Some people say that you can learn more about another country by watching television programmes and films about it than by actually visiting it. How true is this statement? Is there anything you can learn about another country by visiting it that cannot learn by watching programmes and films about it? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience.

As more shows and movies are now able to allow us to gain an insight into different cultures and customs, some might claim that we can understand more about many other countries simply by watching it on TV. Personally, I partly agree with

this

assertion, while

such

films could be helpful in some cases, there is a range of unexplored ways of life that could never be seen on any television programs. From my viewpoint, I can understand why some people point to the view that television programs and films is a vital source of information about another country. In today’s fast-growing world, the majority of nations and regions all want to introduce their various lifestyles and traditions to the whole world in order to develop the tourist industry and generate more revenue from it.

As a result

, hundreds of reality shows and documentaries about a specific community or region are broadcast on a regular basis, which hopefully catches the attention of as many international tourists as possible.

For instance

, I have learned about Carnival festivals which are celebrated annually in South American countries thanks to lots of televised programs.

However

, I believe that no matter how many shows we watch on TV, there are diverse lifestyles and customs of other communities that human beings are still clueless about, ranging from hunting methods of many indigenous tribes living in the Amazon to the ancient traditions and untouched landscapes of the Altai Mountains in Russia. Due to the uninhabitable environment,

such

places remain unaffected from the rest of the planet, which means that an average viewer will never be able to know anything about those remote areas.

On the other hand

, avid

travelers

a person who changes location

travellers

in these cases can obtain a better understanding of the far-flung destinations where they are going to explore or study.

For example

, by visiting a fishing village in Greenland, I could understand the whole process of trapping king crabs, the primary source of food for the locals, which hasn’t been on-air until today. In conclusion, it seems to me that television can help us all to know about distinct areas and regions on Earth, but there are still undiscovered secrets that haven’t been published on

this

important public service.