Lonely Planet sacks 50 staff — Affects travel writers

Here’s a press release from Travelwriters.com that is an interesting read. This will affect travel writers who specifically write destination pieces. Gone are the days of just telling people where to stay, eat, shop, sight see, and party. Make your writing interesting and it will sell!

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Travelwriters.com — Press Release Distribution 3/5/2009
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— [ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ] —

Lonely Planet slain by an innovative travel start up – OurExplorer (Great headline)

David Cunningham
OurExplorer
0061410706016
davec@ourexplorer.com

Sydney, Australia – March 5, 2009 — Lonely Planet, which last month sacked more than 50 staff, to tweak its old media business model, has recently lost a true David and Goliath battle.

Titled the “Battle of the Orient: guidebook vs tour guide”, British born travel writer Tristan Rutherford compared the enjoyment of using a Lonely Planet guidebook v’s a professional tour guide booked on a pioneering internet startup – www.ourexplorer.com . The city in question was the magical Istanbul – Turkey.

When summarizing the experience of having a tour guide, Mr. Rutherford states – “A thousand guidebook words couldn’t convey her emotion.”

So why does Lonely Planet continue to lose market share in the way travelers wish to learn about a new city they visit? Lonely Planet was a young brand run by travelers for travelers. It was kind of cool.

In its 1980s/1990s heyday, the world was a much simpler place and so was Lonely Planet’s business – travel guide books, originally for young backpackers but ultimately for everyone, which is maybe where its issues began. Somewhere along the way Lonely Planet lost touch with the zeitgeist and it’s been playing catch up ever since.

Shall dynamic and forward thinking travel websites like the tour guide portal OurExplorer really push Lonely Planet into the history books and out of guidebooks? With the continuing growth of online travel, it certainly seems so.

{Full reference article by Tristan Rutherford – http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=751846 }