I blogged last year about the decline in terrestrial TV opportunities for publicising travel in the UK. Although it's coming back for a one-off special next week, gone are the days of Wish You Were Here...? and BBC Holiday.
I think the web is going to replace this pretty quickly. We recently helped arrange for Telegraph journalist Adrian Bridge to visit Sydney (New South Wales is a client of ours) and he took some time out to try and learn to surf. But he didn't just come back and write about it, which would previously have been thye norm - this time he took a camera and produced a short film, which can be watched on the Telegraph's website.
The film gives a good introduction to Bondi, and shows Adrian wiping out several times before he finally manages to stand up for a few seconds (with the aid of his instructor 'Big Wave Dave'). And it's all topped off with some informative voiceover and some twangy, Shadows-type music. Added to his article, it presents a richer impression of the destination and the experience.
The Telegraph has been producing these 'Real Trips' pieces for a few months now - another good example is the film showing Charles Starmer-Smith and Francisca Kellett racing to Paris to review the new Eurostar service from St Pancras. They're an excellent addition to the mainstream travel articles, both in-paper and online.
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