*Nurul Wahidah Mahmud Zuhudi, Noor Hanan Mohd Jafar, Azian Muhamad Adzmi

Abstract:

The present study aims to systematically examine how advertisers and marketers semiotically construct the meaning and messages of Muslim-friendly tourism (MFT) through promotional visuals. Despite a growing interest in MFT, which mostly focuses on service provision and textual communication, there exists a gap pertaining to the exploration of visual communication strategies that shape travellers’ perceptions and interpretations. For a more precise interpretation across categories, this study performed a visual semiotic analysis using a detailed codebook based on Kress and Van Leeuwen’s visual grammar framework. Findings indicate that facts and imagery are significant elements of effective visual communication, which describe halal certifications, facilities, or service features. This, in turn, reassures tourists regarding their compliance to religious practices. Thus, this study proposes a new approach that employs visual semiotics in visual decoding and narratives for promoting tourism materials.

Keywords: Promotional visual, Muslim-friendly tourism (MFT), semiotic analysis, visual grammar