City images in transnational travel vlogs from a multimodal perspective: an investigation of 20 port cities worldwide

Abstract Purpose This paper aims to analyze how vloggers use interactions of different modalities in transnational travel vlogs on YouTube to draw audiences’ attentions, as well as the impact of the socio-cultural context on the discourse of these vlogs and the represented city images. Design/methodology/approach This research project adopts a multimodal approach by using a new analytical framework based on provenance symbols in semiotics, appraisal systems, and visual grammar in linguistics as theoretical foundations. Findings Our research findings show that there are four dominant themes, including nature enjoyment, landmark visiting and street wandering, food tasting, and infrastructure evaluation in these vlogs. North American full-time vloggers with advanced skills and rich experience are the main contributors, which may lead to a fixed and biased representation of city images. The mechanism of city image formation, from cities’ physical existence to foreign viewers’ perception via transnational travel vlogs, has also been illustrated. Implications The city image exists in a dynamic landscape where online opinion leaders also hold significant discourse power. Though becoming more visible, cities are facing challenges related to the increasing homogenization of mediated images. The research findings also have practical implications for redefining approaches to the international communication of city images to diverse stakeholders including city administrators and travel vloggers. Originality/value This paper expands the scope of research on urban communication by adopting a comparative and global perspective. The new analytical framework can serve as a reference for future studies on new media content. Furthermore, the systematic mechanism of city image formation presented contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of new media in the international communication of city images.