Lonely Planet re-launches City Guides for grown-ups
MELBOURNE – Lonely Planet has re-launched its City Guide series, aiming squarely at the baby boomer and the GenerationXer rather than the backpacker.
“More than thirty years ago, Lonely Planet started out catering mainly for young, budget travellers, but it has been a very long time since you’ve had to pretend you’re an 18-year-old backpacker to use our guides,” said sales & marketing director, Howard Ralley.
Lonely Planet’s City Guides have a new audience – longer-stay urban travellers aged 30-60 who seek “affordable luxury” and cultural immersion.
“The changes to the City Guides were also partly driven by the emergence of an older generation of baby boomer travellers who are healthy, adventurous and affluent, as well as internet savvy,” said Ralley.
These travellers have more time to spend in a destination and savour the place rather than ‘ticking off’ destinations.
In response, Lonely Planet’s City Guides have been reorganised into a neighbourhood structure to help travellers experience the personality of different districts, with walking tours and more recommendations from locals, and increased sustainable content and green travel ideas.
Ralley says, “Despite the generational labels, we know that these travellers do not feel defined by their age. It’s their mindset and the way they think about travel – a spirit of adventure, and a desire for cultural connection – that unites them,” said Ralley.
The City Guides therefore now feature extended reviews on major attractions, with greater depth of cultural and historical information.
The seven initial titles in the re-launch are Hong Kong & Macau, London, Rome, San Francisco, Sydney, Venice& The Veneto, and Shanghai – with another seven titles due in April.
Ian Jarrett
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