Place Representation in Tourist Guidebooks: An Example From Singapore

Tourist guidebooks provide an important source of information on places. Different guidebooks are written for different types of visitors to better meet their individual travel needs. This is demonstrated through a content analysis of four guidebooks written for Singapore in the early 1980s. Two of the guidebooks represent variations on mainstream, mass travel interests. The third source presents the long-term expatriates perception, while the fourth source presents the alternative or youth tourist view of Singapore. Urban tourism is shown to be multifaceted, allowing for a diversity of travel motivations, experiences, and behavior.