Signposts and Gatekeepers: 
tourist information and holiday experience 
in the Dominican Republic

Tourists have typologically been described as falling at some point on a continuum between the traveler and the tourist. More recently, it has been argued that groups or individuals participating in the tourism experience challenge these typologies by experiencing a wide range of holiday types and destinations dependent on the particular criteria set for that particular trip. Furthermore, these criteria can be adapted at any point during the course of the experience in response to the reflexive processes of the individual tourist. This paper argues that the pervasiveness of a wide variety of informational sources supplied by and through a wide range ‘gatekeepers’ effectively creates a whole range of signposts that impact on the ways in which this reflexivity allows engagement to take place with a destination.

• I. Introduction
• II Reflexivity and the stages of tourist experience
• III. Who are the gatekeepers?
• IV. What signposts are being manufactured?
• V. The impact of signposts and gatekeepers on tourism experience
• VI. Conclusion
• VII. Bibliography

• Figure 1. The total tourism experience
• Figure 2. Interaction levels between tourists traveling to the Dominican Republic and gatekeepers (after Baum, in Ryan, 1997)
• Table 1. % number of tourists traveling to the Dominican Republic identifying important or very important information sources  in the pre-trip stage 7
• Table 2. % breakdown of Dominican Republic brochure images for  Summer 2000 (after Dann, 1996a)
• Table 3. The impression comments and % breakdown of comments of newly arrived tourists in the Dominican Republic

For over three decades understanding of how tourists experience their holidays has concentrated on distinguishing between the traveler and the tourist and the implication that the former is in some way superior to the latter (Boorstin, 1964, Turner & Ash, 1975, Bourdieu, 1984, Munt, 1993). The development of a series of tourist typologies (Cohen, 1979, Smith, 1977) has worked to accentuate a sense of ‘difference’ and ‘distinction’ between the two in the types of holidays taken. Tourists, therefore have been categorized on a continuum from relaxation seekers to those embarking on a ‘sacred journey’ (Graburn, 1977).

This paper aims to begin to challenge ideas of ‘difference’ and ‘distinction’ (May 1996) by arguing that tourists establish their own personal criteria for expectations from a holiday, expectations that can change at any point during the total experience. Additionally, May argues that there can be a lack of correspondence between existing tourist typologies with some tourists exhibiting characteristics more widely accepted as being representative of other typological groupings. This is particularly important when considering the changing nature of the travel market where a tourist may undertake several holidays in a short period of time and all displaying very different properties and requiring the establishment of a variety of different criteria.

In challenging this idea of difference and distinction it further possible to argue that the wide variety of sources of travel information can act as a potential control on access to a wide variety of travel experiences. This control may or may not dictate the level of engagement (or lack of) within a destination being visited and therefore, the criteria that are set for experiencing it. This paper is based on continuing research being undertaken with British tourists in the field of all-inclusive tourism based in the Dominican Republic. However, understanding of the impact of tourist information on individual experiences is one concerning practitioners in a wide range of tourism research and practice.

This paper will first discusses the process of criteria setting and the reflexive processes involved in establishing tourist expectation. Following this the concepts of gatekeepers and the signposts created are introduced to allow reflection on the actors involved in the provision of a variety of tourist information services both in the pre-trip and during trip stage of the holiday process. The paper will conclude by providing some examples of how particular representations impact on how tourists experience their holidays in the Dominican Republic.

II. Reflexivity and the stages of tourist experience

The total tourism experience is made up of several stages, not just time spent in the chosen destination (see figure 1) but also in the pre and post trip phases. It is at each stage of the total tourism experience that reflexive processes utilize sources of tourist information to update existing knowledge and inform preparation for subsequent experiences.

Figure 1: The total tourism experience

Aesthetic reflexivity plays an important role in the pre-trip phase when the tourist undergoes the formulation of expectations of what the experience will be like. The process, it is argued "entails self-interpretation and the interpretation of social background practices….[that are] grounded in ‘pre-judgements" (Lash & Urry, 1994, p5). To this end, therefore, the tourist is able to construct and deconstruct a particular expectation from a variety of sources of information about the type of experiences they can anticipate undertaking. In the case of tourism, they inform on both the tangible aspects of a destination, such as cost or hotel facilities whilst at the same time informing on those intangible aspects that are crucial to impression formation. Pre-judgement is, therefore, important when considering the extent to which ‘place-myth’ is constructed through this wide variety of information sources. It also allows the tourist, as part of the reflexive process to consider ways to minimise, for example, any perceived risks or to set holiday criteria so as not to undertake an unsatisfactory use of limited time and resources.

The importance of previous experience is also an important factor when considering changing nature of holiday criteria whilst in the destination itself (Ryan, 1997). It is has been suggested that "the learning process seems to involve an evaluation of what has been learned and a discarding of some information" (Walmsley and Jenkins, 1992, in Ryan, 1997, p40) and that it is this level of experience that dictates the tourist’s ability to satisfy their various needs (Beard & Rahgreb, 1982). Therefore, experiences undertaken may actually reflect criteria that are set to make the best use of the holiday’s duration. Initial needs, therefore, such as relaxation may be satisfied in just a few days and as a result, further motivations may develop resulting in an adaptation of criteria to meet new needs. If, (Urry,1990, Rojek, 1993) tourists are not only influenced by social relations but also as a result of "contradictory whims" (Ryan, 1999) then ‘self-image’ and impulsive action may be important factors which illustrate a complexity in the understanding of tourist motivation and subsequent experiences.

After arrival in the destination reflection shifts from an aesthetic to a cognitive process allowing the "self- monitoring of an expert system" (Lash & Urry, 1994, p5). Reflection on criteria is likely to be an ongoing process and it allows the impact of social relations, contradictory whims, impulsiveness and playfulness to be evaluated and some sources of information to be discarded in favour of others. This process, therefore, allows tourists’ to consider how far from their original impressions and expectations their image of the destination has deviated. It also allows them to reflect on the way in which they constructed this image and ascertain their ability to deconstruct it to adapt to their own criteria that may or may not have changed as a result of activity within the destination. However, it is important to note at this point that reflexive processes are not only a contemplation of the tourists own consciousness, but that they do also reflect those institutional discourses that are embodied within the tourism industry and the wider spectrum of western society as a whole.

Cognitive processes also form an important basis in the post-trip evaluation phase. The act of self-monitoring can play down certain aspects of the holiday in favour of others and to some extent give the experience a nostalgic hue akin to wearing ‘rose-tinted spectacles’. It is during this latter period of the total travel experience that the tourist will look at any photographs taken, recollect the significance of images found for example, in postcards sent and display souvenirs that have been purchased. It is also during this period that recommendations and testimonies are made to other potential tourists about the destination and the experience is added to memories of previous experiences for recall during the process of satisfying their future holidays needs.

Additionally, Krippendorf (1987) argues that there are three characteristics attributable to the [mass] tourist. He argues that despite desiring an ‘escape from everyday life’ tourists are typically found enjoying relaxation and difference in familiar settings that are constructed artificially within destinations complete with crowds and an atmosphere that is often structured to be less free that they situation they are in at home. He also argues that tourists seek to reconcile the images of the destination found promotional literature and other information sources. Brochure images, for example, are reinforced by the presence of enclave resorts that have nothing to do with the reality of the destination and where "… foreign elements are administered in small doses and in a palatable form…" (Krippendorf, 1987, p34). Finally, he argues that tourists undertake hedonistic behaviour, ignoring the ‘norm’ of the destination culture. Therefore, whilst reflexivity is an ongoing process in a holiday experience, tourists can and do maintain a set of "deep-rooted habits and needs … that cannot be simply shaken off" (Krippendorf, 1987, p32).

Focusing attention on a desire for familiarity and strangeness is a key strategy used by the actors involved in disseminating tourist information when they are formulating their own images of a destination. This strategy can in turn act to heighten or lessen the desire for particular experiences whilst on holiday.

III. Who are the gatekeepers?

Tourism experience is characterized by a variety of information sources at all stages. Some is formal and induced by the travel industry, some is informal and organic, arising as a result of contact with for example, family and friends or newspaper reports. Information provision results from interactions with a wide variety of gatekeepers who intentionally or unintentionally play an important role in informing initial expectations of a holiday. Gatekeepers, therefore, mediate between the actors involved in the travel industry, the hosts and the guests, the tourists. In assuming an authoritative role in the dissemination of information, "they are the ‘gatekeepers’ in that their local knowledge aids the tourist in gaining access to the appropriate place and people" (Ryan, 1997,p203).
 

Figure 2: Interaction levels experienced between tourists and information providers (after Baum in Ryan, 1997).

1. Travel agent & other points of sale (e.g. teletext) 6. Tour operator airport transfer personnel
2. Tour operator 7. Resort hotel printed literature and personnel
3. Destination tourist board 8. Holiday service executives (travel representatives)
4. Other pre-trip information sources (TV, friends etc) 9. Organized tour personnel
5. Airline 10.Vendors, taxi drivers and other service personnel

Figure 2 indicates the varying degrees, from high to low, in interaction intensity between tourists and gatekeepers and is important in constructing impressions of a destination. This is particularly important when considering last-minute bookings where there is little or no time available between holiday decision and departure for the process of a wider information search. Additionally, when tourists are undertaking several holidays per year, an all-inclusive holiday identified as satisfying a need for relaxation, may not be prioritized for as wide an information search as for example, a European city break. Therefore, similarly to last minute travelers, a reliance on information provision within the destination may occur and may account for low levels of interaction between potential tourists and destination tourist boards.

High levels of interaction in the pre-travel stage concentrate primarily on the relationship between travel agents and tourists. Travel agents supply brochures to potential tourists and thus experience a much higher level of interaction than the tour operators themselves. Survey results indicate that 75% of tourists travelling to the Dominican Republic cite a brochure as an important or very important source of destination information and the high street travel agent is in the front-line in the provision of such materials. Travel agents are also able to supply added value in the pre-trip stage by supplementing brochure information with a broader knowledge about the destinations being visited. Manuals, post-trip evaluation of previous clients travel experiences and personal travel experiences are all examples of how travel agents can work to provide a wider information base. Indications suggest that a large proportion of tourists rely on travel agent information as opposed to that supplied by for example, the Dominican Republic Tourist Board where only 5% of survey respondents indicating it as an important source of destination information (see Table 1 below). This level of service is not necessarily replicated through other points of sale such as teletext where holidays are purchased by telephone and brochure information is faxed to potential tourists for their information in the post-booking phase.

During the actual holiday experience itself, high levels of interaction can be maintained through contact with travel representatives (holiday service executives). Representatives provide a point of contact between the UK travel industry and the tourist within the destination. The aim of the travel representative is to provide a range of sources of information and assistance where necessary, a service that includes the sale of organized tours. The role of the travel representative is particularly important to many package tourists. In the Dominican Republic, the number of last-minute bookings and the all-inclusive nature of the holidays being sold means that many tourists have little or no knowledge of the destination being visited in addition to that found in their brochure. As a primary interface between hosts and guests travel representatives can perform an important role in constructing a particular impression of a destination. Lack of information can not only act to limit the ability of tourists to maximize limited time in a destination but add to a sense of insecurity associated with their lack of cultural confidence to explore the possibilities of a destination for themselves. A criticism leveled by tourists in the Dominican Republic is the lack of alternative information in favour of promoting tours that provide commissions to both tour operators and their personnel.

The provision of organized tours and the interaction between tour and hotel personnel can provide an important source of destination knowledge for tourists. Tour guides are ‘authorized’ local people and are usually members of the host community or from the local ‘expatriate’ population. This type of tourist information can be variable dependent on the nature of the company providing the service. In the case of the Dominican Republic information is provided by companies whose briefs range from set texts to a high level of ‘carte blanche’ allowing tour guides to respond more freely to the demands of particular groups. Recent moves to ensure the licensing of all tour guides will among other things act to raise the quality of knowledge being supplied to tourists although this must be coupled with the necessary language skills to ensure visitor satisfaction levels are maintained. Additionally, whilst hotel literature predominantly concentrates on reinforcing stereotyped images found in travel brochures other materials provided within hotels, particularly that supplied by those hotel-based tour operators selling tours can act to enhance or limit tourist experience. The quotation below, intended to increase company sales can provide a particular idea of a destination that give rise to negative impressions as to the nature of the destination itself.

"Very important: If someone should approach you who is not from the [company] or from the hotel, we suggest you take certain precautions, do not buy anything, do not accept any gift, do not agree to be taken outside the hotel and above all, do not buy any excursions, as they are sold by unauthorized suppliers without the proper insurance required.
Our [company] team is at your service to provide any information you require or make reservations on your behalf."

Contact between tourists and other personnel involved in the provision of tourist services fluctuate dependent on the service being provided. Taxi drivers and street tour guides are often in the front line of contact between the destination and the tourists although in the case of all-inclusive tourism this role can be reduced to reflect a position somewhat lower down the gatekeeper hierarchy than travel representatives and organized tour guides. The all-inclusive phenomenon is characterized by a large proportion of sales of organized tours providing little contact with the host population. Therefore the role of taxi-drivers and guides is important in the provision of information and later experiences of tourist desiring to escape the organized environment and create their own destination experiences. The level of interaction and the impact on the tourist experience of taxi-drivers and similar personnel plays an important role in formulating independent impressions of a destination and this too can provide either positive or negative experiences. A knowledgeable service provider can enhance and capture a desire to engage more fully within a destination whilst negative impressions can result from for example, desires amongst unscrupulous service providers for financial gain and manipulation of information provided. Good relationships can result in broader discussions and suggestions for undertaking wider destination experiences.

Interaction, therefore, plays an important role in constructing impressions and as a result is an important factor in influencing criteria setting and expectations during the holiday process. However, it is important to note that gatekeepers are able to create signposts that reinforce stereotypical images of ‘Other’ cultures and regularly lack correspondence between a representation of a destination and what is actually there.

IV. What signposts are being manufactured?

Despite the involvement of several gatekeepers it is an overall image of a destination that is crucial in establishing the criteria felt necessary for a satisfactory holiday experience. "The touristic advertising message, like any other, is full of implicit references: beneath its enunciation it is a representation that aims to promote rather than explain" (Urbain, 1989).

In 1997 out of a total of 216,790 United Kingdom tourists traveling to the Dominican Republic from the UK 214,864 did so through a tour operator (Dominican Central Bank, 1998). Unlike destinations agencies such as national tourist boards, tour operators aim to sell their own products, that, whilst assimilating some ‘place’ components are primarily concerned with supplying a branded holiday type that is formulaic across a range of substitutable destinations (Goodall & Bergsma, 1990). If we are to accept the ideological function of promotion, it can be argued that the destination image created by the mass-market travel industry, rather than providing a realistic representation, does in fact create a series of standardized products based on maintaining brand loyalty and procurement of a profit.

Several questions arise regarding the signposts available to tourists: What types of images are supplied? What signs and signifiers are used? What objects are singled out and which are utilized as cultural brokers? Which, if any of these images do tourists assimilate and accept as reality prior to visiting a destination? What ideological function do they perform? How, if at all, do these images change whilst participating in the holiday experience? If Urry (1990) states that "we gaze at what we encounter", to what extent is that gaze a social and cultural construction by gatekeepers within the travel industry?

Table 1 % number of tourists travelling to the Dominican Republic identifying important or very important information sources in pre-trip stage
 

There is a wide range of information available to tourists through the variety of gatekeepers. Table 1 gives some indication of the ratings of important or very important sources of information to a group of British tourists to the Dominican Republic in late summer 1999. As the results indicate and as Goodall and Bergsma (1990) argue, the brochure is by far the most widely used and often the only source of information used prior to traveling to a destination. This also accentuates the important role that contact with travel agents can have on developing impressions of a destination with brochures being widely distributed through high street offices. Although at a lower level, a significant proportion of tourists identified television travel shows and travel guides as important reflecting the level of attention placed on types of information that attract a high media profile. Other sources of information such as resort literature, the internet and surprisingly, friends and family do fall someway behind these main sources in popularity.

Analysis of the wide range of tourist information sources remains limited and has concentrated predominantly on brochure analysis (see for example, Buck, 1977, Britton 1979, Silver 1993, Selwyn 1993, Dann 1996a). However, this analysis does point to a range of information sources based on standardized images that have little correspondence between the promoted image of a destination and what is actually there. Additionally, the words and images utilized by the tourism industry act to maintain a tension between the ‘familiarity’ of home and the ‘strangeness’ of the destination through the formation of a "constructed and constructing entity, a commodity which speaks, a communicator and shaper of society’s ideology" (Hollinshead, in Dann, 1996b). Selective use of language and images dependent on an anticipated audience can, therefore, act to reinforce stereotypes of ‘Other’ cultures and act to limit those images that procure a more balanced image of what a destination is really like.

A detailed analysis of images created by the range of information sources is outside the scope of this paper. However, it is possible to illustrate the contention that touristic images supplied by tour operators are largely standardized reflections of the familiarities of our home environment or "Butlin’s in the sun" imagery (female tourist, London) and that these are the images that tourists do take away with them when they travel to their chosen destination. Table 2 provides a breakdown of brochure images aimed at UK tourists travelling to the Dominican Republic during the year 2000.

Table 2: % breakdown of image types for the Dominican Republic in UK tour operator brochures
 

The data presented in table 2 indicates that 86% of the total images for the Dominican Republic in recent brochures are presented as tourist only images (56%) or landscape only photographs (30%). Additionally, of these images 95% were located in resort locations. Furthermore, of the 16% of remaining brochure images featuring members of the local population with or without tourists only 6% of those images featured locals only in situations outside the resort areas. In reality, the Dominican Republic consists of an island nation of some 8.5 million inhabitants and has been described geographically as the land of "‘three countries’, the colonial capital, the ‘Republic of Tourism’ and the mountainous interior" (Scheller, 1998) a fact that has little mention in the brochures. Table 2 also indicates similar patterns also emerging in the brochure images supplied by smaller specialist independent tour operators.

Dann (1996a) argues that the breakdown of images can be categorized into four groups: paradise contrived; paradise confined; paradise controlled; and paradise confused. By utilizing Dann’s groupings it can be argued that the 82% of in-resort tourist only and landscape only images represents paradise either contrived or confined suggesting that brochures reflect not only a sense of the familiar through images of other similar tourists but also a representation of what western discourse determines an ‘exotic’ location should be like (Silver, 1993).

Additionally, comments made by tourist visiting the Dominican Republic in late summer 1999 reveal a correspondence with brochure images (Table 3). Initial impressions of the island reveal a concentration on environmental features such as the weather, geographical features found in particular in sun, sand and sea locations and the reinforcement of brochure language in respect of ‘paradise’ locations. Other impressions are important and also reflect a concentration on reinforcing paradise representations whilst socio-cultural features receive much lower levels of attention.

Table 3: The impression comments and % breakdown of these comments of newly arrived tourists in the Dominican Republic
 

It is important to note however, that when criticizing brochure images for their lack of correspondence to the actuality of destinations that a particular tour operator produces brochures to provide information on the holidays available. It can be argued that they are in fact attempting to meet the more tangible needs of an intangible product and to this end they do meet this need. However, in it is possible to begin to identify the pervasiveness of the brochure image on the initial impressions created of the Dominican Republic and the correspondence between the two. However, to begin assess how these impressions are affected it is necessary to consider how tourist actually experience the destination.
 

V. The impact of signposts and gatekeepers on tourism experience

The promotion of images of familiarity and strangeness can act to mitigate the distribution of expert knowledge within the travel industry in favour of producing a stereotyped image of ‘Other’ cultures. Preliminary research results suggest that the production of these familiar, standardized images not only sustains an ideological function of accentuating difference but can impact on the types of experience undertaken within a destination. This in turn can undermine those organizations that are committed to providing an alternative informed dialogue such as those of national tourist boards and ethically orientated tourism practitioners.

One of these impacts, the perceptions of risk provides a pertinent example in the case of many tourists who are inexperienced or lack the self-confidence to engage fully in what a destination has to offer (Yiannakis & Gibson, 1992). Lack of confidence coupled with a feeling of insecurity can lead to stimulus avoidance as a coping strategy which results in a reluctance to leave the confines of the resort or when doing so, engaging the services of local guides to counter their lack of knowledge and experience.

Risk, in touristic terms can be interpreted as "the consumers perceptions both of the uncertainty and the magnitude of possible adverse consequences" (Tsaur et al, 1997) and is a systematic way of dealing with hazards and insecurities. It can however, be defined in terms of the knowledge we possess and as a result can be "changed, magnified, dramatized or minimized within knowledge … [and is] open to social definition and construction" (Beck, 1992, p23, authors emphasis). By the nature of the unequal distribution of ‘expert’ knowledge there will be risk ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ the extent of which will depend on the discourses of power that runs between them.

In the case of tourists visiting the Dominican Republic, risk issues do not just focus on for example, those psychological risks of having made a bad holiday decision or the identification of health issues that were expected as a result of bad publicity in the UK in the late 1990’s. There is also a real fear for personal security if individuals are to leave the resort or engage with the host population other than those individuals employed by the tourism industry.

This is our first time here in the Dominican Republic. Usually we go to Tenerife and would really like to retire there. We normally hire a car or use public transport and generally go off and do our own thing. We are surprised that we can’t do that here because it is too dangerous to leave the resort complex except on an organized tour. We’ve never felt so restricted before. We’re having a nice time but it’s unlikely we will come back, after all there must be more to the country than sun and beaches but if it’s too dangerous to go out... We have friends that come from the Caribbean, the picture they painted is so different to what we have been told about here."

Sampling of a group of UK travel agents in respect of the risks of visiting the Dominican Republic focused primarily on advise that echoed modifications to behavior that are likely to be enacted whilst visiting unfamiliar places in the UK. Steering clear of badly lit areas at night and avoiding overt displays of wealth was a recommendation by several of the agents surveyed. However, whilst one agent suggested that it would be a shame to go all that way and not experience local culture at first hand others did recommend that an all-inclusive resort was the best place to be to avoid a potential risk situation arising. This second message is one that is reiterated by UK tour operators in the destination.

"Don’t eat or drink outside the hotel in small bars and restaurants. Don’t book excursions which are not organized by Airtours. (For health and safety reasons)

"Rest assured that discovering the island with Airtours is the safest and most comfortable way to travel: All our coaches are air-conditioned and we use only English speaking guides. Every aspect of the holiday is thoroughly checked for health and safety standards……come explore the country with us"

"may travel on foot or taxi, during the day or night, to museums, shopping, business and entertainment places, restaurants and nightclubs"

What begins to emerge from the small sample of literature here is the identification of conflicting information provided for consumption and criteria setting by tourists. Tourists do follow advice as the above quotation by ‘female tourist A’ suggests. What UK tourists to the Dominican Republic are doing is in fact modifying their holiday criteria and subsequent behavior in response to a whole series of images that suggest and accentuate a sense of difference in ‘Other’ cultures. This modification in behavior occurs regardless of previous travel experience and suggests that tourists of all types can and do engage in the destinations they have visited but will modify that behavior in the light of the information they are given. In the case of Puerto Plata the focus area of this study and the comments made above, 1998 crime statistics suggest that a total just 2.7% of the total charges made in the area related to serious crime (rape, murder and attempted murder). Reports elsewhere in the Caribbean indicate that the incidence of serious crime is predominantly within the host population with tourists more likely to experience petty crime such as theft (de Albuquerque & McElroy, 1999). Therefore, accentuation of a sense of insecurity, particularly amongst inexperienced tourist’s can results in the formation of a highly controlled environment based on the recreation of the familiarity of the home environment.

A sense of risk can also act to reinforce the strangeness of "Other’ places and cultures. A sense of strangeness impacts on tourist experience in a number of ways. Beck (1992) argues that risk is a social construction and this construction can go far beyond the realms of profit procurement by the travel industry and encompass a whole series of wider social discourses based on neo-colonialist attitudes of them and us. The lack of positive images in promotional materials of hosts in local settings reinforces discourses of power and superiority amongst tourist groups and can lead to preconceived ideas of what roles hosts should assume when dealing with visitors to their country. Comments such as the one below suggest a real reluctance to view hosts in anything other than a service position.

Researcher: Have you done anything during your holiday here, have you been out into town for example?

Tourist A: No, we haven’t, we didn’t really want to have to have anything to do with them people. The one’s that work in the hotel are okay but you don’t know what you’ll be getting yourself into if you go outside.

Researcher: Have you thought at all about the fact that you are a visitor in their country and that the local people live here?

Tourist A: Well, we are visitors but we are doing enough by putting money into the country by visiting here in the first place.

"We went on a jeep safari yesterday … it was good but I can’t help feeling that it was all a bit too commercial … that ‘granny’s house for example. It’s obvious that she was much better off than the people living around her … I guess that’s because she’s paid by the tour company … still at least we got to look in a Dominican house"

VI. Conclusion

Currently, British tourists visiting all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic are predominantly making use of information sources that provide little information about the country that they are visiting. The reliance on brochures that are produced with the prime motivation of the sale of holidays for the procurement of profit is branded, standardized and formulaic. Once in the destination gatekeepers maintaining high interaction levels with tourists focus on organized activities that provide high levels of entertainment value, high commissions whilst at the same time encouraging tourists to make the best use of limited time available.

However, in the final section of this paper it is possible to begin to identify the sense of difference and distinction identified by May (1996). There is evidence to suggest that tourists visiting the Dominican Republic are not purely diversionary or recreational as argued by Cohen’s tourist typologies (1979). In contrast there is evidence to suggest that there is a diverse range of visitors who set their own criteria for experiencing a holiday dependent on their travel experience and cultural confidence and will venture out of the organized mass-market circuit to explore a destination for themselves. What is clear, however, is that the promotion of particular images of a destination do impact on tourists who may desire a more ‘authentic’ holiday experience but lack that confidence to move beyond the ‘environmental bubble’ of the organized mass-market experience.

If the Dominican Republic and other similar destinations are to maintain tourism income and diversify the country’s tourism there is a real need to ensure that signposts that provide a more representative tourist information. This tourist information must recognize the changing nature of tourist experiences by providing better a choice of alternatives in holiday types whilst at the same time recognizing the popularity and the important role that enclaves such as all-inclusive resorts have to offer. Finally, it must ensure that the gatekeepers presenting these signposts do so in such a way that reaches out and captures the criteria setting imaginations of visitors both potential and actual.

This paper concludes by providing, for reflection, a comment made by a visiting tourist at the end of a two-week vacation in late Summer 1999.

Researcher: Have you had a nice stay in the Dominican Republic?

Tourist B: Oh yes, it has been lovely, we haven’t done very much but we were looking for a relaxing holiday in a different location and it has been just what we wanted.

Researcher: Did you just stay in the resort?

Tourist B: Er … (pause) no, we did go out once towards the end of our holiday. We walked into Puerto Plata.

Researcher: Wow that must have been quite a walk in this heat?

Tourist B: No, not at all, it was just a couple of minutes from the resort. You know it really surprised me that the town was so small. It was just like a modern shopping centre and had loads of souvenir shops to choose from.

(the tourist had in fact mistaken the Playa Dorada Plaza in the centre of the resort area for the city of Puerto Plata with its population of around 200,000)

VII. Bibliography
 

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