The Great Guidebook Retail Showdown

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  06.18.09 | 11:48 AM ET

Photo by fotologic via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Who knew the world of guidebooks-in-bookstores could be so fraught with conflict?

Last week came the news that WH Smith—a large British bookstore chain found in most of the country’s airports and major train stations—had reached an exclusive deal to sell only Penguin-published guidebooks (namely DK Eyewitness and Rough Guides) from its shops. According to the Guardian, the chain reasoned that travelers “are often pressed for time and want to have a straightforward range of travel guides to choose from.” Michael Palin and Margaret Drabble are among the big names opposing the move. Arthur Frommer also has a predictably furious response, calling the deal “an unthinkable act of literary censorship and corporate greed.”

In a funny twist, this week also saw the announcement that Lonely Planet will open its first-ever store, in the Sydney airport, selling guidebooks, gear and more. Travelers’ Tales’ publisher James O’Reilly, who posted the news on Twitter, asks: “will Penguin/WH Smith protest and express outrage?”

I see only one way to settle this: “The Amazing Race: Guidebook Gurus Edition.” Winner gets exclusive rights to every airport bookshop in the world?

Tags: Airworld, Guidebooks, Tres Loco, Australia & Pacific, Australia, Sydney, Europe, England, Literary Travel

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


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