Tourism and advertising in the spanish press. Narrative strategy for persuasion

Advertising connects the institutional and business sector with the public, responding to a persuasive and commercial interest. Advertising connects the institutional and business sector with the public, responding to a persuasive and commercial interest. The promotion of tourist destinations is a key activity for public and private advertisers to effectively communicate with their audiences. These advertisements show citizens' interests and motivations for travelling in the 21st century. This study analysed 95 advertisements published in 2020 in the newspaper El Pais, the most widely read generalist print media in Spain, on the day of the week coinciding with the publication of the specialised supplement "El viajero" (The Traveller). A quantitative and qualitative content analysis has been carried out in order to respond to the main objective of identifying the main advertisers and the usual sales proposition in this type of advertisement, also explaining the narrative strategies used in tourism campaigns. The main conclusions are the importance of wellbeing in the campaigns carried out and the important presence of public bodies in the promotion of destinations, especially Spanish destinations, highlighting historical, cultural and environmental heritage, which take on the same importance as the offer of beaches or cruises. This is an advertisement aimed especially at young people who travel as a couple, reflecting social concerns and trends in an irregular year for tourism promotion due to the covid-19 pandemic. This time period was an exceptional context, with consequences on citizen attitudes towards travel, which undoubtedly limits the application of these conclusions to that specific time context.