This is a study about how Swedish travel magazines write about tropical islands with a history of colonization. The study investigates how the islands of Mauritius, the Seychelles, Haiti, the Maldives, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Zanzibar and Guadeloupe are being portrayed in four Swedish travel magazines. Travel articles published in the travel magazines Vagabond, Allt om Resor, Res and Escape 360° during the period January 2004 to December 2009 have been analyzed through critical discourse analysis. The study concludes that the travel magazines tend to idealize and aestheticize the tropical islands. The islands are being presented as paradises on earth. They are described as fairy tales, magical, dreams and as playgrounds for Westerners. The inhabitants of the tropical islands are being judged by how well they attend to the tourists’ needs and wishes. The inhabitants are presented as unreliable, while the tourists are presented as reliable. The inhabitants are also being portrayed as childish, exotic and primitive.  Theories about how old colonial ways of thinking continue to flourish in travel journalism are being used to give depth to the findings of the study.

Hållbart semesterresande är en utmaning med flera dimensioner. På systemnivå finns det tekniska och organisatoriska utmaningar, och på individnivå handlar det ofta om psykologiska hinder för beteendeförändring. Men ytterligare en utmaning kan sägas finnas, och det på samhällsnivå. Det handlar då om hur olika sociokulturella strukturer och aktörer i samhället formar individers identitet, livsstil och normer. I denna uppsats har tonvikten lagts på den sistnämnda utmaningen, med media i fokus. Media i form av texter och bilder om resande kan vara till inspiration för många turister, och bidra till skapande av mer eller mindre miljövänliga livsstilar och konsumentbeteenden. Genom innehållsanalys av fyra svenska magasin och genomförande av en internetbaserad enkätundersökning bland ungdomar 18-30 år, besvaras följande frågeställningar: ”Hur skildras texter och bilder om (o)hållbart resande i rese- respektive livsstilsmagasin? Vilken potential har media i form av magasin att inverka på unga resenärers kunskaper, attityder och vanor kring (o)hållbart semesterresande?” Analysen visar att många texter cirkulerar kring aspekter som livsstil och rörlighet, transportmedel och miljöpåverkan samt framtidens teknikutveckling. Dessa skildras ofta på ett sätt som inte hävdas främja ett mer hållbart semesterresande. Texter om hållbar turism och alternativt resande är sällsynta, och enkäten bekräftar att många unga saknar kunskaper inom dessa områden. En viktig slutsats är dock att en majoritet av respondenterna har positiva attityder kring miljö, hållbar turism och alternativt resande, och efterfrågar mer information och inspiration om det. Således finns indikationer på att en positiv trend mot hållbarhet kan vara i antågande bland unga resenärer. Studien pekar också på att media i form av magasin inte används frekvent av unga resenärer som källa till inspiration för resande. Trots detta anses uppsatsens resultat som relevanta, och kan tillsammans med framtida forskning ge värdefulla insikter i hur media kan inverka på, och bidra till, resenärers inställningar och beteenden mot ett mer hållbart resande. / The challenge of attaining sustainable travel on holidays has several dimensions. Technical and organizational challenges are found at the system level, and at an individual level we have to deal with psychological barriers. But there is one more challenge, which may be found at a societal level. It is about how sociocultural structures and actors in society can shape identity, lifestyle and norms of individuals. In this paper, the emphasis is laid on the latter, focusing on media. Media in the form of texts and pictures about travel can work as inspiration for many tourists, and contribute to the build-up of more or less eco-friendly lifestyles and consumer behaviors. By using content analysis of four Swedish magazines and a web survey addressed youths 18-30 years old, the following research questions are being answered: “How are texts and pictures about (un)sustainable travel described in travel- and lifestyle magazines, respectively? What potential has media in form of magazines to have an influence on young travellers’ knowledge, attitudes and habits about (un)sustainable travel on holidays?” The analysis shows that many texts deal with aspects like lifestyle and mobility, means of transport and environmental impact, and future technological development. These are often depicted in a way which arguable not is promoting a sustainable holiday travel. Texts about sustainable tourism and alternative ways of travelling are rare, and the survey confirms that many youths have lack of knowledge in these topics. Nevertheless, an important finding is that a majority of the respondents have positive attitudes about environment, sustainable tourism and alternative ways of travelling, and ask for more information and inspiration about it. Consequently, there are indicators that a positive trend towards sustainability may be on the way among young travellers. The study also indicates that media in form of magazines, is not frequently used by young travellers as a primary source of inspiration. Notwithstanding, the results of this paper are considered to be relevant, and may, together with future research, give valuable insights to how media can have an affect on, and contribute to, the attitudes and behavior of travellers with the aim of reach a more sustainable travel.

<p>This is a study about how Swedish travel magazines write about tropical islands with a history of colonization. The study investigates how the islands of Mauritius, the Seychelles, Haiti, the Maldives, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Zanzibar and Guadeloupe are being portrayed in four Swedish travel magazines.</p><p>Travel articles published in the travel magazines Vagabond, Allt om Resor, Res and Escape 360° during the period January 2004 to December 2009 have been analyzed through critical discourse analysis.</p><p>The study concludes that the travel magazines tend to idealize and aestheticize the tropical islands. The islands are being presented as paradises on earth. They are described as fairy tales, magical, dreams and as playgrounds for Westerners. The inhabitants of the tropical islands are being judged by how well they attend to the tourists’ needs and wishes. The inhabitants are presented as unreliable, while the tourists are presented as reliable. The inhabitants are also being portrayed as childish, exotic and primitive. </p><p>Theories about how old colonial ways of thinking continue to flourish in travel journalism are being used to give depth to the findings of the study.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>