Lonely Planet

File:2008TIBE Day4 Hall1 AustraliaPavilion TheWheelers.jpg and Tony Wheeler, the two co-founders of Lonely Planet, in 2008]]

Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked on an overland trip through Europe and Asia to Australia following the route of the Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition.{{cite web|url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/97083.html |title=Asia's overland route |date=20 July 2006 |publisher=LiveJournal |access-date=5 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224071023/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/97083.html |archive-date=24 February 2012 }}{{cite book |title=Magic bus: on the hippie trail from Istanbul to India |last=MacLean |first=Rory |author-link=Rory MacLean |year=2007 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-101595-8}}

The company name originates from the misheard "lovely planet" in a song written by Matthew Moore.{{cite book |title=Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story |last1=Wheeler |first1=Tony |last2=Wheeler |first2=Maureen |author-link2=Maureen Wheeler |year=2007 |publisher=Periplus Editions |isbn=978-0-7946-0523-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unlikelydestinat00tony }} Lonely Planet's first book, Across Asia on the Cheap,{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Lonely-Planet-Publications-Pty-Ltd-Company-History.html |title=Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. |publisher=fundinguniverse.com |access-date=5 March 2011}} had 94 pages; it was written by the couple in their home.{{cite news|title=Journey's end for the guidebook gurus?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/oct/07/escape.travelbooks|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The Observer|date=7 October 2007|author=Carole Cadwalladr}} The original 1973 print run consisted of stapled booklets{{cite news|title=A Lonely Planet Founder Looks Back|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/travel/a-lonely-planet-founder-looks-back.html|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=7 June 2013|author=Emily Brennan}} with pale blue cardboard covers.[https://www.publishinghistory.com/lonely-planet-guides.html Lonely Planet Guides – Book Series List], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.

Wheeler returned to Asia to write Across Asia on the Cheap: A Complete Guide to Making the Overland Trip, published in 1975.{{cite book|author=Tony Wheeler|title=Across Asia on the Cheap: A Complete Guide to Making the Overland Trip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FENHQAACAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications|isbn=978-0-9598080-2-5}}

The Lonely Planet guide book series initially expanded to cover other countries in Asia, with the India guide book in 1981,{{cite web |url=http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/archive.htm#115 |title=Tony Wheeler's "Lonely Planet" |first=Rick |last=Steves |author-link=Rick Steves |date=24 November 2007 |publisher=ricksteves.com |access-date=24 November 2007}} and expanded to the rest of the world later.{{cite web |author=Charles Bethea |date=27 March 2014 |title=The 25-Year-Old at the Helm of Lonely Planet |url=http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/The-25-Year-Old-at-the-Helm-of-Lonely-Planet.html |access-date=26 May 2014 |work=Outside Magazine}} Geoff Crowther was renowned for frequently inserting his opinions into the text of the guides he wrote. His writing was instrumental to the rise of Lonely Planet. The journalist used the term "Geoffness", in tribute to Crowther,{{clarify|date=June 2023}} to describe a quality that has been lost in travel guides.

By 1999, Lonely Planet had sold 30 million copies of its travel guides. The company's authors consequently benefited from profit-sharing and expensive events were held at the Melbourne office, at which Lonely Planet authors would arrive in limousines.

File:Lonely Planet Australia travel guide 16th Edition.png

In 2007, the Wheelers and John Singleton sold a 75% stake in the company to BBC Worldwide, worth an estimated £63 million at the time. The company was publishing 500 titles and ventured into television production. BBC Worldwide struggled following the acquisition, registering a £3.2 million loss in the year to the end of March 2009. By the end of March 2010, profits of £1.9 million had been generated, as digital revenues had risen 37% year-on-year over the preceding 12 months, a Lonely Planet magazine had grown and non-print revenues increased from 9% in 2007 to 22%.

Lonely Planet's digital presence included 140 apps and 8.5 million unique users for lonelyplanet.com, which hosted the Thorn Tree travel forum.{{cite news|title=BBC to buy out Lonely Planet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/feb/18/bbc-worldwide-lonely-planet-travel-guides|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 February 2011|author=Mark Sweney}} In 2011, BBC Worldwide acquired the remaining 25% of the company for £42.1 million (A$67.2 million) from the Wheelers.{{cite news |title=BBC takes last slice of Planet |url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/bbc-takes-last-slice-of-planet-20110219-1b09f.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=20 February 2011 |access-date=5 March 2011}}

File:LonelyPlanetBuildingFootscray.jpg, in 2006]]

By 2012, the BBC wanted to divest itself of the company and in March 2013 confirmed the sale of Lonely Planet to Brad Kelley's NC2 Media for US$77.8 million (£51.5 million), at nearly an £80 million (US$118.89 million) loss.{{cite news|title=U.S. Buyer for BBC's Book Unit on Travel|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/business/media/bbc-to-sell-lonely-planet-travel-guidebooks.html|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 March 2013|author=Eric Pfanner}}

In December 2020, NC2 Media sold Lonely Planet to Red Ventures for an undisclosed amount.{{cite web|title=Red Ventures Acquires Lonely Planet|date=December 2020 |url=https://redventures.com/press/press-releases/red-ventures-acquires-lonely-planet|language=en|accessdate=December 1, 2020}} Lonely Planet offices continue to operate in Dublin, Nashville and New Delhi. Phillippe von Borries, a former co-founder and CEO of Refinery29, was named head of the company.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-15 |title=Lonely Planet Buys Local Experts Site Elsewhere for Trip Planning |url=https://skift.com/2022/02/15/lonely-planet-buys-local-experts-site-elsewhere-to-go-deeper-into-trip-planning/ |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=Skift |language=en-US}}

In 2022, Lonely Planet bought Elsewhere, a website that links travellers directly with experts who assist in designing trips.{{Cite web |last=Rashaad |first=Jorden |date=2022-02-15 |title=Lonely Planet Buys Local Experts Site Elsewhere for Trip Planning|url=https://skift.com/2022/02/15/lonely-planet-buys-local-experts-site-elsewhere-to-go-deeper-into-trip-planning/ |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=Refinery29|language=en-US}}

In 2024, Lonely Planet announced that it had withdrawn from the market in China and ceased publishing travel guides in simplified Chinese.[https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1015405 Lonely Planet Reaches the End of the Road in China]

File:Lonely Planet guide books, 2013 (cropped).jpg

Lonely Planet's online community, the Thorn Tree,{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa |title=Thorn Tree Travel Forum |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=5 March 2011}} was created in 1996. It is named for a Naivasha thorn tree (Acacia xanthophloea) that has been used as a message board for the city of Nairobi, Kenya since 1902.{{cite book|author1=Mary Fitzpatrick|author2=Tim Bewer|author3=Matthew Firestone|title=East Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3e8P7XvcokC&pg=PA288|year=2009|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74104-769-1|page=290}} The tree still exists in the Stanley Hotel, Nairobi. In April 2020, the forum was locked and left in read-only mode as part of Lonely Planet temporarily halting business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2021, the Thorn Tree was shut down.{{cite web|title=LONELY PLANET AXES LEGENDARY THORN TREE TRAVEL COMMUNITY|publisher=PhocusWire|author=Kevin May|url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Lonely-Planet-axes-legendary-Thorn-Tree-travel-community|date=September 27, 2021|access-date=November 29, 2021}}

In 2009, Lonely Planet began publishing a monthly travel magazine called Lonely Planet Traveller. It is available in digital versions for a number of countries.{{cite web |last1=Jason |url=http://skift.com/2014/11/03/skift-forum-video-lonely-planets-ceo-on-the-future-of-travel-content/ |title=Skift Forum Video: Lonely Planet's CEO on the Future of Travel Content|website=skift.com |date= 3 November 2014}}

Lonely Planet also had its own television production company, which has produced series such as Globe Trekker, Lonely Planet Six Degrees and Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled.{{cite news|title=Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled |url=http://natgeotv.com.au/programmes/lonely-planet-roads-less-travelled/biographies |publisher=National Geographic Channel Australia and New Zealand |access-date=24 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091106194835/http://natgeotv.com.au/programmes/lonely-planet-roads-less-travelled/biographies |archive-date=6 November 2009 }} Toby Amies and Asha Gill (both British TV presenters) took part in Lonely Planet Six Degrees.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

In 1996, in response to a "Visit Myanmar" campaign by the Burmese military government, the Burmese opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for a tourism boycott.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/suu-kyis-party-ends-opposition-to-tourism-20110529-1fasg.html|title=Suu Kyi's party ends opposition to tourism|author=Ben Doherty|date=30 May 2011|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602172407/http://www.smh.com.au/world/suu-kyis-party-ends-opposition-to-tourism-20110529-1fasg.html|archive-date=2 June 2011}} As the publication of Lonely Planet's guidebook to Myanmar (Burma) is seen by some as an encouragement to visit that country, this led to calls for a boycott of Lonely Planet.{{cite news |title=Unions call to boycott Lonely Planet |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/unions-call-to-boycott-lonely-planet/story-e6frfq80-1111115617829 |date=22 February 2008 |access-date=24 August 2010}} Lonely Planet's view is that it highlights the issues surrounding a visit to the country and that it wants to make sure readers make an informed decision.{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/about/responsible-travel |title=Responsible travel |last1=Wheeler |first1=Tony |last2=Wheeler |first2=Maureen |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=24 August 2010}} In 2009, the NLD formally dropped its previous stance and now welcomes visitors "who are keen to promote the welfare of the common people".

Lonely Planet popularity in the 21st century means a mention in a Lonely Planet guidebook is likely to inspire large numbers of travellers to that location. In 2010, for instance, Lonely Planet was blamed{{clarification needed|date=September 2024}} for the rise of what is sometimes referred to as the "Banana Pancake Trail" in Southeast Asia.{{cite web |url=http://www.hackwriters.com/Madras.htm |title=Madras and The Lonely Planet People |first=Colin |last=Todhunter |publisher=hackwriters.com |access-date=24 August 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.chiangmainews.com/ecmn/viewfa.php?id=2228 |title=Pictures courtesy of Lonely Planet Publications |first=Harry |last=Priestley |date=July 2008 |publisher=chiangmainews.com |access-date=10 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215042500/http://www.chiangmainews.com/ecmn/viewfa.php?id=2228 |archive-date=15 February 2009 |url-status=dead }}

In March 2019, Lonely Planet posted a video on Facebook falsely claiming that the Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines were created by the Chinese, leading to criticism. The magazine later posted on Twitter in April 2019 that their Facebook video was indeed "misleading" and that they would update the next Philippines book edition but would not scrap current editions that already wrongfully state that the terraces were made by the Chinese.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2019/4/2/lonely-planet-apology.html|title=Lonely Planet corrects 'misleading' post on Banaue Rice Terraces|website=cnn|access-date=27 April 2020|archive-date=24 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124110409/https://www.cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2019/4/2/lonely-planet-apology.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1102274/lonely-planet-admits-error-in-banaue-rice-terraces-video-misleading|title=Lonely Planet admits error in Banaue Rice Terraces video 'misleading'|first=Neil Arwin|last=Mercado|website=newsinfo.inquirer.net|date=2 April 2019}}

In April 2008, American writer Thomas Kohnstamm published the memoir Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? in which he described research shortcuts he employed while writing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. In a follow-up interview, he first claimed that in one case he had not even visited the country he wrote about but, subsequent to the ensuing publicity boost for his new book, Kohnstamm clarified that, in this particular edition, he had only been contracted to update the five-page history section and had never been expected to revisit the country for that small history section contract. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121002000348/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/lonely-planets-bad-trip/story-e6frewt0-1111116046776 "Lonely Planet's bad trip "], The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), 13 April 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2021. After a review of Kohnstamm's guidebooks, Lonely Planet's then-publisher Piers Pickard stated that he had "failed to find any inaccuracies" in them.

In 2009, Australian author and former Lonely Planet guidebook writer Mic Looby published a fictional account of the guidebook writing business, titled Paradise Updated, in which the travel guide business was satirised.{{cite web|title=Guest review: Elena Gomez on Mic Looby's Paradise Updated|url=http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/2009/10/13/guest-review-elena-gomez-on-mic-loobys-paradise-updated/|work=Crikey Blog|publisher=Private Media Pty Ltd|accessdate=20 September 2013|author=Angela Myer|author2=Elena Gomez |date=13 October 2009}}

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• [https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ Official website]

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{{Red Ventures}}

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Category:1973 establishments in Australia

Category:2020 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Australian travel television series

Category:Australian travel websites

Category:Companies based in Melbourne

Category:Magazines established in 2009

Category:Mass media in Melbourne

Category:Publishing companies established in 1973

Category:Publishing companies of Australia

Category:Red Ventures

Category:Tourism magazines

Category:Travel guide books