Island To Be Featured on PBS Show ‘The Seasoned Traveler’
Show To Target Growing Traveling Market of 50 and Older
By Jessica Delaney

At Left: Cameraman Kevan Ward photographs Fort Mackinac while travel host George Bauer surveys the parade ground for a PBS show, “The Seasoned Traveler.”

Cameras were seen on Mackinac Island last weekend as a PBS crew arrived to film a travel show, “The Seasoned Traveler,” that will highlight the Island as a destination for people in their 50s.

George Bauer, the show’s creator and host, recognized that many travel shows feature exotic locales, or countries in Europe.

“I decided that Europe was fine, but there’s lots to see right here,” he said.

People age 50 and older are one of the country’s fastest growing groups and “The Seasoned Traveler” will target this sometimes-overlooked demographic. According to Mr. Bauer, Mackinac Island provides a perfect vacation spot for his viewers.

“Fifty-year-olds could come and ride bicycles; it’s the perfect place to bike,” he said. “Or they can get off the ferry, get on a taxi, and look at the water for two days. You can enjoy it without doing too much.”

Mr. Bauer and his crew, producer Darian Billington and cameraman Kevan Ward, stayed at Grand Hotel during their visit and their shoot featured the hotel, Fort Mackinac, the view from the bluffs, and downtown. Mr. Bauer also included highlights of two motion pictures filmed on the Island, “This Time for Keeps” and “Somewhere in Time.” They also enjoyed a guided carriage ride and a bicycle excursion.

According to Mr. Bauer, any place without cars is a place worth seeing.

The crew arrived on the Island Sunday, May 8, and departed Tuesday, May 10, the days filled with interviews, shoots, and tours.

“I work these boys hard,” said Mr. Bauer. “We get up at six and we’re still working at 10. We shoot all day and work tapes at night.”

“The Seasoned Traveler” will air its first episode in October, when the crew will visit Bermuda. The 26-minute show will include episodes in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and a few European countries in its first season. Mackinac Island will be featured in the second season, during an episode on Michigan, which will include Holland, Dearborn, and Frankenmuth.

The show’s second season will highlight states which are often overlooked by vacation travelers.

“We want to show [Michigan] off, from the six million tulips in Holland to the museums in Dearborn,” said Mr. Bauer.

The show is being distributed by KCTS in Seattle and Mr. Bauer is still looking for stations to broadcast it in Michigan and other states. There is no charge to the stations to pick up the show, so he hopes that many will do so.

In the meantime, he is focused on the primary goal of his show, to educate, entertain, and to show people a tourist destination that is not often covered by traditional travel programs.