Abstract
Countries carry out tourism-based promotional activities in various ways. Promotional films are one of them, and they are important in terms of conveying the messages to the target audience correctly. Countries mediate to attract touristic consumers to their destination regions through promotional films. Thus, promotional films play a key role in reflecting the country's image positively and convincing touristic consumers in their destination selection. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the orientalist elements in the promotional films, which are handled specifically for Turkey, with the semiotic method. In this direction, "Treasures of Istanbul" and "2020 Turkey Promotional Film" shot by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Italian director Leonardo Dalessandri's "Watchtower of Turkey" and American filmmaker Brandon Li’s "Turkish Fantasia" films were analyzed comparatively by semiotic method. Within the scope of the Treasures of Istanbul promotional film, analysis was carried out with "50", in the 2020 Turkey Promotional Film "72", in the "Watchtower of Turkey" "158" and in the film "Turkish Fantasia", "98". As a result of the analysis, cultural and orientalist elements are at the forefront in the promotional films shot by foreign directors, and the daily life of the Turkish people is focused on; It was concluded that the films shot by the Ministry focused on the time spent by foreign tourists in Turkey.