travel videos

A lesson in Tourism - Losing my wallet in Palenque, Mexico

overlander — Sat, 5 Jan 2013 04:09:00 GMT

Losing one's wallet; all money, credit cards, identification, probably ranks as one of the worst travel experiences one can experience. I lost mine on Christmas Eve and would like to discuss what happened, because I think it is an interesting study into how NOT to do tourism.

I first rang my banks to cancel my credit cards (well tried to, one bank HSBC had the wrong number listed so their was no way to report my card missing). I then rang my travel insurance company to discover in such a situation, one is completely on their own. Well, at least I know from my Dengue Fever experience in Bangkok, medical expenses are covered IF you are willing to play the extended paperwork game! Always good to read reviews of <a href="http://www.productreview.com.au/p/world-nomads.html?rating=1#reviews">travel insurance companies</a> to understand what happens when the shit does hit the fan.

Anyway, next stop was the Police Station where I met tourist guide and translator, Fernando Merida.
[caption id="attachment_4391" align="alignleft" width="750"]<a href="http://www.overlander.tv/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/wallet1.jpg"><img src="http://www.overlander.tv/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/wallet1-1024x576.jpg" alt="Fernando Merida - Not the guy you want to meet if you lose your wallet!" width="750" height="421" class="size-large wp-image-4391" /></a> Fernando Merida - Not the guy you want to meet if you lose your wallet![/caption]

I was basically told that if I wanted the police to do their civil duty, and write a report to state my wallet was missing, I would have to pay $450 pesos! A little difficult considering I had no money! On returning a 2nd time I realised the trick was to tell them you had no insurance, and that you didn't need a police report to claim loses with an insurance company.

The last time I used my wallet to purchase something was at an <a href="http://www.oxxo.com">OXXO store</a>. They are the franchised convenience store of Latin America. They have security cameras and I thought it would be handy to somehow get access to the footage of me making my final purchase, so as to see if maybe someone pickpocketed me, or, I left my wallet on the counter. Asking the manager for information on how to get access to the video footage, you would think I was accusing him of stealing my wallet himself. He blew up into a terrible huff, cursing and all red in the face! It made me feel a little suspicious that he was hiding something. Anyway, finally he gave me an email address, to which OXXO recently replied:
<em>
"request to view the video should be made by the competent authority together with the complaint in the first 3 days of the event, which is why we can not meet its application as we would like. However, we invite you to come to our stores to be granted a complimentary coffee for the inconvenience caused" </em>

So basically, despite the police visiting the OXXO store in question, speaking to the manager. The manager not wishing to give me his name. The manager in no way wanting to help me in my request to view the footage. The manager acting terribly affronted that I should even make such a request...in a way that made me very suspicious of him. Without this pricks help, I can't even see if he was the one who stole my wallet!

The reason I wanted to write about my experience in Mexico, is because I want it to be lesson to Mexico Tourism, on how not to treat tourists.

Tourists accept that in most cases we pay more for all services. You make money from us, we get to see new and unique things...WIN/WIN!

But when we are faced with situations where things go wrong, robberies or injuries, loss or death. We hope that your legal and medical systems will not take advantage of us in our time of need, but ensure we are treated with respect and dignity.

There is no point encouraging tourism, encouraging people to visit, if you can't at the most basic level, ensure their safety.

Palenque Tourism, I hope you can look into my case and ensure no other tourist have the local police try and extort money out of them for the simple civic service of writing a police report for missing property.

How to get paid to travel the world with your video camera

overlander — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 06:12:00 GMT

Mark Shea is an innovative Australian filmmaker who for the past 10 years has produced travel documentaries from around the world. His unique style explores regional cultures by 'meeting the locals'. He has started a new journey with the goal to travel 'overland' to each continent. Exploring Digital Nomadism and lifestyle design, he will produce videos while on the road and aims to survive solely on passive income made from his online videos.How to get paid to travel the world with your video camera - http://www.overlander.tv/2009/travel-the-world-for-free-with-your-video-camera/

Round the World Travel Video Trip - What do you like to see?

overlander — Fri, 5 Aug 2011 10:14:00 GMT

Just wanted to tell people about my current round the world travel video trip.

I have a new lightweight camera kit - http://www.overlander.tv/2011/travel-filmmaker-gear-list-broadcast-quality/

and have had to change my usual style to adapt to quick editing on the road - http://www.overlander.tv/2011/legian-street-kuta-beach-bali-travel-video-guide/

I am interested to know what sort of things people like to see in travel videos - http://www.overlander.tv/2011/what-sort-of-travel-video-do-you-want-to-see/

What sort of travel video do you want to see?

overlander — Tue, 2 Aug 2011 02:31:00 GMT

http://www.overlander.tv/2011/what-sort-of-travel-video-do-you-want-to-see/ So I’ve started my grand tour, hoping to take in the world, and I’m interested to know what you as the viewer would like to learn about the countries I visit? What do you currently like about my videos and what would you like to see more of? Do you want to keep meeting the locals or is culture or cuisine more important? Please leave a comment below with regard to what things you want shown in my new global adventure Recorded on canon xf100, edited in FCP X using ‘romantic’ filter

Ireland Travel Videos

overlander — Tue, 5 Oct 2010 13:26:00 GMT

See Ireland through the eyes of the locals

Spain Travel Videos where you meet the locals

overlander — Tue, 5 Oct 2010 12:56:00 GMT

See Spain by meeting the locals

Travel Video Tips - How to make money with your video camera

overlander — Tue, 5 Oct 2010 09:40:00 GMT

Never before has there been a time in history, when one could travel the world for free, by using their video camera.

Everything is in place – the equipment needed to produce broadcast quality videos is cheap and readily available, social networking sites like facebook and couchsurfing help develop international connections, and the internet provides a worldwide broadcast platform. Youtube really is to world’s largest television station.

Where to start
First you need a good lightweight backpack filmmaking kit, then you need to set up a successful youtube travel channel and work hard on both developing your style and getting both subscribers and views of your videos.

Numerous studies point to video as the best online marketing tool available and clever venture capitalists, such as turnhere, have already realized the huge potential of online video.

You need to be able to tell tour operators, hostel owners, bus companies etc why online video is of value to their business. Here are some key points:

* YouTube is now the second most popular search engine in the world and is owned by Google, which is the most popular. This means youtube videos are highly placed in google search.

* “Streaming video delivers nearly three times higher brand awareness and message association, and more than 100% higher purchase intent and online ad awareness than non-rich media ads.”

* More than 83% of travelers in the U.S. use the Internet to research or book travel, according to Prospectiv’s 2006 nationwide Travel Poll.

* 62% of adult Internet users surveyed in April 2009 have watched a video on sites like YouTube (up from 33% in 2006). In contrast, 46% of adult Internet users are active on social networking sites, 19% download podcasts, and 11% use sites like Twitter.

Get free Trips, Accommodation, Transport
Once you have developed a popular travel video channel on youtube there is no reason why you should ever pay for a tour, accommodation or transport again. Inform tourism businesses that you will make a video of their product and put it on your youtube channel. But remember, they have a brand they have worked hard to develop, if your videos are sloppy and boring, don’t expect success. Also, take into account cultural differences – some countries will be more open to having videos made than others.

Produce business profile videos
Another option is to actually get paid to produce an online video for a tourism business. Look at working with local travel companies or chains that have overseas ventures. This way you are not breaking any international labor laws.

Online video marketing, presents a huge opportunity for traveling videographers and some clevercompanies and individuals have already seized on this new opening.

For those with a bit of video production experience, there are also websites that will actually pay for you to produce a video for them eg turnhere, geobeats, tripfilms

Get paid for your videos

If you are not keen to produce video advertisements for travel business, there is a great alternative. Certain sites will pay you for your videos. Youtube is the most lucrative whereby when you become a youtube partner you share in any ad revenue for ads surrounding your videos. The more times your videos are watched, the more chance there is someone will click on an ad and you make a nice passive income stream that allows you to keep traveling.

Other sites like lonelyplanet.tv and tripfilms may also pay or offer rewards for premium content. And when you develop a real internet presence you will be surprised the number of sites that may approach you looking for quality video content eg. ninemsn, compulsive traveler, blinkx.

Stock footage can also be sold on sites like istockvideo and revostock for a nice passive income, while you travel.

So as you can see, there are numerous ways to use your video camera to travel the world for free, and the exciting thing is, the gold rush has only just begun. Online video is still in its infancy and we are yet to see its full potential.

So get out there and start making vids. Everything is in its place for you to have your own travel show.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Shea is a video producer and trainer and specializes in documentary and travel/tourism related content. His youtube channel is one of youtube’s most successful travel partner channels.