Marketing the American West

The American West:
I have chosen a holiday website called Western and Oriental. 



(Link to the websites pictures: http://www.westernoriental.com/holiday-types/ranch-holidays/ ).

One of the holiday types is a ranch holiday where you can experience events of the American West, such as horse-riding in the desert, line-dancing and generally living like a cowboy. These holidays are around many parts of the U.S, including Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Kansas, Oregon, Oklahoma, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming as well as Nevada, this allows you experience the American West in slightly different settings and weather conditions. This markets the American West because it advertises things that are traditionally recognised as being Western, and it makes people want to experience what life would be like if they were actually there. This shows that the American West is imagined as rural in America today, especially as the main picture on the website is of horses with mountains and hills in the background.

There are lots of different types of ranch holidays, but they all have similar things in all of them such as, the outdoor lifestyle like horse-riding, cattle driving and rodeo. The holiday is aimed at the American West in the 21st Century rather than in the past, as the ranch holidays also include white water rafting and mountain biking, which is an unusual thing to include if you are experiencing the American West, as cowboys wouldn't have done these things.

Having working ranch holidays tells us that the American West is seen as though working is considered fun and not that hard to do, because it is offering it to people who are on holiday and they want to make it as enjoyable as possible so they can get more customers to come back in the future.

The clothing in the images on the website is also the typical appearance of the 'Wild West', as there are cowboy hats, boots, shirts and jackets. This markets the American West as traditional as they are wearing things that are considered Western and is often what the American West is associated with.

The accommodation is also very basic which resembles what it would have been like actually living in the American West, which is having as little technology as possible, living in a rural setting with very little around you, whilst also working on the ranch and spending the evening with your family around a campfire, all of which the ranch holiday offers.

This website overall is a good example of marketing the American Western, as it has many images which allow you to quickly identify them as being American and Western, using clothing such as hats, transport such as horse and cart or just a horse and landscapes. However, it does make the American West seem as though it's an easy life to live, because you go on nice long treks in amazing surroundings, fishing in the sun and sitting around the campfire with your family, when the American West would also include shootouts and robberies, which the holiday website does not offer or have any images relating to that.

Grace La Traille

Sources:
http://www.westernoriental.com/holiday-types/ranch-holidays/
http://www.westernoriental.com/country/usa-ranch-holidays/
http://www.westernoriental.com/reviews/
http://www.westernoriental.com/travel/working-ranches/
http://www.westernoriental.com/types/ranch-holiday-collection/
www.rusticblue.com