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Introduction to Travel Writing

Travel Writing Defined

We live in an era of increasing globalization in which travel and cross-cultural contact are shared. Travel writing
is a highly successful and popular genre that provides insights into the encounters and exchanges between
different cultures.

As cited by Carl Thompson (2015), Jonathan Raban, a British travel writer, noted that:

travel writing is a notoriously raffish open house where different genres are likely to end up in
the same bed. It accommodates the private diary, the essay, the short story, the prose poem,
the rough note, and polished table talk with indiscriminate hospitality. (1988: 253–54)

While researching travel writing in the late twentieth century, English professors Patrick Holland and Graham
Huggan stress that:

"travel writing is a form that embraces everything 'from picaresque adventure to philosophical
treatise, political commentary, ecological parable, and spiritual quest,' whilst simultaneously
'borrow[ing] freely from history, geography, anthropology, and social science."

Travel Writing Through Ages

Travel writing is an ancient desire wherein people share the account of their journeys since they began to
wander. In the earliest wall painting, prehistoric predecessors of Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux narrate their
adventures in the world. Herodotus, a Greek historian, is generally credited with writing the first travel book
about the History of Persian Wars. In the following centuries, traders and explorers wrote diaries and
dispatches describing their adventures and discoveries in far-flung lands. Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus,
Henry Morton Stanley, and Charles Darwin are examples of traders and explorers who wrote about their
travels.

The Ancient World

People traveled in this period for varied reasons. They travel to make war or escape it; to conduct trade; to
visit religious shrines and oracles, and administer and maintain various empires of the ancient world.

People travel for recreational purposes as early as 1500 BCE, mainly visiting the Sphinx, the Great Pyramid,
and similar sightseeing destinations. With all these activities, a ton of travel-related text was made. These texts
provided navigational direction for seafarers.

Travel writing in this era typically provides information garnered during the personal travels of the author.

Medieval Era
The medieval era also produced plenty of travel-related texts. Few of these texts are similar to the concept of
modern travel books. Reports of travelers are frequently focused on medieval geographies, natural histories,
bestiaries, and 'books of wonders.' The continents of Asia and Africa were the primary source of fascination
among the readers in Europe.
Feudal Society did not encourage much recreational traveling. In this era, common travel accounts are in the
form of the 'peregrinatio', or pilgrimage narrative, since pilgrimage was one form of culturally sanctioned
travel.

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Although pilgrimage is common in this era, not all travelers are pilgrims. In Europe, men might also travel for
church businesses or as merchants, diplomats, soldiers, and scholars. On the other hand, women would
sometimes accompany their husbands and fathers in their travels, and on occasion, undertook journeys on
their own.

The most notable travel account in this period is the Travels of Marco Polo. Marco Polo's description of China's
wealth and sophistication fascinated the age. It also triggered uncertainty and disbelief in contemporary
readers.

In this era, travel writing is mostly first-person narratives in which the writer narrates his or her own
experience. Forms of travel writing also existed in other cultures during this period. Genres known in the
Chinese literature are yu-chi or lyric travel account, and jih-chi or travel diary. The rihla, or book recounting
travel, also began to emerge in the Islamic world.

Early Modern Travel Writing

The four voyages of Christopher Columbus established a turning point in the history of European travel and
travel writing. Marco Polo and Mandeville's travel accounts inspired Columbus to travel to the Far East to seek
out its fabulous wealth.

The travels during this era were not driven by intellectual curiosity. Because of keen awareness about the
opportunities, they traveled for trade, conquest, colonization, and the religious imperative of converting
heathen peoples to Christianity.

With these initiatives, this era produced a lot of travel-related writings and documents. These writings and
documents quickly circulated in Europe even though the government attempted to control the publication of
these sensitive materials.

In its various forms, travel writing gained importance as politicians, merchants, and navigators sought
information to aid further expeditions.

The Long Eighteenth Century, 1660-1837

During this period, travel books were read both for intellectual profit and literary pleasure. Technologies and
infrastructures have grown, which improves traveling. The development of print culture also helped the
increasing number of travelers publish the accounts of their journeys.

Exploration and tourism are the main initiatives in traveling during this period. In the beginning, people travel
to search for useful travel, regardless of whether they were traveling for exploration or tourism. Travels in this
period were motivated purely for scientific investigation.

There are also 'sentimental' tourists who sought emotional adventures. Their accounts pioneered new
techniques in writing about the self and for expressing inner thoughts and feelings. Travel accounts not related
to exploration and tourism were also documented. Travel accounts by castaways, shipwreck victims, and
captives held hostage by barbarous tribes, and hostile foreign regimes are constantly popular during this
period.

Victorian and Edwardian Period

This period produced numerous travel-related writings from explorers, soldiers, sailors, surveyors,
missionaries, merchants, scientists, colonial administrators, diplomats, journalists, artists, and many others.

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Various texts were produced during this period, such as memoirs, literary travelogues, newspaper reports,
campaigning tracts, and a mass of purely functional documents intended for highly specialist audiences such
as scientists, economists, and policymakers.

Travel writing in less adventurous locations was popular in this period. Tourism flourished as infrastructures
were guaranteed safe and comfortable. Travelers who sought new travel opportunities were encouraged to
write accounts of their experiences.

In this period, travel writing offered a variety of styles and showed a wide range of interests and approaches.
These offered lightweight, superficial 'sketches' or 'recollections' of picturesque or exotic regions. While other
travelers sought to reflect more insightfully on the destinations they had visited.

Early and Late Nineteenth-Century Travel Writing

Many travel accounts produced during this period were not from travelers who are professional authors,
scientists, or scholars. With the creation and steady expansion of railway systems in Europe and America, a
railway journey introduced travelers to a different traveling perspective. These technologies contributed to
the increase of global travelers.

Some travelers wrote factual observations with a specific voice or theme. Some reflections were whimsical or
witty. During this period, writers are usually criticized for venturing far from the direction or writing too much
about themselves.

Travel Writing in the Age of Internet

In this digital age, people can access information anytime, anywhere. Because of this technology, there is an
increase in audience in travel writing.

Today, anyone who can access the internet can post travel stories and photos, making it more democratic
since access to publications to audiences before was limited. Today's opportunity for travel writing is more
diverse, with many travelers able to share their stories online through microblogging and blogging.

This results in a radical change and continuation of the existing narrative practices of travel writing. With the
help of the internet, knowledge of the traveled world is distributed online and continuously produced and
updated by governments, individuals, and tech corporations of the twenty-first century

References:
Chilson, P., & Mulcahy, J. B. (2017). Writing abroad: A guide for travelers. University of Chicago Press.
Das, N., & Youngs, T. (2019). The Cambridge history of travel writing. Cambridge University Press.
George, D. (2017). How to be a travel writer. Lonely Planet.
Thompson, C. (2015). The Routledge companion to travel writing. Routledge.

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