A travel documentary is a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

, or online series that describes

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...

in general or

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

s without recommending particular package deals or tour operators. A travelogue film is an early type of travel documentary, serving as an exploratory

ethnographic film An ethnographic film is a non-fiction film, often similar to a documentary film, historically shot by Western filmmakers and dealing with non-Western people, and sometimes associated with anthropology. Definitions of the term are not definitive. ...

. Ethnographic films have been made for the spectators to see the other half to relate with the world in relative relations. These films are a spectacle to see beyond the cultural differences as explained by the Allison Griffith in her journal. Before the 1930s, it was difficult to see the importance of documentary films in Hollywood cinema but the 1930s brought about a change in the history of these films with the popularity of independent filmmakers. The

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

has been represented by television shows such as ''Across the Seven Seas'', which showcased travelogues produced by third parties, and by occasional itinerant presentations of travelogues in theaters and other venues. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

and actor

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...

has made several series in this genre beginning with '' Around the World in 80 Days'' (1989).

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

has several travel shows including those hosted by

Rick Steves Richard John Steves Jr. (born May 10, 1955), known professionally as Rick Steves, is an American travel writer, activist, and television personality. His travel philosophy encourages people to explore less-frequented areas of destinations and ...

and

Burt Wolf Burton Wolf ("Burt"), born 1938, is an American journalist, writer, entrepreneur, chef, and TV producer. He is the host and author of nine internationally syndicated television series that deal with cultural history, travel and gastronomy, includi ...

History

Travelogues

Travelogues were used to provide the general public with a means of observing different countries and cultures since the late 19th century. Travelogues are considered to be a form of virtual

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

or travel documentary and were often presented as lectures narrating accompanying films and photos. A travelogue is based on the personal experience of someone travelling through a new landscape and in contexts of ethnographic films where it exists a protagonist which took the whole story along. Travelogues are defined as nonfiction films that use a place as their primary subject. They often display the cinematic apparatus and have an open narration. The ideal travel film carries the appealing landscapes that brought the audience toward an emotional attachment with the help of storytelling and characters. Travelogues were usually about eighty minutes in length, consisting of two 1000-foot

reels A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...

of 16mm film, with an intermission in-between to change reels. The travelogue film speaker, often but not always the filmmaker, would usually introduce each reel, ask for the lights to be dimmed, and then narrate the film live from an onstage

lectern A lectern is a standing reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of ...

. Travelogue series were usually offered during the winter months and were often sold on subscription basis in small and medium-sized towns. Patrons could then meet the speaker in-person after the show. As cinema progress, the standard film program provided by the most theaters consisted of a feature-length film accompanied by a newsreel and at least one additional short subject, which might take the form of a travelogue, a comedy, a cartoon, or a film about a topical novelty subject matter. Travelogues further developed to incorporate movie rides which were coordinated sounds, motion pictures and mechanical movement to simulate virtual travel. Cinéorama, which simulates a ride in a hot air balloon and Mareorama, which simulates voyages of the sea, became major attractions at world fairs and expositions. Today's travelogues may be shown with either live or recorded

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

narration, often with an in-sync audio soundtrack featuring music and location sound. The shows are often performed in school gymnasiums, civic auditoriums, senior center multi-purpose rooms, private clubs, and theatrical venues. Travelogues have been a popular source of fundraising for local, non-profit community-service organizations, such as

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

Lions Clubs Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

, and

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

s, among others, with many such clubs hosting travelogue series for decades. Travelogues stem from the work of American writer and lecturer, John Lawson Stoddard who began traveling around the world in 1874. He went on to publish books about his adventures and gave lectures across North America. The original lectures were accompanied by black and white lantern slides printed from his photographs. In 1892, John Lawson Stoddard recruited Burton Holmes as his junior associate. When Stoddard was ready to retire in 1897, he arranged for Holmes to take over the rest of his speaking arrangements. Holmes went on to become the premier travel lecturer of his day and coined the term, "travelogues," in 1904 when he introduced film clips to lecture series making them wildly popular. After World War II,

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, Television presenter, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of ex ...

created popular Movietone News Reel travelogues shown in movie theaters across the U.S. During the 1950s and 1960s, more independent film producers created travelogues, which were shown in towns and schools across the U.S. and Canada. In the 1970s and 1980s, the popularity of traditional travelogues declined but the advent of cable television channels and the availability of small, high quality, digital video equipment has renewed the popularity of travel films. Though travelogues have enjoyed much popularity historically, these films have been criticized for culturally insensitive representations since the films were not made by anthropologists. A famous example is the film about a family in the Canadian Arctic, ''

Nanook of the North ''Nanook of the North'' is a 1922 American silent film that combines elements of documentary and docudrama/docufiction, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist. In the tradition of what would ...

'', where much of the scenes were staged.

Modern

Travelogues are credited with helping cultivating the interest in the

travel industry Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

at the same time

transportation infrastructure Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelines, ...

was being developed to make it possible. As

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

and

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s became more accessible, more people became willing and eager to travel to distant places because of what was displayed in the popular travelogues of the day. Today, travelogues are most often seen in

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

theaters and play a role in fiction film cinematography. IMAX was invented more than 40 years ago by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroiter, and Robert Kerr who pioneered the technology and debuted it at the EXPO 67 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada and later again at EXPO 70 in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan. Since then, IMAX and travelogues have latched onto each other. In the 1970s and 1980s, the popularity of traditional travelogues declined. But the advent of cable television channels, such as the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

and the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

and the availability of small, high quality, digital video equipment has renewed the popularity of travel films. Amateur films of an individual's travels can be considered travelogues as well. ''The Flavor of Kolkata'' (2015), a short travel documentary shot in the Indian city

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, was India's first 3D short travel documentary.

Content

Travel documentary is a kind of documentary. Travel documentaries generally tell stories about travel or introduce travel destinations. In general, there will be a leading figure in the documentary. This figure will introduce the audience to local landmarks, the cultural landscape, food and customs. From these documentaries, viewers can better understand the region, history, and places worth a visit. Therefore, travel documentaries can also be described as human geography documentaries. They can lead the audience to better understand a place.

Key figures

* Burton Holmes was an American traveler, photographer and filmmaker, who coined the term "travelogue". Each summer for over fifty years Holmes would travel the world and then tour American auditoriums in the winter; during the 1945-46 season alone he gave 157 two-hour lectures. By the end of his life, Holmes's had given over 8,000 travelogue lectures which were known to draw large audiences in cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. (Travel Film Archive). * Santhosh George Kulangara is a professional traveller and media personality who has travelled across more than 130 countries and has documented it through his TV show '' Sancharam''. He owns

Safari TV Safari TV is an Indian non-profit free to air television channel broadcasting in Malayalam language. It is an exploration channel based in Marangattupilly, Kottayam, Kerala. The channel is part of Safari Multimedia Pvt.Ltd, India. A TV channel ...

, a television channel that explores travel and history. *

André de la Varre André de la Varre (September 14, 1904 – December 19, 1987) was a leading American travelogue filmmaker from a prominent family who started as a 17-year-old visiting Europe with a recently acquired movie camera at the end of World War I. Born ...

bought a motion picture camera and went to Europe at the age of 17. In 1924, he became Burton Holmes' cameraman. Starting in the 1930s, De La Varre became an independent film maker making shorts for major Hollywood Studios. He traveled and filmed constantly for the next 40 years. (Travel Film Archive). * James A. Fitzpatrick has made 225 travelogues and traveled around the world 25 times in the process. In 1923, he formed Fitzpatrick Pictures and provided a stock set of images about the world at a time when hardly any international films were available to American audiences. * Carl Dudley made 300 travel adventure films. It all started in 1935 when he traveled to Tahiti, Australia, and India working on film crews. In 1944, he started Dubley Pictures Corp. He is best known for Cinerama's ''South Seas Adventure''. (Travel Film Archive). *

Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...

was an American film maker who directed and produced the first commercial successful feature documentary, ''

'', in 1922. * Eugene Castle was not a travel filmmaker but his company Castle Films was the largest distributor of films for the home and a contributing factor to the raise of popularity of travelogues. Castle went on to sell his company to Universal for $3 million in 1947. (Travel Film Archive). *

Bill Burrud William James Burrud (January 12, 1925 – July 12, 1990) was a child actor and a television host and producer best known for his travel programs. Biography Born in Hollywood, California, Burrud was a son of Leland Burrud, who had produced on ...

produced the 1958 ''Treasure'' TV series and ''The Open Road''. He coined the phrase "traventure." * Edward M. Newman produced many travelogues for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

studio in the 1930s. * Sky Gaven is an American entrepreneur who in 2015 created and produced one of the most prolific digital travel series, "Shaycation" starring actress

Shay Mitchell Shannon Ashley Garcia "Shay" Mitchell (born April 10, 1987) is a Canadian actress and entrepreneur. She rose to prominence for her role as Emily Fields in the mystery thriller drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017), which earned h ...

. The series changed the way YouTube formats were crafted and cemented itself as a pioneer in the travel genre.

Notable examples

*''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

'' *''

An Idiot Abroad ''An Idiot Abroad'' is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky One, as well as a series of companion books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington ...

'' - presented by

Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, actor, voice-artist, producer and author. After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their Xfm radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of '' The Ricky ...

*'' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' - travel and food documentary *'' Around the World in 80 Treasures'' - with

Dan Cruickshank Daniel Gordon Raffan Cruickshank (born 26 August 1949) is a British art historian and BBC television presenter, with a special interest in the history of architecture. Professional career Cruickshank holds a BA in Art, Design and Architecture ...

. First broadcast by the BBC in 2005. *''

Big Crazy Family Adventure ''Big Crazy Family Adventure'' follows the Kirkby family as they travel from British Columbia to Ladakh, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, ...

'' *'' Brazil with Michael Palin'' *'' Bump!'' *'' By Any Means'' *''The Coolest Places on Earth'' *'' Departures'' *''Developing Destinations'' *'' Don't Tell My Mother'' - presented by

Diego Buñuel Diego Buñuel (born 21 July 1975 in Paris) is a French-American filmmaker and the host and director of the National Geographic Channel series ''Don't Tell My Mother''. He is also the host of a television news show in France called ''Les Nouveaux E ...

. *''Extreme Treks'' *''Extreme Vacations'' *''

Full Circle with Michael Palin ''Full Circle with Michael Palin'' is a 10-part 1997 documentary television series, first broadcast on BBC One from 31 August to 9 November 1997. Presented by Michael Palin, ''Full Circle'' was the third of a series of programmes in which Palin ...

'' *'' Getaway'' *''Getaway to Paradise'' *''Get Outta Town'' *''

Globe Trekker ''Globe Trekker'' (sometimes called ''Pilot Guides'' in Australia, Spain and Thailand, and originally broadcast as ''Lonely Planet'') is a British adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was ins ...

'' *''Glutton for Punishment'' *'' The Great Outdoors'' *''

Holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

'' *''

Himalaya with Michael Palin ''Himalaya with Michael Palin'' is a 2004 BBC television series presented by comedian and travel presenter Michael Palin. It records his six-month trip around the Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separ ...

'' *''

Intrepid Journeys ''Intrepid Journeys'' is a New Zealand television series, which was broadcast on TV ONE in New Zealand and on Vibrant TV Network in the United States. Making its debut in 2003, the show focuses on New Zealand celebrities who travel to exotic co ...

'' *'' Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled'' *''

Lonely Planet Six Degrees Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...

'' *'' Long Way Down'' *''

Long Way Round ''Long Way Round'' (''LWR'') is a British television series and book documenting the journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York City on motorcycles. They travelled eastwards through Europe and Asia, flew to Alaska, a ...

'' *'' Long Way Up'' *'' Madventures'' *'' Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin'' *'' Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure'' *'' Michael Palin's New Europe'' *''MyDestination.TV'' *''

The Moaning of Life ''The Moaning of Life'' is a British travel documentary television comedy, comedy television series broadcast on Sky 1. It follows Karl Pilkington around the world as he visits other cultures. Unlike ''An Idiot Abroad'', which had a similar premi ...

'' - also presented by

*'' On Hannibal's Trail'' first broadcast by BBC in 2010 *'' Passport to Europe'' *'' Pole to Pole'' *'' Pinoy Abroad'' represents the Overseas Filipino Workers Around The World *'' Race Across the World'' *'' The Reluctant Traveler'' *'' Rick Steves' Europe'' *'' Ride with Norman Reedus'' *'' Sahara with Michael Palin'' *'' Sancharam (Santosh George Kulangara)'' *'' Scam City'' *''Shaycation'' *''

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman ''The Story of God with Morgan Freeman'' is an American television documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, educat ...

'' *''

Stranded With Cash Peters ''Stranded with Cash Peters'' is a reality show/documentary on the Travel Channel created by British travel writer Cash Peters, in which he was dumped in an unfamiliar place with no money, food, or room for the night. He had to rely on the local ...

'' *'' Tomohiro's Railway Tour of China'' *''

Traceroute In computing, traceroute and tracert are diagnostic command-line interface commands for displaying possible routes (paths) and transit delays of packets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The command reports the round-trip times of ...

'' *''Up Up and Away'' *'' Whicker's World'' *''World on Wheels'' *''

World's Most Dangerous Roads ''World's Most Dangerous Roads'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British TV series in which two celebrities are filmed as they journey by Four-wheel drive, 4×4 vehicle along roads considered among the world's most dangerous. The show was ...

'' - BBC series in which two celebrities journey by 4x4 on roads considered among the world's most dangerous. *'' Word Travels'' - presented by Robin Esrock and Julia Dimon. First broadcast by OLN in 2008. *''Xtreme Tourist'' *''Xtreme Travel'' *''Vague Direction''Vague Direction – A Bicycle Powered Project about People
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Broadcast stations

The following are TV stations that air primarily travel based content: *

Discover Barbados TV Discover Barbados Television also known as The Visitor Channel, is available in a number of hotels around the island. The Discover Barbados Channel caters to tourists coming to Barbados and brings programming to some of the most notable places of ...

* Évasion * Russian Travel Guide *

* Travel Channel (International) *

Travel + Escape Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

* Travelxp *

Voyages Television Voyages Television is a global platform for the marketing of luxury travel destinations and the distribution of travel products across television, Internet, Internet television (IPTV) and Video on Demand. The Company’s focus is on the six major ...

References

Bibliography

* * Dana Benelli (2002) Hollywood and the Travelogue, Visual Anthropology, 15:1, 3 16, DOI: 10.1080/08949460210640 * Allison Griffith “'To the World the World We Show': Early Travelogues as Filmed Ethnography”, Indiana University Press, 293. * “what is a travelogue,” Travel Writing World, last accessed 29, December, 2019, https://www.travelwritingworld.com/what-is-a-travelogue/ * Merritt Mecham, "The Documentarian as Tourist: Travel and Representation in Documentary" http://film.byu.edu/aperture/?p=185

History

Travelogues

Modern

Content

Key figures

Notable examples

Broadcast stations

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links