Last November Danica from Belgrade and Beyond posted that famous travel documentary maker Michael Palin was spotted in Belgrade with his crew.
Well the first episode of the resulting series – Michael Palin’s New Europe – went out on the BBC last night and apparently Belgrade comes off brilliantly. As one UK friend commented today on Facebook:
Saw Michael Palin’s new series last night, he was in Belgrade meeting a few people. I was waiting for your face to appear (he was in some club), then he was speaking to some gorgeous gals (so I’m sure you know them). If you can find it anywhere on the internet, have a look. V interesting. Made me want to visit!
That last line is significant. This “made me want to visit” is known as The Palin Effect:
Palin’s programmes on his travels through the Himalayas in 2004 led to a significant increase in trips to the region, according to the adventure operator Intrepid Travel. A spokesman said a similar effect was expected with the start of the new series.
“The great thing about the way Michael Palin travels is that he really gets under the skin of a country; travelling on local transport, staying in traditional accommodation and doing what the locals do,” said Daniel Pawlyn, Intrepid’s UK and Europe sales and marketing manager.
A spokesman for Cox & Kings, which offers tours to several countries in the region, believes the new Palin series could lead to a doubling of the number of people taking tours to destinations such as Bosnia and Romania. [Daily Telegraph]
And Serbia too! Could this be the spur that takes Serbia’s fast growing tourist appeal beyond the tipping point?
My only regret is that the coverage in the papers hardly mentions Serbs or Serbia except to peddle the old guilt inducing platitudes about Bosnia. Virtually no mention of bombing and very little about Belgrade or Serbia in general. Luckily the program speaks for itself.
For more see:
Official BBC website for the show [BBC]
Michael Palin’s New Europe: An Unofficial Fan Center [Site]
Michael Palin’s European frontier – Michael Palin relives the best of his adventures while filming his new television series in the former Eastern Bloc [The Times]
Brave new world – In his latest travel series, Michael Palin journeys to the long-neglected countries of Eastern Europe. He tells Michael Deacon what surprised him most [Daily Telegraph]
Eastern promise – Thought the world held no more surprises for Michael Palin? So did our critic, until she saw him tackle Albania [The Times]
So near and yet so far – Michael Palin has already travelled around the world, from pole to pole and across the Himalayas. Here he explains what drove him to make his latest odyssey, from Estonia to Albania – across the ‘new Europe’ [The Guardian]
Michael Palin’s Official Travel Site [Palin Travel]
The DVD of the series on Amazon.co.uk [Amazon.co.uk]
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi Jonathan,
We spoke to each other on YouTube if you remember (see my profile, http://www.youtube.com/alanjaksic).
I watched the program in question and watched other episodes of the series. It was a good program, with his typical poor pronunciation of foreign words! The program could have spent more time on Serbia, but it was still a good program that offered many insights into the region.
Still, how’s life in Belgrade? How did you take the recent death of the Mayor? When will they elect a successor, in case they haven’t already?