A travel documentary is a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, or online series that describes

travel 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 c ...

in general or

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

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 1930s, it was difficult to see the importance of documentary films in Hollywood cinema but 1930s brought about a change in the history of these films with the popularity of independent filmmakers. The

genre Genre () is any form or type 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 for ...

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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedian and actor

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

has made several series in this genre beginning with ''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' (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 and

Burt Wolf Burt Wolf (Burton Wolf), 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, inc ...

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 or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

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 an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

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 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 support. ...

. 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 Cinéorama was an early film experiment and amusement ride presented for the first time at the 1900 Paris Exposition. It was invented by Raoul Grimoin-Sanson and it simulated a ride in a hot air balloon over Paris. It represented a union of the e ...

, 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 where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...

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. Since 1987, the organizati ...

Lions Clubs The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquarte ...

, and Rotary Clubs, among others, with many such clubs hosting travelogue series for decades. Travelogues stem from the work of American writer and lecturer,

John Lawson Stoddard John Lawson Stoddard (April 24, 1850 – June 5, 1931) was an American lecturer, author and photographer."John Lawson Stoddard." ''Dictionary of American Biography'', Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. ''Gale In Context: Biography'', Accessed 23 May ...

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 Elias Burton Holmes (1870–1958) was an American traveler, photographer and filmmaker, who coined the term "travelogue". Travel stories, slide shows, and motion pictures were all in existence before Holmes began his career, as was the profess ...

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 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 which combines elements of documentary and docudrama, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist. In the tradition of what would later be c ...

'', 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 or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

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, pipelin ...

was being developed to make it possible. As railways and steamships 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 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 ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Canada and later again at EXPO 70 in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, 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 and the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

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 (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, 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

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 8000 travelogue lectures which were known to draw large audiences in cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. (Travel Film Archive). * André de la Varre 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 James Anthony FitzPatrick (February 26, 1894 – June 12, 1980) was an American producer, director, writer, and narrator, known from the early 1930s as "The Voice of the Globe" from his ''Fitzpatrick's Traveltalks''. Biography James Anthony Fi ...

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 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. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

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 model. She rose to prominence for her role as Emily Fields in the mystery thriller drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017), which earned her nom ...

. 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 game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'' *'' An Idiot Abroad'' - presented by Karl Pilkington *'' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' - travel and food documentary *''

Around the World in 80 Treasures Around may refer to: * "Around" (song), by Julia van Bergen * ''Around'', 2006 album by Tom Verlaine Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New ...

'' - 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 (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the ...

'' *'' 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. *''Extreme Treks'' *''Extreme Vacations'' *'' Full Circle with Michael Palin'' *'' Getaway'' *''Getaway to Paradise'' *''Get Outta Town'' *'' Globe Trekker'' *''Glutton for Punishment'' *'' The Great Outdoors'' *'' Holiday'' *''

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, ...

'' *'' Intrepid Journeys'' *'' Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled'' *'' Lonely Planet Six Degrees'' *''

Long Way Down ''Long Way Down'' is a television series and book documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2007 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from John o' Groats in Scotland through eighteen countries in Europe and Africa to Cape Town in South ...

'' *''

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, ...

'' *'' 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 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 premise, ''The Moaning ...

'' - also presented by Karl Pilkington *''

On Hannibal's Trail ''On Hannibal's Trail'' is a history and travel BBC television series in which three Australian brothers – Danny, Ben and Sam Wood – set out cycling on the trail of Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who marched from Spain to Rome at the he ...

'' first broadcast by BBC in 2010 *'' Passport to Europe'' *''

Pole to Pole ''Pole to Pole with Michael Palin'' is an eight-part television documentary travel series made for the BBC, and first broadcast on BBC1 in 1992. The presenter is Michael Palin, this being the second of Palin's major journeys for the BBC. The f ...

'' *''

Rick Steves' Europe ''Rick Steves' Europe'' is an American travel documentary television program created and hosted by Rick Steves. In each episode, he travels to the continent of Europe, documenting his experiences along the way. The show is produced by Oregon Pu ...

'' *'' Sahara with Michael Palin'' *'' Sancharam (Santosh George Kulangara)'' *'' Scam City'' *''Shaycation'' *'' The Story of God with Morgan Freeman'' *''

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 locals ...

'' *''

Traceroute In computing, traceroute and tracert are computer network diagnostic commands for displaying possible routes (paths) and measuring transit delays of packets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The history of the route is recorded as th ...

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

World's Most Dangerous Roads ''World's Most Dangerous Roads'' is a British TV series in which two celebrities are filmed as they journey by 4×4 vehicle along roads considered among the world's most dangerous. The first series aired on BBC Two BBC Two is a British ...

'' - 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 OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language Category A specialty channel. OLN primarily broadcasts factual-based and adventure-related reality programming aimed at male audiences. OLN is wholly owned by Rogers Sports & Me ...

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 * Évasion * Russian Travel Guide *

* Travel Channel (International) * Travel + Escape *

Travelxp Travelxp HD is a pay television channel in India, It airs travel shows. The channel is owned by ''Celebrities management private Ltd''. Its primary language is English, viewers can switch the language. Background Travelxp started as a pay ...

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

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