LEXICAL SEMANTICS IN TOURS AND TRAVEL ADVERTISEMENT BROCHURES: A SEMANTIC STUDY

Abstrak

Tour and travel brochures serve as essential tools in tourism promotion, employing persuasive and context-rich language to attract potential visitors. This study examines the types and functions of lexical semantics used in selected brochures from Bali tour agencies. Drawing on Geoffrey Leech’s theory of seven types of meaning, this qualitative descriptive research investigates how language shapes perception and influences reader interpretation. Data were collected from brochures and analysed through categorization and contextual interpretation. The findings indicate that all seven types of meaning; denotative, connotative, social, affective, reflected, collocative, and thematic are strategically utilized. Denotative meaning occurs most frequently, followed by connotative and social meanings. These results highlight how brochures employ layered semantic features to appeal emotionally, culturally, and cognitively to prospective tourists, thereby strengthening the persuasive impact of tourism marketing texts.