Mythical references in the tourist image: the case of Ibiza

Abstract

[eng] Elements evoking the mythology of the 'Lost Paradise' appear in the image of many holiday destinations. The desire to return to the Paradise from which we were expelled at the beginnings of humanity is an element that can be found in many mythologies around the world. The main elements of this myth coincide with the promotional elements of many holiday destinations (isolated region, good climate, land of plenty, white color, the 'good savage', etc.) and many destinations have been selling the temporary return to a Lost Paradise inhabited by the Noble Savage. The image and tourist promotion in Ibiza show a great similarity with this myth in many of its elements. The objective of this paper is to highlight the elements of the image of Ibiza that refer to this myth and how some elements of the island that did not fit into this myth were adapted or changed. Ibiza's traditional society was idealized and this mythical environment was used as promotional image. Ibiza is a good example of how to market a tourist destination as a 'Lost Paradise', and the more direct competing destinations, such as Mykonos, are characterized by a similar degree of adjustment of its image to this myth.