Lonely Planet

The Publisher Australia Lonely Planet Publications (shortened Lonely Planet or LP ) asserts to be the largest publisher independent of guides of voyage. The guides Lonely Planet, which exist in English for almost all the countries of the world, are without any doubt the most known guides of voyage and most snuffed by the backpacker or routards.

They are published of 14 languages (inter alia: English, French, German, Spanish or Hebrew). Lonely Planet publishes approximately 650 titles in English and more than 60 French titles. The publisher employs more than 400 people in its subsidiary companies with Melbourne, Oakland, London and Paris and has a quota of more than 150 authors.

History

The first guide of voyage carried the title Across Asia one the Cheap ( Traversée from Asia at low prices ) and was written and written by Tony Wheeler and his wife Maureen Wheeler on their kitchen table, then published in 1973. The guide was a great success in Australia and the following versions of this guide, which is always one of the most sold guides of the editor, bore the name South-East Asia one has shoestring .

Very directed towards the culture Hippie, the first guides were addressed especially to young people of Australasia and Europe (especially of the the United Kingdom), which wished to connect the Europe or the Australia while crossing the Southeast Asia, the India and the the Middle East on the Hippie trail as this road was named. The name, Lonely Planet, are resulting from a song of Joe Cocker and its philosophy pushed it to remain independent of the great publishing companies. The guides did not contain publicity and the authors visited the hotels in way incognito.

To avoid encountering legal problems in the United States and putting a little more professionalism, certain guides, written very familiarly and in way amateur, had being adapted. For example an old version of the guide Africa one has shoestring included/understood councils on the ways of getting Cannabis, or the guide South-East Asia one has shoestring (1980) taught how to provide false documents of student.

The guides of voyage at low cost made the success of the editor. That poses from now on a problem of brand image: these guides are often associated with the backpacker and routards whereas most of the guides are nowadays directed towards easier tourist customers. Since years, the publisher tries to modify this erroneous image.

Topicality

The French-speaking guides are distributed since 2004 by the Editions Presses Solar Belfond, a subsidiary company of Editis.

In 2006, the company, Lonely Planet, sold 6,5 million guides and its Internet site received on average 4,3 million visitors per month. It produced television programs diffused in more than 100 countries.

In October 2007, the subsidiary company BBC Worldwide of the British public radiotelevision, BBC, announces to have repurchased with the couple of Australian editors, Maureen Wheeler and Tony Wheeler, the 75% of the shares which it held in Lonely Planet. The world seat will remain with Melbourne.

External bonds

Official site Lonely Planet France
Official site Lonely Planet
Site Lonely Planet Images

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