Comments

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  Allan Lynch October 3, 2010 at 5:48pm

  Er, I do remember 8-track tapes. They provided the background music to my time in collage. Gawd, can you imagine having a car now with an 8-track player in it? (Say a Volaire ...)
  
  I suppose we could ask if there was any real need for a guidebook to start with? Why not just head out and discover? But as a society we are time pressed or not as adventurous or want short cuts to the best.
  
  I suppose there will always be a need for guidance. But I think the trade shot itself in the foot by just repackaging the web. I mean no disrespect to guidebook writers because what they include in a book is limited by what the publisher's marketing team has decided people want to know. It seems to me that so many of the guidebooks I see are reduced to nuts and bolts uber practical stuff: type of food in a restaurant, price guides for hotels, what to see at a museum, best buys in a city ... What happened to glorious tales? To stories and ideas that inspire wanderlust?
  
  It seems rare now to find the romance of travel anymore. Some of it exists, but the boring franchise stuff seems to fill shelves.
  
  I think the debate should centre around who you readership is. Maybe younger people don't want to carry books (tho' I think there is a retro movement that thinks books, like vinyl recordings, are cool again). Older people, including Boomers, and people from other cultures still read dead tree technology. They may be wired to the hilt for their daily and professional lives, but on holiday many want to disconnect totally. And if you live on-line for your professional existence how better to get away than shun technology?
  
  Look at the French. Virtually the entire nation goes on holiday for August. Those who don't, stay in Paris to protest. I have French friends in North America who wouldn't dream of holidaying any time but August. And they absolutely refuse to check their emails or turn on computers for their holiday. They barely even answer their cell phones or turn them on. Hell, they don't even do emails on weekends because that's their free time.
  
  I think a lot of people are making decisions based on now, yet fail to factor in the impact of the recession. Travel took a hit, so isn't it natural that guidebook sales would also drop if fewer people were travelling?
  
  I do believe there is a cultural/demographic shift taking place, but I don't think dead tree technology is over. It's still cheap and convenient. And some people like the ability to go back and reference it. Or they love the feel and intimacy of a book or how easy it is to use on a crowded bus, a subway, a plane, or in a sunny cafe or at the beach. And if it's lost, stolen, fell into the bath, the ocean, a puddle, it's no great financial loss.
  
  If anything, maybe the shift among some readers will clear out the dreck and we can get back to inspirational reads and less of the phone-book-like compilation publishers think will sell.
  
  If guidebooks aren't selling, maybe publishers have to rethink what they're publishing. Maybe they should listen more to writers than to marketing teams as to what readers want and are interested in? And maybe we will turn back from being a mass media to a select, respected, targeted medium, and a luxury the way books were in the Victorian era.
  
  I have to believe that the future is always going to be richer than today.
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  David Hyland October 3, 2010 at 5:43pm

  

  
  Orlando has set a Guiness World Record for the largest human smiley face. 500 participants along with celebrities, local officials, and media gathered on the parking garage roof of the new Orlando Center. The successful record was attempted to further awareness of the theme that "Orlando Makes Me Smile".
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  Ed Wetschler October 3, 2010 at 5:12pm

  Will Guidebooks Go the Way of 8-Track Tape?
  
  Hell, do any of you even remember 8-track tape? British journalist Benji Lanyado insists that between twitter and a few apps and websites, there's no need to ever carry a guidebook again. For us, the implication is, Don't bother writing one.
  
  Is he right, or is he overstating the case?
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  Tripatini September 26, 2010 at 5:02pm

  World Tourism Day is upon us, and this year's theme is tourism and biodiversity. We'd like to hear your opinions in the discussion in the Ecotourism....
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  Northeast News September 24, 2010 at 12:40am

  I believe he was trying to upsell you, Allan. Is it really possible that he did not know platinum cards provide insurance?
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  Allan Lynch September 24, 2010 at 12:05am

  Ah, rental car contracts are as confusing as mobile phone deals. Oh, how I long for the days when phones were black, there was one company, you paid a monthly service fee and spoke to people.
  
  I rented a car in Dallas. I booked it from Canada, gave them the credit card number. Like most people, my platinum card provides insurance when I use it to rent a car. The guy on the rental desk wouldn't accept that. He was bound to charge me extra for the insurance. When I dug in my heels, he insisted I write down the insurance company providing the coverage through my credit card. So I wrote down TD Insurance. The card was through the TD Bank and like all Canadian banks they have their own insurance companies, so it was a close-ish name.
  
  My point: either this guy wasn't probably trained or he was trained to upsell by ignoring the agreements the company has with various credit card companies.
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  Charlie Leocha September 23, 2010 at 11:53pm

  We are turning next to rental car fees. There is a bill pending in Congress. Later if we can find a sponsor, a hotel tax issue as well. Complaining does no good with a path to success here in DC. We need a House and Senate sponsor to make anything happen. I'm meeting with them. If you feel strongly about anything write to your congressman or Senator.
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  Evelyn Kanter September 23, 2010 at 11:46pm

  Charlie -- Signed it immediately, wrote about it, Tweeted and FB-ed it. Good job! Next assignment -- the hidden hotel fees (resort fee, etc).
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  Charlie Leocha September 23, 2010 at 11:24pm

  Thank you for your help in getting the word out about mad as hell about hidden fees. We ended up with more than 50,000 signatures on the petition and more coming every hour. Absolutely amazing.
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  Doug Bardwell September 23, 2010 at 10:06pm

  I had that experience with a media trip to Costa Rica - submitted assignment letter, filled out their forms and even talked with the PR company principal, but papers never came. She keeps saying she didn't receive my emails even though her boss acknowledged that she got her copies. Finally gave up and forgot about it.
  Now that I remember.....grrrrrr!