Lonely Planet misses a trick

I was handed this booklet at Victoria yesterday. Seeing the Lonely Planet logo on the front I took one. I have just come back from 4 weeks travelling in India so feeling pretty favourable towards Lonely Planet at the moment. It's an interesting premise: 80% of Britons don't use their full annual leave entitlement, 67% of Britons who make New Year's Resolutions aim to get a better work life balance and most people truly believe that they "don't have time." So Lonely Planet have added up weekends, public holidays, leave etc to show that actually we all have 132 days in which to do something great in.

It's a really nice insight and idea and it certainly got me thinking about making better use of time outside of work, but once I started reading the booklet I was a bit disappointed. The suggestions just seemed too random - they varied from eating at Dans Le Noir in Clerkenwell, to finding a wood canopy to climb in, to staying in an Old Jail in Mount Gambier, Australia. It felt a bit like a laundry list of "zany" things to do. No links were included for any of the suggestions, so it made it harder for me to find out more quickly.  Their own site was equally disappointing. It could have been a fantastic community site for sharing inspiring ideas and suggestions. I was looking for people's comments and thoughts but instead it's closed off to real opinions, only official Lonely Planet suggestions seem to be allowed. And honestly, suggestions like "Visit Chernobyl" or "Go nude camping" didn't really make me rush out and buy their new Lonely Planet: 132 Days book.

Nice thought, but it could have been brought to life in a much more authentic and inspiring way.

Comments

[Dale]

It is a nice insight but the problem is the moment you define an option you step away from the mirage like spirit of travel - from the 'who knows?' into the 'this is what you could do'. This actually then just becomes a try hard list, to be scanned, judged and rejected - in many ways closer to the reality of travel but not the romance.
Anyway, welcome to VCCP and your right Riverford is a culinary treasure trove.
DG

[Amelia]

Also as Michael pointed out to me, as air travel becomes positioned increasingly as environmentally evil, what is the role for a brand like Lonely Planet which always seems to have thought of itself as a very ethical brand.