ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a specific, probably universal facet of the linguistic landscape of tourism, the welcome sign. Tourism is the one of the agents commodifying and corporatizing space, which it subsequently redefines as 'sites of sociality'. According to Ash and Thrift, these sites of sociality have, urban culture industry in the form of 'corporate hospitality venues, airport lounges, and restaurant districts', with for agency and participation. The chapter identifies five discursive frames through which different cultural and commercial values ascribed to public signage performing the act of 'tourist welcome': the home frame; the brand frame; the spectacle frame; the hedging frame; and the multilingual display frame and Theoretically, and its located within sociolinguistic approaches to 'linguistic/semiotic landscapes'. The chapter demonstrates the tourist greetings on welcome signs may fulfill a number of performative functions: create a 'sense of place', add symbolic value of authenticity and distinction to destinations, or mitigate face-threatening acts.
