Travel documentary

The British comedian and actor Michael Palin has made several series in this genre beginning with Around the World in 80 Days (1989).

Travelogues are considered to be a form of virtual tourism or travel documentary and were often presented as lectures narrating accompanying films and photos.

[1] 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.

The ideal travel film carries the appealing landscapes that brought the audience toward an emotional attachment with the help of storytelling and characters.

[3] Travelogues further developed to incorporate movie rides which were coordinated sounds, motion pictures and mechanical movement to simulate virtual travel.

[4] Today's travelogues may be shown with either live or recorded voice-over 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 stem from the work of American writer and lecturer, John Lawson Stoddard who began traveling around the world in 1874.

[5] Travelogues are credited with helping cultivating the interest in the travel industry at the same time transportation infrastructure was being developed to make it possible.

[citation needed] 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.