Bridging worlds: Translating metaphors for sustainable destination experiences

The aim of this article is to analyse metaphor in sustainable tourism guides from a cross-cultural perspective. In the field of tourism, metaphors play an important role in the perception of destinations and experiences. Metaphors are a verbal technique used to make a holiday seem less alien to potential tourists (Dann 1996: 171). They help to bridge the gap between the unfamiliar aspects of a destination and the tourists’ own experiences and make it easier for them to empathise with the surroundings. However, when looking at metaphors in different cultures, figurative language is not only characterised by linguistic structures, but also by cultural connotations and experiences.
The Logical Levels model (Dilts, 1983), originally developed in the context of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), is used to break down metaphors into multiple levels of human experience, from concrete behaviours to abstract beliefs and values. In this way, the model allows for a more nuanced and thorough approach by uncovering the deeper cultural and ideological elements contained within metaphorical language. This will contribute to a better understanding of the procedures used in the target text to convey emotional and pragmatic meanings.