Lonely Planet Sells Out

[tom]

The BBC today bought out the Lonely Planet for an undisclosed sum but we’ve got to be talking hundreds of millions for the travel guide which scores top of all word association tests for ‘backpacking’.

Tony and Maureen Wheeler have passed on their baby and the BBC now bears the mantle of consumer travel, printing up hundreds of thousands of glossy guides each year and quirky travel programs with just enough edge to appeal to anyone the funner side of 30.

The Lonely Planet began as an underground pamphet letting travelers know the best places to score magic mushrooms in Bali or see kinky stage acts in Japan. The big money was in appealing to the kind of traveler who actually has money to spend, however and so they quickly tidied things up as the Lonely Planet went mainstream.

The problem with selling out is not that the Wheelers gave into the lure of a large income – anyone could fall for that – but that the world became yet another item for sale. The inherent paradox in the guidebook market is that whether the destination be a shit hole or not, the guidebook has to hype it up in order to sell copies. They can’t say, for instance:

‘Come to sunny Glasgow and get beaten up by smackheads on industrial estates before being used as a football by steel workers returning from the pub‘.

Instead it would be something along the lines of:

‘Glasgow is a vibrant city stepping out of its shadow and the streets are throbbing with youthful energy and verve_…’

The BBC has long done middle of the road reporting, however – in fact, it’s more or less obliged to as a government organ – and it’s to be assumed that the ubiquitious, shiny face of Michael Palin will be seen on covers of Lonely Planets at bookshops near you...

Anyone want to buy out road junky whilst we're on the topic? Tony and Maureen have invited us to their Caribbean island but we can't afford the plane tickets...

[jim]

i am shining my shoes this very instant working on the road junky selling out strategy. how about this idea, we offer official road junky international experience certificates so gap year students can validate their conformity, while holding consumer travel eco-seminars that envision techniques to reduce the carbon footprint caused from drinking Bintang beer and observing hill tribes.

who wants to drink from the money river?

[markymark]

i still don't get why people buy them. if you ever need to consult one, which should be rare if ever, the person to your right and left will have one.

[nosleeptill]

Oh please.

Lonely Planet sold out along time ago...

Dumbed down.Americanised.bollocks!

I'm Qazvin(Iran) at the moment and the LP describe the Ancient city gates as 'dinky' and the old Armenian church as 'cute'!

Who's the fuck is this shit being written for?!

But alas I'll still buy them.

Like the Mac;every one says there better but i just know my PC too well.

[markymark]

why "americanised"?

[nosleeptill]

"why Americanised?"

I don't rightly know...

Its not like they make up the bulk of budget travellers do they?

[jim]

ha. with the dollar bottoming out you'll be seeing even less of them too... euro-ised will be more like it.

[nosleeptill]

Hey,if it will mean less historical/archaeological sites described as 'cute' and 'dinky' its got my vote.