount of photos are added and in some cases, such as Greece, a Place that Uses up All the Blue that the World Has to Offer 11 希臘：一個把全世界藍色都用光的地方 (H. P. Li 李欣頻, 2004), images take the central role while the text becomes “subsidiary” in such a way that in the book the line between a travelogue and a photo album becomes blurred. Another example of “unconventional” travelogue is Merhaba! My Turkey Journey 土耳其手繪旅行 (P. Y. Chang 張佩瑜, 2005), which is a geography teacher’s two-month travel journal presented in handwritten notes with hand-drawn illustrations. Her distinct personal style made her book one of the bestsellers, with a large group of high school student readers (Huang, 2007). Over the years, travelogues about specific topics of interest have also gained popularity. Provence Style 普羅旺斯生活美學之旅 (Sunkids Publishing 上旗文化, 2006), for example, presents southern France from an art of living and slow travel perspective. Another example, Travel and Living in France 居遊法國 (C. M. Wang 王傑民 & J. Hong 洪瀞, 2012), is a travel account of two gourmet travelers exploring France and discovering its culinary treasures. In addition, the Internet is an incubator for travel amateurs to share their experiences and further get publishers’ attention and have their stories published. This will be discussed later in the section on the Internet. Professional guidebooks started to appear on the market in the 1980s. Traveling in Western Europe with You 伴您遊覽西歐 in 1980 is the first locally produced guidebook on Europe. Within 484 pages, the book covers Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, Monaco, and West Germany. Each destination is introduced in a superficial manner. Towards the 1990s, as people were relatively more “travel-savvy,” they slowed down their pace and spent more time to get to know one or a few destinations at a time. People turned to guidebooks about one specific country or city. After the millennium, guidebooks have greatly diversified. Some propose specific ways to experience a destination. A First-Timer’s Super Easy Self-Guided Tour to France 第一次自助旅遊法國超簡單 (H. C. Peng 彭欣喬, 2007), Western Europe on a Shoestring 花小錢玩西歐 (Y. R. Chen 陳嬿如 & S. N. Hong 洪順男, 2008), and Getting to Know Louvre and Versailles 開始看懂羅浮宮和凡爾賽宮 (Y. C. Wang 王瑤琴, 2009), for instance, target readers of individual needs or special interests. Publishers are also well equipped to react to social trends: the publication of Working Holiday in New Zealand 開始到. For Taiwanese books that originally do not provide their titles in English, their titles are translated from Chinese to English by myself. 11. 19.

(28) 紐西蘭打工度假 (S. F. Tsai 蔡弦峰, 2007) by Taiya Publishing 太雅出版社 was a response to the opening of working holidays in Australia and New Zealand for Taiwan youth. Translated guidebooks began to appear in bookstores in the late 1980s. Formosan Magazine Press 台灣英語雜誌社 translated and published the Insight Guides series by APA Publication. Chinese-versioned Continental Europe 歐洲大陸 was published in 1988. Guidebooks translated form Japanese started to be available at around the same time. Rail Travel in Europe 歐洲鐵路之旅 in 1988 and The Best Guide to Paris 巴黎觀光生活指南 in 1990 were both published by Elite Publishing 精英出版 . In addition, Elite Publishing has also been publishing JTB guidebook series from Japan since 1990. Later in 1995, Gallimard’s Nouveaux-Loisirs series were published into Chinese by Owl Publishing House 貓頭鷹出版社 and the Eyewitness Travel series by Dorling Kindersley were published by Yuan Liou Publishing 遠流出版社. Lonely Planet guidebooks were first translated and published in 2007 by Linkingbooks Publishing 聯經出版社. Lonely Planet Paris was published in the subsequent year, in 200812. Guidebooks by a Hong-Kong publisher, MOOK Publishing, were first available in 1998. MOOK is a Hong Kong-based publisher with its business focus on Chinese speaking readers. Its distribution scope includes China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the US. With the idea of a “magazine book,” MOOK presents book-depth travel information on Taiwan and other countries in magazine size with a large amount of images. Apart from a number of travel magazines it owns, as discussed previously in the section about magazines, MOOK’s Free and Easy Guidebook series 墨刻自遊自在 covers destinations around the world. It should be noted that the majority of MOOK guidebooks tend to have a disproportionate text-to-image ratio. Images often take the lead role while the text serves more of a “supporting actor.” 2.2.2 Visual media Ever since the beginning of television broadcasting in Taiwan in the 1960s, television has been one of the major information sources for people. With the opening of the society and improvement of the economy, television programs have multiplied and greatly diversified over the years. As leisure travel has been practiced by a larger number of people and more channels now include travel programs in their show time, after the millennium new travel channels have appeared to quench people’s “travel thirst.” Later in the 1990s, the rise of the Internet revolutionized the way of how information is distributed and received for business operation in the tourism sector and individuals. Instead of just Based on a phone call inquiry on Feb. 18, 2013, Mr. Lee from the Copyright Department of this publisher confirmed that Linking Publishing no longer publishes Lonely Planet guidebooks due to contract termination of book publishing rights. 12. 20.

(29) receiving what the traditional media feed them, people started to participate actively in the making of tourism discourse by means of online forums and the social media. 2.2.2.1 Television Television broadcasting started in Taiwan in 1962. Due to historical reasons and government policies, only three channels were available. They were censored and partially owned by the state authority. After a three-decade state dominance, the Cable Television Networks Act 有線廣播電視法 was passed in 1993, which led to a mushrooming of cable and satellite channels. The penetration rate of cable TV increased from 25% in 1992 to 86.4% in 2007 (Duan, 2009). Apart from general channels, TV viewers now have more options of channels based on different themes and interests, such as finance, religion, sports, and music channels (Duan, 2009). Based on TV show-times found in old newspapers, travel programs seem to have been scarce in the 1960s and the 1970s. Starting from 1970, foreign-produced TV programs on travel in Europe were shown occasionally. The first locally produced program on trips to Europe was Touring around Europe 走馬看歐洲 . The documentary-style program was based on a trip made by photographers and journalists visiting six Western European countries and was broadcasted during prime time on CTS 華視 for a period of one month in 1973 (CTS Twenty Years on 華視二十年 , 1991). The program presented major tourist attractions, life of overseas Chinese in Europe, successful examples of infrastructure modernization, and European market analysis for Taiwan exports. It was a huge success, for its viewing rate hit a record high (CTS Twenty Years on, 1991). Further information about the program can be found in the TV guide published by CTS while the show was running. No less than five issues of the weekly TV guide feature information on the program, including a brief introduction of tourist destinations presented in the program, artists and fashion trends in Europe, and occasionally one or two photos. In the next two decades more travel programs became available on TV, although they remained marginal compared with other genres of programs, such as news and drama. The Far Ends of the World are Like Next Door 天涯若比鄰 in 1982 and Running around the Globe 繞著地球跑 in 1990 were Taiwanese travel programs that introduced foreign countries and cultures to a curious audience only a few years after the Travel Ban was lifted in 1979. Discovery Channel began broadcasting in Taiwan in 1995, two years after the legalization of cable and satellite channels. Globe Trekker was broadcast in the very same year. Being the first program promoting a backpacker style of travel in Taiwan, the show soon became popular among an audience interested in independent travel (Chuang, 2006). Also in. 21.