Beyond Translation: Selective Cross-Lingual Transmission of Destination Representations and Platform-Contingent Digital Attention

International tourism communication is often studied by comparing destination images across markets, yet cross-language differences are typically treated as end states rather than as outcomes of a transmission process. This study develops a cross-lingual platform-mediated destination representation (CL-PMDR) framework to explain how salient destination attributes are selectively retained, omitted, or reframed as representations move across language environments, and when such differences relate to digital attention. The empirical design combines three linked studies. First, 150 Wikipedia representations of 30 Chinese city destinations across Chinese, English, French, German, and Spanish generate 120 domestic-baseline–international comparisons and August 2026 user-pageview outcomes. Second, a longitudinal focal-case audit tracks Chongqing's four international-language attention series from January 2023 to August 2026 and annual historical representations. Third, English Wikivoyage provides a cross-platform validation outcome for all 30 cities. Cross-language transmission is strongly selective: international summaries contain 39.2% fewer coded themes than Chinese baselines, while administrative and geographic attributes travel far more reliably than history, culture, tourism, or connectivity. Cross-lingual representational distance has no linear association with Wikipedia attention. An exploratory inverted-U appears on Wikipedia, but it does not replicate on Wikivoyage. Chongqing further shows volatile attention alongside stable language-specific first-frame representations. These findings distinguish representation from visibility, introduce representational portability and inertia, and establish platform context as a boundary condition for linking destination representation to digital attention.