Post-pandemic Algerian Tourism Promotion on Instagram Analysis of the Interpersonal-interactive Metafunction in tourism_algeria’s Instagram Posts

Abstract

This study explores and describes the way online tourismdiscourse, employed by digital creators, isrealized on Instagram. Attempting to unveil how both Interpersonal and Interactive meanings are realized as well as the relationship between them henceforth, we relied on analyzing captions and images found in the six selected posts shared on @tourism_algeria’s Instagram account. We adopted Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Kress and Leeuwen’s Visual Grammar (VG) to disclose the strategies adopted in linguistic and visual modes utilized on the selected posts to promote meaning concerning Algerian tourism. To analyze the data, the investigation utilized the qualitative research method, depending on Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA). The findings, therefore, demonstrate that the Interpersonal speech functions offer information concerning the Algerian destinations and demand information from the audience regarding whether they have visited or know that places. Interactively, the content creator seeks to present authentic visuals, focusing on showing specific destinations that display landscapes in particular as being the best places for relaxation and escape from the pressure caused during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the relationship existing between both modes of communication is complementary. It is recommended that future researchers substitute tourism discourse with another type of discourse. Significantly, after reading this research, digital creators can increase their awareness about online tourism discourse to reconsider the way captions are written and images are taken and displayed more compellingly and appealingly.