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{{short description|Publisher of guidebooks and other media related to travel}}
{{About|the guidebook publisher|the theatrical work|Lonely Planet (play)|the song|Lonely Planet (song)|the Lonely Planet television series|Globe Trekker}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox publisher
| name = Lonely Planet
| image = Lonely Planet.svg
| caption =
| parent = Lonely Planet Global, Inc.
| status =
| traded_as =
| predecessor =
| founded = 1973<ref name="guardian"/>
| founders = [[Tony Wheeler]]<br />[[Maureen Wheeler]]
| successor =
| country = Australia
| headquarters = [[Fort Mill, South Carolina]]
| distribution = {{unbulleted list|[[Grantham Book Service]] (UK)|[[Hachette Book Group]](North America) | [[United Book Distributors]] Australia|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/trade|title=Trade|website=Lonely Planet}}</ref>}}
| publications = [[Book]]s<br>[[Mobile app]]s<br>[[Video]]<br>[[Magazine]]
| topics = [[Guide book|Travel guides]] (Worldwide)
| genre =
| imprints =
| revenue =
| owner = [[Red Ventures]]
| numemployees = 400 staff, 200 authors<ref name=about>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/about/ |title=About Us |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref>
| website = {{url|www.lonelyplanet.com}}
}}
[[File:2008TIBE Day4 Hall1 AustraliaPavilion TheWheelers.jpg|thumb|Maureen and Tony Wheeler, co-founders of Lonely Planet]]

'''Lonely Planet''' is an Australian travel [[guide book]] publisher.<ref name=Fildes>{{cite news |title=BBC gives Lonely Planet guides a home in first major acquisition |first=Nic |last=Fildes |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/bbc-gives-lonely-planet-guides-a-home-in-first-major-acquisition-395739.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=2 October 2007 |access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref> Founded in 1973,<ref name="guardian">{{Cite web|date=2017-02-24|title=Lonely Planet co-founder: 'The first book was an accident'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/feb/24/lonely-planet-co-founder-travel-empire-gap-year|access-date=2021-10-07|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> the company had sold 120 million books {{As of|2011|lc=y}}.<ref name="Out">{{cite web|title=The 25-Year-Old at the Helm of Lonely Planet|url=http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/The-25-Year-Old-at-the-Helm-of-Lonely-Planet.html|work=Outside Magazine|access-date=26 May 2014|author=Charles Bethea|date=27 March 2014}}</ref>{{update inline|date=January 2019}}

== History ==
===Early years===
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple [[Maureen Wheeler|Maureen]] and [[Tony Wheeler]]. In 1972, they embarked on an overland trip through Europe and Asia to Australia, following the route of the [[Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition]].<ref name=bailey>{{cite web|url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/97083.html |title=Asia's overland route |date=20 July 2006 |publisher=[[LiveJournal]] |access-date=5 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224071023/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/97083.html |archive-date=24 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name=MacLean>{{cite book |title=Magic bus: on the hippie trail from Istanbul to India |last=MacLean |first=Rory |author-link=Rory MacLean |year=2007 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=978-0-14-101595-8}}</ref>

The company name originates from the [[Mondegreen|misheard]] "lovely planet" in a song written by [[Matthew Moore]].<ref name=Wheeler1>{{cite book |title=Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story |last1=Wheeler |first1=Tony |last2=Wheeler |first2=Maureen |author-link2=Maureen Wheeler |year=2007 |publisher=[[Tuttle Publishing|Periplus Editions]] |isbn=978-0-7946-0523-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unlikelydestinat00tony }}</ref> Lonely Planet's first book, ''Across Asia on the Cheap'',<ref name=fundinguniverse>{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Lonely-Planet-Publications-Pty-Ltd-Company-History.html |title=Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. |publisher=fundinguniverse.com |access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref> had 94 pages; it was written by the couple in their home.<ref name="Car">{{cite news|title=Journey's end for the guidebook gurus?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/oct/07/escape.travelbooks|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The Observer|date=7 October 2007|author=Carole Cadwalladr}}</ref> The original 1973 print run consisted of stapled booklets<ref name="Emily">{{cite news|title=A Lonely Planet Founder Looks Back|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/travel/a-lonely-planet-founder-looks-back.html|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=7 June 2013|author=Emily Brennan}}</ref> with pale blue cardboard covers.<ref>[https://www.publishinghistory.com/lonely-planet-guides.html Lonely Planet Guides - Book Series List], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref>

Tony returned to Asia to write ''Across Asia on the Cheap: A Complete Guide to Making the Overland Trip'', published in 1975.<ref name="Wheeler1975">{{cite book|author=Tony Wheeler|title=Across Asia on the Cheap: A Complete Guide to Making the Overland Trip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FENHQAACAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications|isbn=978-0-9598080-2-5}}</ref>

=== Expansion ===
[[File:Lonely Planet Australia travel guide 16th Edition.png|thumb|Lonely Planet's ''Australia'' guide, 16th edition (2011)]]

The Lonely Planet guide book series initially expanded to cover other countries in Asia, with the India guide book in 1981,<ref name=Steves>{{cite web |url=http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/archive.htm#115 |title=Tony Wheeler's "Lonely Planet" |first=Rick |last=Steves |author-link=Rick Steves |date=24 November 2007 |publisher=ricksteves.com |access-date=24 November 2007}}</ref> and expanded to rest of the world later on.<ref name="Out" /> [[Geoff Crowther]] was renowned for frequently inserting his opinions into the text of the guides he wrote. His writing was instrumental to the rise of Lonely Planet. The journalist used the term "Geoffness", in tribute to Crowther, to describe a quality that has been lost in travel guides.<ref name="Car" />

By 1999, Lonely Planet had sold 30 million copies of its travel guides. The company's authors consequently benefited from profit-sharing and expensive events were held at the Melbourne office, at which limousines would arrive, filled with Lonely Planet employees.<ref name="Out" />

=== Wheelers' sale to BBC ===
In 2007, the Wheelers and [[John Singleton (Australian entrepreneur)|John Singleton]] sold a 75% stake in the company to [[BBC Worldwide]], worth an estimated £63 million at the time.<ref name="Car" /> The company was publishing 500 titles and ventured into television production. BBC Worldwide struggled following the acquisition, registering a £3.2 million loss in the year to the end of March 2009. By the end of March 2010, profits of £1.9 million had been generated, as digital revenues had risen 37% year-on-year over the preceding 12 months, a ''Lonely Planet'' magazine had grown and non-print revenues increased from 9% in 2007 to 22%.

Lonely Planet's digital presence included 140 apps and 8.5 million unique users for lonelyplanet.com, which hosted the Thorn Tree travel forum.<ref name="Mark">{{cite news|title=BBC to buy out Lonely Planet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/feb/18/bbc-worldwide-lonely-planet-travel-guides|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 February 2011|author=Mark Sweney}}</ref> BBC Worldwide acquired the remaining 25% of the company for £42.1 million (A$67.2 million) from the Wheelers.<ref name="smh-business">{{cite news |title=BBC takes last slice of Planet |url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/bbc-takes-last-slice-of-planet-20110219-1b09f.html |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=20 February 2011 |access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref>

===BBC's sale to NC2===
By 2012 BBC wanted to divest itself of the company and in March 2013 confirmed the sale of Lonely Planet to [[Brad M. Kelley|Brad Kelley]]'s NC2 Media for [[United States dollar|US$]]77.8 million (£51.5 million), at nearly an £80 million (US$118.89 million) loss.<ref name="Eric">{{cite news|title=U.S. Buyer for BBC's Book Unit on Travel|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/business/media/bbc-to-sell-lonely-planet-travel-guidebooks.html|access-date=26 May 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 March 2013|author=Eric Pfanner}}</ref>
[[File:LonelyPlanetBuildingFootscray.jpg|thumb|Lonely Planet's former headquarters in [[Footscray, Victoria]]]]

===COVID-19===
{{See also|Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism}}
In April 2020 Lonely Planet made the decision to close its Australian and London offices and reduce staffing levels globally in response to the downturn in the travel business resulting from the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. The company continued to publish its guidebooks, phrasebooks,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=Lonely Planet shuts Australian office, staff laid off due to COVID-19|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/lonely-planet-shuts-australian-office-staff-laid-off-due-to-covid-19-20200409-p54ijv.html|first=Josh|last=Dye|date=9 April 2020}}</ref> maps, children's books and inspirational pictorials but chose to close its magazine.

===Red Ventures===
In December 2020, NC2 Media sold Lonely Planet to [[Red Ventures]] for an undisclosed amount.<ref>{{cite web|title=Red Ventures Acquires Lonely Planet|url=https://redventures.com/press/press-releases/red-ventures-acquires-lonely-planet|language=en|accessdate=December 1, 2020}}</ref> Lonely Planet offices continue to operate in [[Dublin]], [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[New Delhi]] and [[Beijing]].

==Products==

Lonely Planet's online community, the Thorn Tree,<ref name=ThornTree>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa |title=Thorn Tree Travel Forum |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref> was created in 1996. It is named for a Naivasha thorn tree (''[[Acacia xanthophloea]]'') that has been used as a message board for the city of [[Nairobi]], Kenya since 1902.<ref name="FitzpatrickBewer2009">{{cite book|author1=Mary Fitzpatrick|author2=Tim Bewer|author3=Matthew Firestone|title=East Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3e8P7XvcokC&pg=PA288|year=2009|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74104-769-1|page=290}}</ref> The tree still exists in the [[Stanley Hotel, Nairobi]]. In April 2020, the forum was locked and left in read-only mode as part of Lonely Planet temporarily halting business in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. In September 2021, the Thorn Tree was shut down.<ref>{{cite web|title=LONELY PLANET AXES LEGENDARY THORN TREE TRAVEL COMMUNITY|publisher=PhocusWire|author=Kevin May|url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Lonely-Planet-axes-legendary-Thorn-Tree-travel-community|date=September 27, 2021|access-date=November 29, 2021}}</ref>

In 2009, Lonely Planet began publishing a monthly travel magazine called ''Lonely Planet Traveller''. It is available in digital versions for a number of countries.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jason |url=http://skift.com/2014/11/03/skift-forum-video-lonely-planets-ceo-on-the-future-of-travel-content/ |title=Skift Forum Video: Lonely Planet's CEO on the Future of Travel Content|website=skift.com |date= 3 November 2014}}</ref>

Lonely Planet also had its own television production company, which has produced series, such as ''[[Globe Trekker]]'', ''Lonely Planet Six Degrees'', and ''Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled''.<ref name=natgeotv>{{cite news|title=Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled |url=http://natgeotv.com.au/programmes/lonely-planet-roads-less-travelled/biographies |publisher=[[National Geographic Channel (Australia)|National Geographic Channel Australia and New Zealand]] |access-date=24 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091106194835/http://natgeotv.com.au/programmes/lonely-planet-roads-less-travelled/biographies |archive-date=6 November 2009 }}</ref> Toby Amies and Asha Gill (both British TV presenters) took part in Lonely Planet Six Degrees.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

==Controversies==
A mention in a Lonely Planet guidebook can draw large numbers of travelers, which changes places mentioned. For example, Lonely Planet has been blamed for the rise of what is sometimes referred to as 'the [[Banana Pancake Trail]]' in South East Asia.<ref name=hackwriters>{{cite web |url=http://www.hackwriters.com/Madras.htm |title=Madras and The Lonely Planet People |first=Colin |last=Todhunter |publisher=hackwriters.com |access-date=24 August 2010}}</ref><ref name=Priestley>{{cite web |url=http://www.chiangmainews.com/ecmn/viewfa.php?id=2228 |title=Pictures courtesy of Lonely Planet Publications |first=Harry |last=Priestley |date=July 2008 |publisher=chiangmainews.com |access-date=10 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215042500/http://www.chiangmainews.com/ecmn/viewfa.php?id=2228 |archive-date=15 February 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1996, in response to a "Visit Myanmar" campaign by the [[State Peace and Development Council|Burmese military government]], the Burmese opposition [[National League for Democracy]] (NLD) and its leader [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] called for a tourism boycott.<ref name="smh-opposition">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/suu-kyis-party-ends-opposition-to-tourism-20110529-1fasg.html|title=Suu Kyi's party ends opposition to tourism|author=Ben Doherty|date=30 May 2011|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602172407/http://www.smh.com.au/world/suu-kyis-party-ends-opposition-to-tourism-20110529-1fasg.html|archive-date=2 June 2011}}</ref> As the publication of Lonely Planet's guidebook to [[Myanmar]] ([[Burma]]) is seen by some as an encouragement to visit that country, this led to calls for a boycott of Lonely Planet.<ref name=NewsLimited>{{cite news |title=Unions call to boycott Lonely Planet |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/unions-call-to-boycott-lonely-planet/story-e6frfq80-1111115617829 |date=22 February 2008 |access-date=24 August 2010}}</ref> Lonely Planet's view is that it highlights the issues surrounding a visit to the country, and that it wants to make sure that readers make an informed decision.<ref name=responsible>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/about/responsible-travel |title=Responsible travel |last1=Wheeler |first1=Tony |last2=Wheeler |first2=Maureen |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=24 August 2010}}</ref> In 2009, the NLD formally dropped its previous stance and now welcomes visitors "who are keen to promote the welfare of the common people".<ref name="smh-opposition"/>

In March 2019, Lonely Planet posted a video on [[Facebook]] falsely claiming that the [[Banaue Rice Terraces]] in the [[Philippines]] were created by the Chinese, leading to criticism. The magazine later posted on [[Twitter]] in April 2019 that their Facebook video was indeed "misleading", and that they would update the next Philippines book edition, but will not scrap current editions that already wrongfully state that the terraces were made by the Chinese.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2019/4/2/lonely-planet-apology.html|title=Lonely Planet corrects 'misleading' post on Banaue Rice Terraces|website=cnn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1102274/lonely-planet-admits-error-in-banaue-rice-terraces-video-misleading|title=Lonely Planet admits error in Banaue Rice Terraces video 'misleading'|first=Neil Arwin|last=Mercado|website=newsinfo.inquirer.net|date=2 April 2019}}</ref>

==In popular culture ==
In April 2008, American writer [[Thomas Kohnstamm]] published the memoir ''[[Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?]]'' in which he described research shortcuts he employed while writing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. In a follow up interview, he reported that in one case he had not even visited the country he wrote about.<ref name="sundaytelegraphsydney">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121002000348/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/lonely-planets-bad-trip/story-e6frewt0-1111116046776 "Lonely Planet's bad trip "], ''[[The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)|The Sunday Telegraph]]'' (Sydney), 13 April 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref> After a review of Kohnstamm's guidebooks, Lonely Planet's then-publisher Piers Pickard stated that he had "failed to find any inaccuracies" in them.<ref name="sundaytelegraphsydney" />

In 2009, Australian author and former Lonely Planet guidebook writer [[Mic Looby]] published a fictional account of the guidebook-writing business, titled ''Paradise Updated'', in which the travel guide business was satirised.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guest review: Elena Gomez on Mic Looby's Paradise Updated|url=http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/2009/10/13/guest-review-elena-gomez-on-mic-loobys-paradise-updated/|work=Crikey Blog|publisher=Private Media Pty Ltd|accessdate=20 September 2013|author=Angela Myer|author2=Elena Gomez |date=13 October 2009}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Frommer's]]
*[[Globe Trekker]]
*[[Language education]]
*[[List of language self-study programs]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Tourism}}
{{Red Ventures}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Companies based in Melbourne]]
[[Category:Publishing companies of Australia]]
[[Category:Travel guide books]]
[[Category:Australian travel television series]]
[[Category:Australian travel websites]]
[[Category:Tourism magazines]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Publishing companies established in 1973]]
[[Category:Mass media in Melbourne]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 2009]]
[[Category:Red Ventures]]
[[Category:2020 mergers and acquisitions]]

Lonely Planet - Revision history

Best time to visit kashmir: clean up

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