David Vanderhoef was concerned about his guidebook to Kenya.
That year’s edition was only about half as long as the 2018 version he also owned.
In their place were a lot more photos.
More alarming to Vanderhoef, the new book made almost no mention of safety or crime.
The 2024 edition omitted almost all of these warnings.
“A big problem with travel in general is trying to beautify travel, which is happening onInstagram.
But it’s happening now on Lonely Planet, and it’s not good.”
But over the past decade or so, the storied brand has lost its way.
Lonely Planet has bounced between various owners, trying myriad strategies to stay relevant.
“Naturally there was a cachet ‘Oh, you’re a Lonely Planet author.
Wow, that must be such an interesting job!’
But it’s a lot of grunt work.”
It almost single-handedly popularized the concept of backpacking.
As of 2007, it had sold more than 80 million books.
“We weren’t theMurdochs.
It wasn’t going to be a family dynasty,” Tony Wheeler, now 78, says.
But we didn’t see that."
Lo and behold, the “Instagram effect” would soon dwarf the Lonely Planet effect.
Meanwhile, Lonely Planet also had to contend with the rest of the internet.
In 2006,guidebooksales across the industry in the US totaled a reported 19 million.
By 2019, they were just 6.9 million, Circana Bookscan found.
“But I think otherwise.
The best time to get into an industry is when it’s in flux.”
Over the next decade, Lonely Planet experimented with several different avenues.
It invested in digital media.
“There was no overall vision.
There was no overall strategy.
There was no sense that we were working together.”
He promised to “reinvigorate” the brand as a “travel platform” with personalized content.
Then the pandemic halted the world’s travel plans.
In 2020, industrywide guidebook sales plummeted by more than 40%.
By some estimates, Lonely Planet laid off two-thirds of its workforce of several hundred.
Its offices in London and Melbourne, Australia, were essentially shuttered.
That December,Red Venturesswooped in.
“That’s their bread and butter.”
(Red Ventures did not respond to a request for comment.)
Red Ventures knew it had its work cut out for it.
Today, LP lacks a coherent identity."
ItshutteredGuides, the smartphone app.
Today, Lonely Planet has about 3.3 million followers on Instagram.
She’s one of a new breed that doesn’t just make media about vacations but also sells them.
Now there’s a proliferation of services letting creators get paid more directly.
GetYourGuide offers holidaymakers various tickets, tours, classes, and other experiences, paying influencers for referrals.
In 2023, Lonely Planet had yet another leadership shake-up.
Nearly every page has a photo, maps are simplified, and it features frequent mini-interviews with locals.
The redesign hasn’t been without pushback.
The 2023 edition ofMadagascarhas 3.1 stars out of five, compared with its predecessor’s 4.6.
That year’s Brazil edition has 3.2 stars, while Argentina has 3.4.
“This book is a useless brochure,” an aggrieved one-star reviewer wrote for the latestArgentinaedition.
“It’s just a pointless picture book.
Last year, Red Ventures released Guide, a generative-AI-powered trip planner that uses Lonely Planet data.
There are further headwinds to come.
Still, for some, guidebooks remain a trusted one-stop shop that cuts through the noise of vacation planning.
When we email in our last follow-up, he’s on the verge of taking a trip to Vienna.
Rob Priceis a senior correspondent for Business Insider, writing features about technology and society.
you’ve got the option to contact him via Signal/WhatsApp at+1 650-636-6268or email atrprice@businessinsider.com.
