Rough Guides#Television
{{short description | Travel Company}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox company
| logo = Rough Guides Logo.svg
| parent = Apa Digital Group
| founded = {{start date and age|df=y|1982}}| founder = Mark Ellingham
| website = {{URL|roughguides.com}}
| products = Tailor-Made Trips, Travel Guidebooks
| num_employees = 50+
| industry = Online Travel Agency
| type = Private
| hq_location_city = London| hq_location_country = United Kingdom
| area_served = {{Unbulleted list|United States | Canada |UK | Australia}}
}}
Rough Guides is a travel company that offers tailor-made trips planned and arranged by local travel experts based in destinations around the world. Originally established as a guidebook publisher in 1982, Rough Guides expanded into customized travel services in 2018.{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/nov/28/rough-guides-launches-tailormade-travel-trips-bespoke-holiday-service | title=Rough Guides launches tailormade trips as part of major overhaul | work=The Guardian | date=28 November 2018 | last1=Choat | first1=Isabel }}
History
The first Rough Guide was The Rough Guide to Greece.{{cite web|url=http://www.roughguides.com/about-us/ |title=About us Rough Guides |publisher=Roughguides.com |access-date=2 April 2014}}
In 1995, when Rough Guides were selling around a million books a year, Mark Ellingham entered into a pioneering agreement with HotWired Ventures, the digital offshoot of Wired Ventures, the then-publisher of WIRED magazine. The deal offered free online access to the full text of The Rough Guide to the USA via the World Beat section of HotWired. Ellingham stated at the time that publishing the guides online would facilitate easier updates. "If you could send me an e-mail from Senegal saying this hotel's closed down, I would just key it in," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "The online book would take on a life of its own".{{cite news |last1=Quinn |first1=Michelle |title=Travel Guides Hit the Net / HotWired, British Publisher jump On World Wide Web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/travel-guides-hit-the-net-hotwired-british-3022298.php |access-date=21 February 2024 |publisher=SF Gate |date=13 October 1995}}
In May 2007, Mark Ellingham said he had grave concerns about the growth of air travel because of its growing contribution to climate change. He launched an awareness campaign with Tony Wheeler (Lonely Planet founder), and Rough Guides began including a "health warning" in each of its travel guides, urging readers to "Fly less, stay longer".{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/ecoholidays-fly-less-stay-longer-417378.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024225958/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/ecoholidays-fly-less-stay-longer-417378.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 October 2012 |work= The Independent |title=Eco-Holidays: Fly Less, Stay Longer | location=London |date=24 September 2006}} In November 2007, after celebrating "25 Rough Years" with a series of celebratory books, Ellingham left Rough Guides to set up a new imprint, GreenProfile, at Profile Books.{{cite web | url=http://www.thebookseller.com/category/tags/mark-ellingham | title=Ellingham quits Rough Guide | publisher=The Bookseller | date=1 October 2007 | access-date=6 May 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055754/http://www.thebookseller.com/category/tags/mark-ellingham | archive-date=21 September 2013 }}
Personalised trips
In November 2018, Rough Guides launched a personalised trip service.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/nov/28/rough-guides-launches-tailormade-travel-trips-bespoke-holiday-service|title=Rough Guides launches tailormade trips as part of major overhaul|last=Choat|first=Isabel|date=2018-11-28|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-05-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}
Awards
From 2017 to 2020 Rough Guides ran an award-winning podcast, [https://www.roughguides.com/podcast/ The Rough Guide to Everywhere].{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/09/the-rough-guide-to-everywhere-a-new-podcast-for-extreme-travel-tales|title=The Rough Guide to Everywhere – a new podcast for extreme travel tales|last=Verdier|first=Hannah|date=2017-02-09|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-05-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} Started by Greg Dickinson, the podcast explored topical travel issues, and showcased interviews with travel personalities. In 2019, series 4 of The Rough Guide to Everywhere (hosted by former senior editor Aimee White) was awarded Bronze in the Best Branded Podcast category at The British Podcast Awards.{{Cite web |title=Winners 2020 - British Podcast Awards |url=https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/winners-2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.roughguides.com/ }}
- {{Cite web|title=Penguin announces outright purchase of Rough Guides|url=https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/news-and-research/announcements/2002/04/penguin-announces-outright-purchase-of-rough-guides.html|website=www.pearson.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-03}}
{{Tourism}}
{{Webby Awards|cat=Travel|year=1997|type=Nominee}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Publishing companies of the United Kingdom
Category:British travel websites
Category:Publishing companies established in 1982
Category:1982 establishments in England