THE PRESENTATION OF LANDSCAPE: RHETORICAL CONVENTIONS AND THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1900-1990 by RONALD ROSS NELSON B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1983 M.A., The University of Waterloo, 1985 A THESIS SUBMInED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHiLOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Geography) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April 1994 © Ronald Ross Nelson, 1994 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. (Signature) Department of p The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date Z7, / DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT This thesis argues that landscapes are products of language, that the meaning of a landscape depends upon how it is presented and interpreted in the course of human communication. It is also argued that the field of rhetoric—as a body of theory, ideas, and methods for interpreting the persuasive use of language—can assist human geographers in their attempts to interpret landscapes. These positions are put to work in a study of the promotion of tourist landscapes by the British Columbia government. Two time periods are examined: first, presentations of landscape during the 1920s and 1930s, and second the 1970s and 1980s. These periods are similar in that they are periods of transition—periods in which the tourism industry underwent significant change. The first period is associated with the development of mass tourism, and specifically with the emergence of the state as a major player in the tourist industry. The second period concerns the recent development of postmodern (alternative environmental and cultural) tourism. Postmodem tourism is characterized by the rejection of mass tourism and by the quest for real places and experiences. The thesis uses both qualitative and quantitative (computer-assisted content analysis) methods to examine how the state has rhetorically responded to these changes in its presentations of landscape. Changes are found in both periods, but they are gradual and incomplete. It is consequently argued that the state’s character as an author limits its audience and the strategies it may use for presenting tourist landscapes. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . jj TABLE OF CONTENTS . iii LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x DEDICATION xi INTRODUCTION: ON NETS AND FISH 1 CHAPTER 1: PERSPECTIVES ON LANDSCAPE 12 Classifying Ideas of Landscape 13 Dramatism and Kenneth Burke 15 Perpectives on Landscape 28 Traditional 30 Humanist 35 Marxist 40 Communicative 45 Future Perspectives7 51 Notes 53 CHAPTER 2: RHETORIC AND PRESENTATIONS OF LANDSCAPE 59 Review of Interpretive Methods 60 Starting Points 67 Competing Ideas of Rhetoric 71 Modernist Views of Rhetoric 71 The Modernist View of Rhetoric in Geography 78 The New Rhetoric 80 Recent Trends in Rhetoric 86 Rhetoric and Presentations of Landscape 95 Conclusion 101 Notes 102 CHAPTER 3: TOURISM: A REVIEW OF THE MASS AND POSTMODERN LiTERATURE 108 Tourism Geography: Problems and Prospects 110 TheResortCycle 115 Stages of Modern Tourism 119 Mass Tourism 123 Postmodern Tourism 138 Conclusion 153 Notes 155 In CHAPTER 4: QUANTITATiVE METHODOLOGY .161 The HyperDiction Program 163 Word Lists and Indices 165 Problems with Computer-based Content Analysis .. 177 Sampling Procedure . 179 Rhetorical Patterns in Tourism Advertising 183 Conclusion 196 Notes 199 CHAPTER 5: TOURISM AND THE STATE, A CONTEXTUAL DISCUSSION 201 The Beginnings of Tourist Promotion .. 201 The Origins of State Participation in Tourist Promotion . 202 The Magnitude of Victorian and early Mass Tourism 222 The Promotion of Mass Tourism 240 Mass Tourism and the Growth of State Participation 240 Mass Tourist Markets and Promotions 249 Postmodern Tourism 253 The State and Postmodem Tourism 253 Adventure and Cultural Tourism in British Columbia 257 Conclusion 270 Notes 272 CHAPTER 6: THE PRESENTATION OF MASS TOURIST LANDSCAPES 285 Aristocratic Presentations . 288 The Structure of Aristocratic Presentations 291 Varieties of Embellishment in Aristocratic Prose 298 Addressing the Aristocratic Audience . 305 Summary 308 Early Mass Tourism 309 In Search of a Rhetoric of Common Currency 319 Other Examples 324 The Transitional Rhetorics of Other State Tourist Bureaus 331 The CPR and the Persistence of the Picturesque 341 Conclusion 343 Notes 344 CHAPTER 7: THE PRESENTATION OF POSTMODERN LANDSCAPES 347 The Rhetoric of Mass Tourism 349 The Dick and Jane Style of Mass Tourism 355 The Rhetorical Qualities of Mass Presentations 363 Summary 370 Postmodem Presentations: A New Rhetoric’) 371 Heritage Guides 389 Adventure Presentations 400 Conclusion 419 Notes 421 iv CONCLUSION . ..,,. 423 Cultural Geography, Landscape and Rhetoric . ,..,.•. .., . .. .. .. .. 424 Tourism, Landscapes, Advertising, and Technology 430 Concluding Remarks 439 Notes 442 PRIMARY SOURCES 445 B.C. Government 4-45 Canadian Pacific Railway 453 Municipal Tourist Organizations 456 Vancouver 456 Victoria 458 Other State Tourist Bureaus 460 Alberta 460 Canada .461 Others 462 Adventure and Cultural Brochures 462 Heritage Brochures 464 SECONDARY SOURCES . 465 APPENDICES 493 A: HyperDiction Results: Raw Scores 494 B: HyperDiction Results: Summary Tables 505 Bi = Summary of All Samples 505 B2 = Summary of Periodic Data 506 B3 = Summary of Data by Author and Period 508 C: WordLists 512 D: Samples of the HyperDiction Interface 518 V LIST OF TABLES 1.1 Dramatist Chart, Perspectives on Landscape in Cultural Geography 29 1.2 Comparison of Agent and Purpose Terms in Humanist Cultural Geography 36 4.1 Rhetorical Comparison of All Sample Texts by Historical Period 184 4.2 Rhetorical Comparison by Period of Texts Issued by the BC Government 185 4.3 Summary Correlation Matrix 186 4.4 Government Sample Correlation Matrix 187 4.5 Significant Correlations Matrix 188 4.6 Major Rhetorical Differences Between Historical Periods 198 5.1 Government of British Columbia Immigration Expenditures 204 5.2 British Columbia Bureau of Provincial Information Expenditures, 1901. 1918 207 5.3 British Columbia Bureau of Provincial Information Literature Distribution, 1910 208 5.4 British Columbia Bureau of Provincial Information Expenditures, 19 19- 1946 219 5.5 Source of Tourist Inquiries And Literature Distributed, 1939-1941 221 5.6 Origins of Hotel Registrants in Banff, 1890- 1925 . ,. .224 5.7 Canad&s Foreign Tourist Revenue 225 5.8 Canada’s Foreign Tourist Revenue—1869 to 1955 227 5.9 Tourists Entering British Columbia Through Ocean Ports 229 5.10 British Columbia Fish and Game Licences Issued to Foreigners 230 5.11 Canada Selected Exports 232 5.12 Foreign Travel Expenditures in Canada, by Source and Mode of Travel, 1900-1942 ,..234 5.13 Origin of American Tourists and the Distribution of British Columbia’s GTB’s Print Advertising, 1938 239 5.14 Expenditures by State Tourist Bureaus in Canada 241 vi 5.15 Promotional Expenditures by State Tourist Bureaus . .. .242 5,16 Estimates of British Columbia’s Tourist Revenues . ..245 5.17 Expenditures per Capita by State Tourist Bureaus in Canada .248 5.18 Promotional Expenditures per Capita by State Tourist Bureaus in Canada 250 5.19 Origins of Adventure and Cultural Tourists in British Columbia 260 5.20 Annual Family Income of Marine Adventure Tourists in British Columbia, 1990 264 5.21 Annual Family Income of Heritage Tourists—Barkerville, 1979 266 6.1 Rhetorical Character of Aristocratic Presentations, 19004920 289 6.2 Rhetorical Comparison of All Early Tourist Presentations, 1900-1945 311 6.3 Rhetorical Comparison of the Bureau of Provincial Information’s Presentations, 1900-1945 312 6.4 Rhetorical Comparison of Other Early Tourist Presentations, 1900-1945 313 6.5 Rhetorical Comparison of Aristocratic and Early Mass Presentations by Tourist Organizations - BPI . .315 6.6 Rhetorical Comparison of Early Mass Tourist Presentations, 1920-1945 316 7.1 Rhetorical Comparison Early and Mass Presentations, 1920-1990 350 7.2 Rhetorical Comparison of Aristocratic and Mass Tourism Presentations, 1900-1990 352 7.3 Rhetorical Comparison of Early and Mass Presentations by the BPI and GTB, 1920-1945 353 7.4 Rhetorical Comparison of other Early and Mass Tourism Presentations, 1920-1990 354 7.5 Rhetorical Comparison of Mass Tourism Presentations, 1945-1990 356 7.6 Rhetorical Comparison of Mass and Postmodern Presentations, 1945- 1992 372 7.7 Rhetorical Comparison of Postmodern Presentations, Ministry, Adventure, and Heritage, 1980-1992 374 7.8 Rhetorical Comparison of Postmodern Presentations by Adventure and Heritage Organizations 375 vu 7.9 Rhetorical Comparison of Postmodern Presentations by the Ministry and Heritage Organizations, 1980-1992 . ....... .. .. .376 7.10 Rhetorical Comparison of Mass and Postmodern Presentations by Tourist and Heritage Organizations, 1945-1992 377 7.11 Rhetorical Comparison of Postmodern Presentations by the Ministry and Adventure Organizations, 1980-1992 379 7.12 Rhetorical Comparison of Mass and Postmodern Presentations by All Mass and Adventure Organizations, 1945-1992 380 7.13 Rhetorical