Bio
Mark Jennings is an American television host, producer and adventure traveler best known for hosting the travel show Passport to Adventure, from 2003-2007.
A healthy dose of energy, enthusiasm and curiosity have propelled Mark Jennings and the Passport to Adventure team around the globe.
“The connection with people, in the most mundane or bizarre circumstances, is the seductive aspect of travel. Getting a hug from someone who can’t speak your language lets us all know that we are just one big family.”
The Passport series has been an endless discovery, but not without its challenges.
“We were nearly shot in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, and almost drowned in China’s Yangtze River. But reflecting on those moments, my strongest memory is that of the local people coming to our aid and helping us. In China they did everything possible to dry out our cameras and salvage our footage.”
A graduate in communications from San Jose State, Jennings began his broadcasting career as a travel and ski reporter.
Initially covering ski areas in the western United States, the free-wheeling radio show brought him to Europe, and the program quickly expanded from ski-related coverage to vignettes on local culture and activities, highlighting the unique and off-beat aspects of life in the secluded mountain villages of the Alps.
It was here that the concept of the Passport to Adventure series was born. Radio was a great vehicle for conveying the feel of the region, but to really capture the flavour and character of the people, the visual dimension would be the ideal complement.
The program, originally named Inside Skiing, offered viewers a perspective on winter sports and lifestyles from around the globe.
From the Andes of South America to the Arctic Circle in Sweden, the program captured the diversity of personalities and regional customs, with a focus on unusual winter activities.
But the team felt a need to expand the series to year-round activities and locales, and the Passport to Adventure series was born.
The brainchild of co-producer Julie Conover, the first episode was filmed bareboat sailing through the Grenadine Islands, in the southernmost part of the Caribbean.
The Passport team also became the first American television crew to film in the Caucasus Mountains, in the newly emancipated country of Georgia.
The Passport series was now up and sailing, with an unlimited number of ports of call to explore.