Lonely Planet Blends Print, QR Codes in New Experience Guidebooks

Decided to spice up print media’s interactivity, Lonely Planet has launched the Expertise collection, a set of journey guides that includes “pull-out metropolis maps, gatefold maps, and QR codes to unlock further digital content material from the Lonely Planet web site.” Since its acquisition by life-style media firm Purple Ventures in December 2020, Lonely Planet has sustained its print program whereas repositioning itself as “a digital journey steering firm,” in line with an April 4 announcement.

Six Expertise guides to Iceland, Eire, Italy, Japan, Portugal, and Scotland roll out in April and Might. Half a dozen titles are scheduled for launch quarterly—in June, September, and November/December 2022—totaling 24 new guides by yr’s finish. Whereas the vast majority of the guides survey total international locations, one information opinions Jap Australia, and 6 extra function world cities: Barcelona, London, New York, Paris, Rome, and Tokyo. The guides are priced at $24.99, and the primary slate is at present accessible to pre-order.

“Earlier than the pandemic, Japan and Iceland had been two of our bestsellers,” mentioned writer Piers Pickard, so previous gross sales and customer numbers helped decide the primary checklist. Lonely Planet selected to debut the collection with “international locations we predict would be the most open and welcoming for worldwide guests,” in addition to “locations which might be each well-loved and comparatively simple for vacationers to navigate,” Pickard mentioned.

The 260-page guides, with a trim measurement of 5×7,” mix print and scannable digital hyperlinks. “We’re experimenting with QR codes as a straightforward manner of giving folks entry to extra content material,” Pickard mentioned. “Which means further experiences that we love however couldn’t match within the bodily guide.” For instance, Expertise Italy factors readers to Rome’s Appian Approach in addition to to a web based calendar of month-to-month climate and festivals that may be up to date if a farmers’ market strikes its location or an occasion guarantees distinctive ticketed alternatives. “The tagline for our Expertise guides is ‘Get Away from the On a regular basis’ so [we want] to stay as much as that promise of native surprises,” Pickard defined.

Lonely Planet additionally sought out regional authors who perceive the tourism trade, and assigned 4 to eight of those writers per information. “We’ve regarded for individuals who know their dwelling area intimately and may write completely in English,” Pickard mentioned. “For instance, Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir [a travel editor] grew up on an Icelandic horse farm, and her experience knowledgeable our ‘Icelandic Horse Tradition’ expertise within the far north of the island.”

Whereas the announcement guarantees “a brand new model place,” Lonely Planet (established in 1973) nonetheless is dependent upon its 50-year historical past of providing journey recommendation. Clickable hyperlinks will assist vacationers navigate Iceland, however horse-trekking within the Icelandic highlands stays totally analog.