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'Lonely Planet Publications' (usually known as 'Lonely Planet' or 'LP' for short) claims to be the largest independently owned travel guidebook publisher in the world. It is often considered the most popular series of travel books among backpackers and other low-cost travelers, due to its history of serving this market.
As of 2004, it published about 650 titles in 118 countries with annual sales of more than six million guidebooks, about a quarter of all English-language guidebooks. Lonely Planet also has a television production company (Lonely Planet Television), which has produced and developed four series: ''Lonely Planet Six Degrees'', ''The Sport Traveller'', ''Going Bush'' and ''Vintage New Zealand''. Another, Bluelist Australia, is on its way. Lonely Planet is headquartered in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.
| Contents |
| History |
| Recent changes |
| Official history |
| See also |
| Notes |
| External links |
History
A recent edition of Lonely Planet's guide to Australia.
The company name comes from a misheard line in "Space Captain," a song by Joe Cocker and Leon Russell. The actual words are "lovely planet" but Tony Wheeler heard "lonely planet" and liked it.
Lonely Planet's first books catered to young people from Australia and Europe (mainly the UK) undertaking the overland hippie trail between Australia and Europe, via South-East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. This was becoming something of a rite of passage for young travellers, especially Australians and New Zealanders, who spent many months (or years) on the journey.
Tourist facilities were limited in most of the countries en route, and low-budget tourism was unheard of. This was the first (relatively) large-scale influx of first-worlders who took local buses in Thailand, ate at street stalls in India, or stayed with villagers in Afghanistan. The tips were not the first for the region - however by the late twentieth century they were a dominant feature of the market.
The Lonely Planet clientele developed a word-of-mouth affection for the company and its products. Reader feedback played an important part in keeping most of the guide books updated, Lonely Planet benefited from the Wheelers' skills as writers, publishers and businesspeople.
At the early stages of the Indonesia (Guidebook) produced by Lonely Planet the later dominance of the publisher was by no means obvious. Bill Dalton's Indonesia Handbook had achieved comprehensiveness by the late 1980s while Eric Oey's Insight Guides and Periplus editions (Singapore and Hong Kong based) were higher quality with colour photos and less compacted design than Daltons in the 1980s and 1990s. It was only by the end of the century and the demise of publishers or running out of print runs from the other publishers that Lonely Planet was able to dominate the Indonesian market.
Lonely Planet headquarters in Footscray
Recent changes
The Lonely Planet guidebooks' voice has changed over the years as it has entered different markets, such as Western Europe, where many guidebooks exist. It can be said that the series now caters as much to middle-class travellers as backpackers. As of 2005, the Wheelers no longer control the operation or make decisions about guidebooks, although they still own a majority of the company, and Tony Wheeler still writes some guidebooks.
The increasing professionalism of the management and the attempt to break into the massive United States market (which is relatively conservative and prone to litigation) have meant that the quirky, amateurish (in the best sense) tone of the books has diminished. For example, an early edition of ''Africa on a shoestring'' has the heading 'Drugs', which includes information on purchasing drugs (mainly marijuana), while the May 1980 edition of ''South-East Asia on a Shoestring'' includes information on how to purchase fake student ID cards. This would not be permitted in a Lonely Planet guidebook today. Other quirks included apparently hand-drawn maps and strong opinions (one book called the apartheid government in South Africa 'cretins' and 'narrow-minded psychotics'). The maps are now more professionally drawn. Some strong opinions remain. For example, in the 2003 edition of its guide of Brazil, São Paulo, one of the largest cities in the world, is served by only a few pages and heavily criticized as if it were not worth visiting.
Many other guidebook series, such as Frommer's and Rick Steves, have undergone the same transition from controversial to mainstream.
Lonely Planet's initial strength has caused some problems. In certain contexts many people equate Lonely Planet with backpackers. The 30th anniversary relaunch of its various series was intended to make clearer the split between the backpacker-only products and those (now the majority) aimed at more affluent travellers and tourists.
Lonely Planet has also emphasized the web. Its Thorn Tree web forum is used to trade tips and advice.
Official history
The founders, Tony and Maureen Wheeler, have written a book titled "Once While Travelling: The Lonely Planet Story" telling how they met and married, how they travelled from London to Australia overland and how Lonely Planet was formed.
See also
★ Indonesia Handbook
★ ''Globe Trekker'' The television series (also known as ''Pilot Guides'') was inspired by and originally broadcast under the name ''Lonely Planet''
★ Not For Tourists Series of guides to major cities in the US of A.
Notes
External links
★ Official Lonely Planet website
★ "The Parachute Artist" - profile of Lonely Planet and the Wheelers from ''The New Yorker'' magazine (April 2005)
★ LPG action: a copy/paste/distribute art project that criticises Lonely Planet
★ King of the Planet, Tony Wheeler's interview with Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis
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