Pocket Guides and Best Of series are “performing particularly well”, and this is “perhaps reflective of people taking more frequent, but shorter, breaks, and as a result seeking succinct, curated advice to get the most out of their trip.” He adds: “The success of the whole range has enabled us to continue to add more cities to the series as people seek to explore beyond the most well-trodden tourist hotspots, and discover lesser-known destinations.” Dee echoes this, saying that travellers “want to discover cities other than the main capitals… and are looking for guides covering those areas”, and that “niche travel experiences continue to be important to people and are only likely to grow”.
The most popular destina- tions among Stanfords’ customers are Costa Rica, Japan, the Caucasus and Central Asia, with the Bradt guide to Georgia ranking as its single bestselling guide. Godfrey notes a decline in the sale of guides for the Far East in recent weeks, possibly as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. She also registers a
continuing interest in travel literature, with a record number of entries being submited for the company’s annual Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.
On your bike In terms of broader trends, Wilson says: “Going for a walk or a bike ride has been a good part of the market to be in for the last few years and that continued last year”, while Phillips says there has been a “surge” in the market for guides focusing on outdoor activities as well as titles focusing on the UK, with Bradt’s series of Slow Travel Guides to regions of the UK, and its guide to stand-up paddle boarding, proving popular. DK and Lonely Planet also recorded a stronger year for guidebooks to UK destinations in 2019. Hall says: “This could be the result of the UK’s heightened atractiveness to overseas visitors in light of a weakened currency, which conversely also encouraged more UK residents to holiday at home.” APA Publications is launching a new Pocket Rough Guides British Breaks series, and Clark also highlights sales opportunities for 2020 around key upcoming sporting events, including the Olympics (Japan has been a “key destination” for the publisher for several years) and UEFA’s Euro 2020 championships (it is publishing new pocket guides to Baku, Bucharest and Bilbao to sit alongside its
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existing guides to every other host cit for the tournament). “Inspiration for experiences remains important too,” she adds. Several publishers have digital projects in the pipeline. Cicerone Press has been working on a “substantial” new project on the Camino Francés walk- ing route in Santiago, Spain. The print guide was launched in January and the publisher is releasing a navigational and information app that supports the book in March—its most ambitious to date. APA Publications is continu-
ing to invest in and improve its Insight Guides and Rough Guides website content, especially its destinations coverage. Bradt Guides is plan-
ning to roll out an app that enables people to choose specific parts that are relevant to their trip, to package into a “suitcase” of informa- tion on their tablet or smartphone. It is also building a new website, offering significantly beter functionalit (it will go live in a month or two), and it will launch a new look for its books later this year.
As well as unveiling a brand redesign, DK has relaunched its DK Eyewitness social media channels in recent months, which Dee says are seeing “great engagement”. Following the arrival of its new c.e.o. Luis
PICTURED BELOW, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: CESKÝ KRUMLOV IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC, MORAINE LAKE IN CANADA AND RIDERS IN THE ROCKIES
Cabrera at the beginning of 2019, Lonely Planet has made diversification through partnerships, acquisitions and leveraging new technology a “top priorit”. As such, last year it acquired AI-driven travel marketplace Trill Travel, and “destination content specialist” ArrivalGuides. As well as continuing to add physical locations to its chain, retailer Stanfords is building a completely new back- end to its website, which is scheduled to go live before the end of March.
On the horizon Despite the challenges, travel publishers are positive about the future. Wilson is looking ahead to Cicerone Press’ “active publishing programme”, which promises “steady development of the range and lots going on”. Hall calls it an “exciting time for Lonely Planet”, adding: “we’re still performing well”. Dee says that DK is continuing to invest in travel publishing and that it “continues to be a hugely important part of our list”. Bradt Guides is still seeing steady sales through chains such as Waterstones and Blackwell’s, as well as independent booksell- ers. Phillips adds: “Beyond that, we continue to increase the number of books on our list and our focus remains firmly on pioneering publishing and maintaining our reputation for geting there first.
“Indeed, as we speak, Hilary Bradt [who founded the company nearly 50 years ago] is on the island of Socotra [near Yemen], researching the first ever guidebook to the place for publication in the autumn!”
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Photography: Justin Foulkes, Jonathan Stokes
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