Redmond O'Hanlon is an explorer in the nineteenth-century mould. In addition to his four bestselling travel books, Into the Heart of Borneo, In Trouble Again, Congo Journey and Trawler, he has published scholarly work on nineteenth-century science and literature.
I’m late to the party here, but I agree with what everyone is saying. I’ll also add that the reasons WHY people are traveling has shifted considerably from the days of Let’s Go guides and paper maps. Many young people pick a destination to take the perfect selfie. Many pick a destination where they know they can gps themselves to a Starbucks and have the same experience as at home. As a travel writer myself, the famine of the media landscape is a real creative death, but I’m also seeing more “journalists” still demanding business class flight comps and all meals being gluten free, which makes life harder for an editor already struggling with budget, and a remote resort that just can’t cater to an orthorexic’s needs. But I really feel substack is going to provide us with a great travel writing revival. There’s still hope!
Yes Sam, immersion… 🫠 you know I think that these days, we all share so many cultural ties across the world that there exists an opportunity to go out and understand each other like never before. Even in the absence of shared language, there are always shared memes. Viva La Substack!
Travel blogging and YouTubers exist in the form of travel influencers. It’s not the same thing as what you are imagining though. In fact, it is one of the things that makes everything seem the same I think. I lived in Japan for four years and wrote a more extensive type of documentation of my life there but I also am not sure that is exactly what you are referring to either.
I sort of travel write, but not a list of what to visit, where to stay. I live in Colombia and write about living and traveling around Colombia. However I write about things I notice, and my experiences, or anything that floats my boat, at the time I sit down to write!
Okay I'm a few days late to this post but as one of the last working travel writers, I figure I owe you a comment.
I think you and other have hit the nail on the head as to why long-form travel writing is pretty much no longer supported by media: it's too expensive and people are getting their armchair travel jones from other sources, especially YouTube.
Despite the fact that I've gnawed my way to "the top" of what remains of travel writing gigs, I still regularly take in YouTube travelers that I like and recognize that this is the new thing. That said, I still love reading about a place, feeling a destination described in words. Nothing transports me like that, and even though videos can be instructive, they also feel a bit empty since the very act of carrying around a camera turns people off or on, in that it makes it performative. Video also successfully conveys the samness and lameness lameness of a lot of places, where quality writing cuts deep and and illuminates in a way that images can never compete with.
I moved abroad 20 years ago after spending a year reading the travel writing greats and making it my goal to at least join the periphery of those numbers, and while I've had some of the success I set out for (not in greatness but just getting published), I've also seen the whole scene implode. And while I still make a nice part of my living writing about destinations, it's more than often a pale version of what I really want to do: 1200 word pieces that are nothing more than glorified guidbook stabs along with the dreaded listicle.
That said, anytime I get paid for travel writing I consider it a coup, and I'm grateful. I honestly never though I'd get there and when I'm on one of these choice gigs I pinch myself and admit that at least one of my dreams has come true.
But still, I never get paid to write a 7,000 word first-person account of going somewhere weird and cool, like Mongolia, Georgia, or deep Mexico. This, I do on my own, and Substack allows me this venue. I can also connect with other travel writers who keep this form alive despite all of these overblown rumors of its demise.
Very interesting Chris. Lovely to find your writing. The piece I wrote was largely based on a hunch. Would be interesting to read from you on what's actually happened in terms of the blow-by-blow 'implosion' of the form.
Agree, and while a complicated cultural… development?… my hunch for a few years now has been that detailed intel on unique destination travel went out of style, was replaced with more generic content, which then also fizzled out after a few years, probably sometime around when Anthony Bourdain died, and was never replaced.
So IMO there’s a bit of a creative void right now regarding boutique but accessible stuff that can’t be filled by the methods that preceded it, which themselves nixed the stuff that previously worked for reliable public consumption.
Over here in Japan, Ive had good success with very niche small groups exploring the various outdoor experiences Ive participated in over the years, and what it really feels like is that because of that creative void, people are getting less and less familiar with all the options that actually exist simply because its less visible or at least perceived as accessible, and are willing to make substantial commitments to have their hand held leading them back into the wild.
Interesting. I worked on a documentary travel show at one point and was very struck that people there seemed to not at all take in the real lessons of Bourdain - that travel is about getting lost; that the ostensible purposes of the trip have nothing to do with what it's really about, which is having exposure to other peoples' lives and then to go through your own inner journey.
I should emphasize that phrase “very niche” in my original response haha. But despite the general population’s favoring of flag-led, agency-destroying, kindergarten-like travel experiences, there’s definitely a growing percentage of domestic and international travelers here looking for, shall we say, parts unknown.
I’m not a travel writer, but I write about living in Japan as an English teacher. Not the most original life path (haha) but I’ve been learning a lot along the way. Japan is incredibly different in many ways from my culture (the US) and while some things are similar, I agree that the mindset and modernity is just very different. It dawned on me one day that Japanese people just think very differently than I do and I’m still trying to figure out how to navigate that!
I believe it was largely magazines that propelled a lot of travel writing, even that of Mr. Theroux. Paul Theroux was also a professor, meaning he was well paid to take three months off each year. The death of travel writing coincides with the death of the magazine industry. Without a business model that pays people to travel and allows them the time to write thoughtfully, we’ll have to go to the archives to enjoy good travel writing.
Funny you should write this Sam because I’ve been in the UK for the last week and a half and once I return home soon, I’m thinking of writing a piece (or a series) about my travels haha.
...and here I was thinking writing about my travel journeys were amongst an oversaturated market of travel writers and explorers! I guess I will just keep travel writing then :)
Yeah, an empty field is a writer's playground! I've had this experience fairly often recently of traveling to some place, googling around for some smart traveler's take on it and just finding nothing at all. I feel that a smart travel essay should be as indispensable to a trip as a toothbrush.
I think another reason is that there is a worrying trend towards vilifying travel (culture is not for consumption, travel is not eco-friendly, etc.) Travel is one of my top favorite things and I think there are more responsible ways to it. I also think it's really, really important for understanding other people. (Probably someone in the comments has already said this--I didn't read all of them.)
Agreed Jennie thanks! I didn't say that much about this, but, yes, one of the tie-ins to wokeism is that travel is just for the privileged and is inherently exploitative and suspect. I understand some of the separate critiques in there, but taken together it's inane. So what? People are supposed to never leave home at all?
Exactly my question! The privilege thing is exaggerated in my experience— I can’t travel all I want, but I have reason to know that there are ways for working class people to travel. I don’t honestly think it’s a conspiracy to suppress knowledge and understanding, but picturing a future where nobody goes anywhere or broadens their experience in person has a dark ages feel to it to me.
Although yes, I agree— there is some value in considering the critiques. But “don’t do it at all” just seems like a lazy solution in contrast to figuring out how to do it better. I am from Maine, so I get to experience the problems that tourism can cause—and some are very concerning—but I also reap some benefits.
There are many excellent points in the comments. I would add that there has been a long term secular decline in many traditional subjects that were addressed by books, magazines and newspapers. In addition to travel, reviews and longer text forms regarding music, art, dance, theater and food, among others, are no longer supported in many outlets. Much of this decline relates to online sources but also reflect the changing economics of newspapers, magazines and publishing.
The decline of travel writing is truly a shame. I recall my parents theatrically reading aloud to each other the long pieces in Gourmet Magazine (gone for some years). These articles were as leisurely (and plumy) as the travels themselves, covering food, culture, history and local agriculture. Now, much of what passes as “travel writing” are mere listicles of products for which the magazine receives kickbacks (oops, commissions) from the sellers.
Travel, of course, is itself different from the past, as are the interests of those who travel. In the heyday of travel writing from the late 19th Century to the mid-20th Century, travel was largely the reserve of the wealthy and educated. Most of them read books and magazines. Today, travelers are primarily tourists, many of whom read about travel only to gain tips and itineraries. You have to question whether there is an audience for the travel writing of yore, or at least one that publishers will support — sports, self-help, politics, film and TV and gossip drive readership.
The transition from publisher-financed travel writing (like writing about music, art, etc.) to mostly online resources (including Substack) is really only beginning. We also need to recognize that while younger generations love to travel, long-form writing has nowhere near the appeal for them that social media, videos and podcasts have. We can miss writers like Theroux but, on the other hand, Anthony Bourdain’s shows were pretty great too.
Totally. I think the original sin in a sense was that artists and intellectual types allowed newspapers and magazines to take over so much of the work of criticism. And it's like why? Why is The New York Times the venue for evaluating some new novel - when The Times, just from the structure of the publication, is built towards disseminating information as efficiently as possible. When the newspapers and magazines started having to shed space with budget cuts, the arts pages went first - since these were always a poor fit to the publication as a whole .What I'm hoping we're in is an era where the work of curation disaggregates from newspapers - somewhat in the way that music disaggregated from albums - and exists in its own space.
A note on reviews: when I was writing them (periodically in the last ten years), I found that instead of an interesting review, the goal was to endorse the product (usually a book or magazine), even when it wasn't a sponsored post (and even if it was terrible.) So I quit. :)
Redmond O'Hanlon is an explorer in the nineteenth-century mould. In addition to his four bestselling travel books, Into the Heart of Borneo, In Trouble Again, Congo Journey and Trawler, he has published scholarly work on nineteenth-century science and literature.
I’m late to the party here, but I agree with what everyone is saying. I’ll also add that the reasons WHY people are traveling has shifted considerably from the days of Let’s Go guides and paper maps. Many young people pick a destination to take the perfect selfie. Many pick a destination where they know they can gps themselves to a Starbucks and have the same experience as at home. As a travel writer myself, the famine of the media landscape is a real creative death, but I’m also seeing more “journalists” still demanding business class flight comps and all meals being gluten free, which makes life harder for an editor already struggling with budget, and a remote resort that just can’t cater to an orthorexic’s needs. But I really feel substack is going to provide us with a great travel writing revival. There’s still hope!
Yes Sam, immersion… 🫠 you know I think that these days, we all share so many cultural ties across the world that there exists an opportunity to go out and understand each other like never before. Even in the absence of shared language, there are always shared memes. Viva La Substack!
Travel blogging and YouTubers exist in the form of travel influencers. It’s not the same thing as what you are imagining though. In fact, it is one of the things that makes everything seem the same I think. I lived in Japan for four years and wrote a more extensive type of documentation of my life there but I also am not sure that is exactly what you are referring to either.
I sort of travel write, but not a list of what to visit, where to stay. I live in Colombia and write about living and traveling around Colombia. However I write about things I notice, and my experiences, or anything that floats my boat, at the time I sit down to write!
https://open.substack.com/pub/solomonlovejoy/p/20-days-in-europe-pt-ii-si-us-plau?r=z7eui&utm_medium=ios
Okay I'm a few days late to this post but as one of the last working travel writers, I figure I owe you a comment.
I think you and other have hit the nail on the head as to why long-form travel writing is pretty much no longer supported by media: it's too expensive and people are getting their armchair travel jones from other sources, especially YouTube.
Despite the fact that I've gnawed my way to "the top" of what remains of travel writing gigs, I still regularly take in YouTube travelers that I like and recognize that this is the new thing. That said, I still love reading about a place, feeling a destination described in words. Nothing transports me like that, and even though videos can be instructive, they also feel a bit empty since the very act of carrying around a camera turns people off or on, in that it makes it performative. Video also successfully conveys the samness and lameness lameness of a lot of places, where quality writing cuts deep and and illuminates in a way that images can never compete with.
I moved abroad 20 years ago after spending a year reading the travel writing greats and making it my goal to at least join the periphery of those numbers, and while I've had some of the success I set out for (not in greatness but just getting published), I've also seen the whole scene implode. And while I still make a nice part of my living writing about destinations, it's more than often a pale version of what I really want to do: 1200 word pieces that are nothing more than glorified guidbook stabs along with the dreaded listicle.
That said, anytime I get paid for travel writing I consider it a coup, and I'm grateful. I honestly never though I'd get there and when I'm on one of these choice gigs I pinch myself and admit that at least one of my dreams has come true.
But still, I never get paid to write a 7,000 word first-person account of going somewhere weird and cool, like Mongolia, Georgia, or deep Mexico. This, I do on my own, and Substack allows me this venue. I can also connect with other travel writers who keep this form alive despite all of these overblown rumors of its demise.
Godspeed.
Very interesting Chris. Lovely to find your writing. The piece I wrote was largely based on a hunch. Would be interesting to read from you on what's actually happened in terms of the blow-by-blow 'implosion' of the form.
Agree, and while a complicated cultural… development?… my hunch for a few years now has been that detailed intel on unique destination travel went out of style, was replaced with more generic content, which then also fizzled out after a few years, probably sometime around when Anthony Bourdain died, and was never replaced.
So IMO there’s a bit of a creative void right now regarding boutique but accessible stuff that can’t be filled by the methods that preceded it, which themselves nixed the stuff that previously worked for reliable public consumption.
Over here in Japan, Ive had good success with very niche small groups exploring the various outdoor experiences Ive participated in over the years, and what it really feels like is that because of that creative void, people are getting less and less familiar with all the options that actually exist simply because its less visible or at least perceived as accessible, and are willing to make substantial commitments to have their hand held leading them back into the wild.
Interesting. I worked on a documentary travel show at one point and was very struck that people there seemed to not at all take in the real lessons of Bourdain - that travel is about getting lost; that the ostensible purposes of the trip have nothing to do with what it's really about, which is having exposure to other peoples' lives and then to go through your own inner journey.
I should emphasize that phrase “very niche” in my original response haha. But despite the general population’s favoring of flag-led, agency-destroying, kindergarten-like travel experiences, there’s definitely a growing percentage of domestic and international travelers here looking for, shall we say, parts unknown.
I’m not a travel writer, but I write about living in Japan as an English teacher. Not the most original life path (haha) but I’ve been learning a lot along the way. Japan is incredibly different in many ways from my culture (the US) and while some things are similar, I agree that the mindset and modernity is just very different. It dawned on me one day that Japanese people just think very differently than I do and I’m still trying to figure out how to navigate that!
Very cool - and it's far more original than many life paths lol!
I write travel writing. TRAVELS TO DISTANT CITIES. blakenelson.substack.com
Read your travel writing Blake. It's fabulous! Really appreciate that you travel to different times as well as different places.
Writing has been replaced by reports on YouTube. Too bad that it’s not at all the same thing.
Yeah, and I can't bear any of those reports...
I believe it was largely magazines that propelled a lot of travel writing, even that of Mr. Theroux. Paul Theroux was also a professor, meaning he was well paid to take three months off each year. The death of travel writing coincides with the death of the magazine industry. Without a business model that pays people to travel and allows them the time to write thoughtfully, we’ll have to go to the archives to enjoy good travel writing.
That's more than I knew about Theroux. Thanks!
Funny you should write this Sam because I’ve been in the UK for the last week and a half and once I return home soon, I’m thinking of writing a piece (or a series) about my travels haha.
Look forward to it Chris!
...and here I was thinking writing about my travel journeys were amongst an oversaturated market of travel writers and explorers! I guess I will just keep travel writing then :)
Yeah, an empty field is a writer's playground! I've had this experience fairly often recently of traveling to some place, googling around for some smart traveler's take on it and just finding nothing at all. I feel that a smart travel essay should be as indispensable to a trip as a toothbrush.
I think another reason is that there is a worrying trend towards vilifying travel (culture is not for consumption, travel is not eco-friendly, etc.) Travel is one of my top favorite things and I think there are more responsible ways to it. I also think it's really, really important for understanding other people. (Probably someone in the comments has already said this--I didn't read all of them.)
Agreed Jennie thanks! I didn't say that much about this, but, yes, one of the tie-ins to wokeism is that travel is just for the privileged and is inherently exploitative and suspect. I understand some of the separate critiques in there, but taken together it's inane. So what? People are supposed to never leave home at all?
Exactly my question! The privilege thing is exaggerated in my experience— I can’t travel all I want, but I have reason to know that there are ways for working class people to travel. I don’t honestly think it’s a conspiracy to suppress knowledge and understanding, but picturing a future where nobody goes anywhere or broadens their experience in person has a dark ages feel to it to me.
Although yes, I agree— there is some value in considering the critiques. But “don’t do it at all” just seems like a lazy solution in contrast to figuring out how to do it better. I am from Maine, so I get to experience the problems that tourism can cause—and some are very concerning—but I also reap some benefits.
There are many excellent points in the comments. I would add that there has been a long term secular decline in many traditional subjects that were addressed by books, magazines and newspapers. In addition to travel, reviews and longer text forms regarding music, art, dance, theater and food, among others, are no longer supported in many outlets. Much of this decline relates to online sources but also reflect the changing economics of newspapers, magazines and publishing.
The decline of travel writing is truly a shame. I recall my parents theatrically reading aloud to each other the long pieces in Gourmet Magazine (gone for some years). These articles were as leisurely (and plumy) as the travels themselves, covering food, culture, history and local agriculture. Now, much of what passes as “travel writing” are mere listicles of products for which the magazine receives kickbacks (oops, commissions) from the sellers.
Travel, of course, is itself different from the past, as are the interests of those who travel. In the heyday of travel writing from the late 19th Century to the mid-20th Century, travel was largely the reserve of the wealthy and educated. Most of them read books and magazines. Today, travelers are primarily tourists, many of whom read about travel only to gain tips and itineraries. You have to question whether there is an audience for the travel writing of yore, or at least one that publishers will support — sports, self-help, politics, film and TV and gossip drive readership.
The transition from publisher-financed travel writing (like writing about music, art, etc.) to mostly online resources (including Substack) is really only beginning. We also need to recognize that while younger generations love to travel, long-form writing has nowhere near the appeal for them that social media, videos and podcasts have. We can miss writers like Theroux but, on the other hand, Anthony Bourdain’s shows were pretty great too.
Totally. I think the original sin in a sense was that artists and intellectual types allowed newspapers and magazines to take over so much of the work of criticism. And it's like why? Why is The New York Times the venue for evaluating some new novel - when The Times, just from the structure of the publication, is built towards disseminating information as efficiently as possible. When the newspapers and magazines started having to shed space with budget cuts, the arts pages went first - since these were always a poor fit to the publication as a whole .What I'm hoping we're in is an era where the work of curation disaggregates from newspapers - somewhat in the way that music disaggregated from albums - and exists in its own space.
A note on reviews: when I was writing them (periodically in the last ten years), I found that instead of an interesting review, the goal was to endorse the product (usually a book or magazine), even when it wasn't a sponsored post (and even if it was terrible.) So I quit. :)