Tourism, Geography and Nation-Building : The Identity-Political Role of Finnish Tourism Images

This dissertation examines the role of tourism images in the construction of Finnish national identity. The study is informed by the notion that identity construction manifests itself in places and landscapes which are invested with meanings through mundane practices and representations. Tourism images are apparently realistic and yet inherently selective depictions of tourist landscapes. Therefore, they play an important role in the selective (re)production and promotion of distinctive cultural and sociospatial identities and the simultaneous exclusion of alternative identity conceptualizations. The dissertation positions itself at the intersection of critical political geography, tourism studies, and visual culture. It also draws upon the study of nationalism to acknowledge that identity construction takes place at various and interconnected geographical scales. The geographical scale of the research engages Finland and its capital city Helsinki a gateway to the country and a showcase of Finnishness. The examined images were collected from Finnish tourism brochures and guidebooks used in official tourism promotion between 1852 and 2011. The focus is on the transitional periods that followed Finland s Civil War and World War II (the 1920s and 1950s) and on the depictions of specific themes (e.g. churches) over longer periods of time. The analysis of the images consisted of two complementary phases: content analysis and interpretative analysis, which focused on the culture- and time-specific meanings of the images. The study shows that the ephemeral nature of tourism images has made them powerful communication tools, which have enabled tourism promoters to flexibly adjust national symbols to suit changing social, political, and cultural circumstances. This adjustment has been done through various visual means. Landscape elements have been emphasized and dissipated on the basis of how well they answered hegemonic conceptions about Finnish identity at different times. Framing and accompanying texts have enabled the selective depiction of the skyline of Helsinki and the creation of symbolic boundaries between East and West. Tourism images have also contributed to the discursive practices through which the Finnish national elite has spatialized and disseminated its ideas about the Finnish nation-state. The study shows a shift from images with national romantic undertones towards more subtle and subliminal consumer-oriented messages. National symbols have remained persistent in Finnish tourism imagery indicating their powerful role in shaping the common-sense understanding of the world and Finland s place within it.

Grantor dc:publisher

Helsingin yliopisto

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Jokela, Salla

• maantiede

Statement dc:rights

• Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
• This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
• Publikationen är skyddad av upphovsrätten. Den får läsas och skrivas ut för personligt bruk. Användning i kommersiellt syfte är förbjuden.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10138/42689

OAI record oai:identifier

https://helda.helsinki.fi/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Ahelda.helsinki.fi%3A10138%2F42689