Reaching the end of the unbeaten path? An analysis ofLonely Planet’sDigital Media “Requiem”

Abstract

This paper examines the responses of the online community towards media reports in March 2013 of the potential decline of Lonely Planet (LP) guidebooks following the sale of LP by BBC Worldwide to NC2 Media. Through the inductive analysis of Tweets and comments posted in response to news articles in the online version of The Guardian, two key themes emerged around (1) feelings of nostalgia, sadness and loss and (2) critiques of LP users and impacts on local businesses. Thus, this paper adds new perspectives to a growing body of literature that has sought to question and scrutinize the influential role of arguably the strongest brand in independent travel literature and the increasing impact of technology on published guidebooks.

Investigation of antecedents and consequences of usefulness in online travel communities: The moderating role of decision making stage

“…Thorn Tree is an online forum of Lonely Planet, which is a popular travel guidebook that offers worldwide travel information. Lonely Planet developed Thorn Tree to compete in the market and explore social-media opportunities (Butler & Paris, 2016). The online travel community provides thread discussion over the continents, and it offers the discourse platform region-wise.…”

The subversion of women’s anger in travel guidebooks

“…In this research, we analyse women's travel advice sections available on the Lonely Planet website as it is a household name (Bender, Gidlow & Fisher, 2013;Butler & Paris, 2016;Laquinto, 2011) and the most widely sold travel guidebook in both the UK and the US (Ogden, 2019). The popularity of Lonely Planet endows it with the potential to reinforce the problematic social and cultural tensions which are inherent to the experience of travel (Tegelberg 2010).…”

“…The popularity of Lonely Planet endows it with the potential to reinforce the problematic social and cultural tensions which are inherent to the experience of travel (Tegelberg 2010). Acknowledging the shift in popularity from print guidebook to online sources accessible on the go and before (Butler & Paris, 2016) we utilise the online advice available for free from the website, which receives around 13 million monthly visits (Lonelyplant.com, 2020). The free online advice sections directed at women travellers uniquely position the Lonely Planet website above other mainstream competitors such as Rough Guides or Eyewitness who either do not have a distinct section for women travellers online or do not have free content available.…”