Sun, Sea, Sex and the Unspoilt Countryside provides an introductory overview of the way in which the English language is used in tourism discourse across genres. Through the detailed linguistic analysis of selected excerpts from written tourist materials (advertisements, brochures, travel articles, guidebooks, websites, travelogues, etc.), the major written genres of tourism discourse are introduced and the characteristics of “tourism English” as a type of specialized language are described. The book features a selection of authentic materials produced for the English-speaking world, as well as guidelines – in the form of a questionnaire – for the identification of the major dimensions of tourism discourse from the linguistic point of view.

Sun, Sea, Sex and the Unspoilt Countryside is especially intended for undergraduate university students working to become professionals in the tourism industry: It can also be of interest for students of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and of Linguistics, in that it attempts to cast some light on the way in which the English language shapes destinations, represents cross-cultural differences and “persuades, lures, woos, and seduces millions of human beings” (Graham Dann), and in so doing, converts them from potential into actual clients by presenting them with exactly what they expect to be presented with, be it sun, sea, sex or the unspoilt countryside.