May 9, 2008
Book on travel writing by Lonely Planet Brazil author
Former Lonely Planet writer, Thomas Kohnstamm, has a book out called Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? He apparently (I haven't read the book - I only just heard about it) argues that travel writers (himself included) fabricate work, accept freebies they're not supposed to. He uses himself as an example - he worked on Lonely Planet Brazil.
Spokesperson for the Associated Board of Travel Agents (Abta), Sean Tipton, defends guide books: "I think they have been a great help and a boon to the travel industry and travelers in general.
"Of course, mistakes will creep [in] - the very nature of any publication means that it
can become out-of-date very quickly, things can change."
As I said, I haven't read the book. But I do have experience with guidebooks and while sometimes they are very helpful (my wife and I found our favorite restaurants of all time - Il Duomo in Assisi and Pizza Re in Rome with help from Let's Go and Lonely Planet respectively), there are other times when we wasted all kinds of time searching for a restaurant that we couldn't find.
I remember one of those guides recommended a cheap hotel in Assisi. They said something about the woman who owns it being one of the nicest people in the world. We get to Assisi, check in, no drama, decide we like the town and want to stay longer. So we ask the person there (the owner's father it turns out) if we can stay another night. He sends us to another room and we think everything's good.
We come back to the hotel and the owner starts yelling at us to get out of her hotel because the room we're in is booked. I asked her why I was getting yelled at when the hotel is one that messed up. Turns out the nicest person in the world was a real jerk. I wonder if the author had accepted a free room or was somehow bribed into making that stupid claim...
Anyway, can anyone review this book for us?
Posted by James Trotta at May 9, 2008 11:05 PM | TrackBack
I can review the book if you like. I am not a travel guide writer, but I am a writer who has spent the past two years traveling around the world.
I've read many LP books and relied on some of the info knowing that the facts and figures are often incorrect, out of date, or just ridiculous in their recommendations.
I read do Travel Writers Go to Hell with a huge grain of salt.
Let me know how many words and, should it be possible, any renumeration that may be involved. Also, how many words would you like?
Doris
Posted by: Doris at May 13, 2008 1:42 PM