Ten Years in the Latin American Travel Game

Hello again fellow travelers. Recently Class Adventure Travel turned ten years old. It’s quite a monumental moment for us to tell the truth and both Karin and I feel very proud. Over the past ten years we have been working very hard to build up what we hope will one day become the preferred incoming tour operation company in Latin America. The journey so far has been fantastic and while the work has been hard, we have – over the years – traveled to so many extraordinary places, witnessed so many incredible things, and had the privilege to work with such great people that we both feel truly blessed.

It all started a little over 12 years ago when I was traveling through one of Ecuador’s innermost jungles, spending some time living it rough and experiencing the Amazon first hand. It was in the middle of some spectacular jungle trail – somewhere not to far from Misahuallí – (after being bitten by a spider and cured by a cacique!), where the idea first came to me to start a travel company in Latin America. It all centered around two of my deepest wishes; firstly that of turning my greatest hobby (travel, of course) into a professional way of living, and secondly trying to establish possibilities to help build a bridge between Latin America and the rest of the world.

I returned to Holland where Karin and I began working on getting some money together in order to be able to move back to Latin America and get a company started. Many people thought us crazy, the idea of starting a tour company in South America back then was not the type of initiative embraced for its financial viability. Eventually however, we managed to borrow enough money from a few friends and family members and were ready to get started. Against the advice of quite a few people, we both finally agreed that Peru would be the best place to begin. In the beginning of the nineties, Peru had just come out of a bloody civil war. Abimael Guzman, the leader of the notorious Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), had only been captured a few years before we chose Peru, and while stability had returned to the country, many still feared some form of Maoist revolution would come. These fears however seemed blown out of proportion, and with a phenomenal array of both natural and man-made wonders, a peaceful Peru was a tourist Mecca just waiting to happen.

And so we went to Peru, with little more than a couple of suitcases, a little borrowed money, and a couple of really big dreams. Karin and I opened our first office in Lima in 1997. The first year was incredibly difficult, and I often had to work other jobs in order to support us while Karin kept on working tirelessly on getting and keeping Class Adventure Travel off the ground. We came very close to giving up that first year, but luck was on our side and after one year, more or less, business began to pick up. At the end of that famous first year we had received a grand total of 27 passengers… The work experience was what made all the difference though!

The following year I returned to Holland to work for a few months in order to gain some more capital for the company while Karin continued working in Lima. By the end of our second year we were gaining ground, and while we weren’t making any serious money, we could finally consider the company to be fully self-supportive. It was finally beginning to look as though we were going to succeed and at the end of the second year we had actually received a total of 303 passengers.

After over 4 years of courting, Karin finally decided to marry me in 1998; and when we returned to Peru from the wedding in Holland, things finally began to take off in earnest. We began to hire our first employees, we moved into a bigger office, and in the beginning of 2000 we formally opened our first office in Cusco. In 2003 we organized tours for over 2,000 clients, and it was time to start looking outwards to the rest of Latin America. Not only did Karin and I want to open new offices in other countries, we began thinking about moving to another Latin American country in order to get a new perspective on the continent. The options were many and we ended up traveling through Chile, Argentina, and Brazil looking for the right place to settle down.

It was in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that we opened our next office in 2004. Later that same year, Karin and I moved to Buenos Aires where we set up a regional head quarters for Argentina and Chile. In August that year our first daughter Edie was born – the first proud Argentine-Dutch member of our family. Please note Karin basically went through this entire expansion and emigration phase pregnant (Edie was born 2 months after we had arrived to Argentina)… She is a strong woman and most definitely more than my significant other half; without her this company would not have survived, I am pretty sure of that.

As our family grew – so did our company. We began to form alliances with a number of affiliate travel companies in other Latin American countries – and it wasn’t long before the company was able to offer tours across the continent. Most recently we opened a proper office in Costa Rica– a venture that will give us the opportunity to offer tours in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, and will give our clientele the opportunity of undertaking the very best there is on offer in each of these Central American countries.

Karin and I celebrated the birth of our second daughter Noa earlier this year, increasing the number of family members to 4 (2 Dutch and 2 Argentine!). Noa just turned 2 months old, while Class Adventure Travel turned 10 years old. In retrospect it seems like quite a journey, although in everyday working life one hardly realizes what has had to happen for our little company to become what it is today… After ten years in Latin America, we have seen so many breathtaking places, have learned so much, we’ve grown, we’ve been graced with the presence of two incredibly beautiful daughters, and we’re delighted that we get to continue our adventure through this extraordinary continent together with all the wonderful people in our team.

Oh yes, I almost forgot: as an anniversary special – We have decided to knock 10% off all tours publicized on our website. The offer stands on all tours purchased before the 31^st of December this year – regardless of when you’re actually traveling. It’s a good deal (at least I think so…), and our special way of trying to encourage all of you to travel to Latin America and witness some of the many beautiful things we have been lucky to see over the years. For more information take a look at CAT’s Special Promotional Offer on the Class Adventure Travel website. Hope you all like it; let me know what you think!

Bart

www.cat-travel.com

ATHENA

August 2007

Rencana ke Greece udah selalu gue cetuskan sejak lama bertahun2 lalu, tapi selalu ngga jadi karena rencana tujuan liburan kita selalu berubah2. Akhirnya tercapailah bulan Agustus kemaren, gue dan suami berangkat via Genova-Rome-Athens. Badai kita titip sama nenek dan kakeknya di Italy, jadi kita bisa lebih leluasa jalan-jalannya. Kita menginap di hotel yang posisinya sangat strategis di lingkungan tempat-tempat wisata seperti Acropolis, Monastiraki, Pssiri dan Plaka. Ke tempat2 ini kita hanya perlu berjalan kaki saja. Dan hotel ini juga menghadap ke Acropolis, dan kebetulan top roof diatas hotel adalah sebuah restaurant dan juga sebagai ruangan breakfast, jadi setiap pagi kita menikmati breakfast sambil memandangi Acropolis dari jauh.

Hari pertama rencananya kita mau ke Acropolis, masuk lewat pintu Ancient Agora di Monastiraki, beli tiket/orang harganya 12 euro, begitu sampai di Ancient Agora kita baru tahu kalau Acropolisnya berada jauh di atas sana, gue jadi give up, ngga mau naik, ngebayangin nanjak aja ngga bisa, masalahnya pada waktu itu gue lagi hamil 3 bulan. Gue bilang ama suami, lo naik aja sendiri, gue nunggu disini, tapi dia malah ngasih gue speech kalo sampe di Athens buat apa kalo ngga naik ke Acropolis, jadi gue pikir bener juga. Masa sih gue cuma bisa memandangi aja dari jauh? Akhirnya dengan susah payah gue merambat2 naik ke Acropolis yang tingginya minta ampun di panas terik kota Athens. Sepanjang jalan gue ngomel2 kenapa mereka ngga sediakan cable car atau donkey buat orang2 yang ngga kuat nanjak kayak gue. Jadinya kita setiap 10 meter berhenti karena gue kecapekan. Butuh waktu yang lama buat kita sampai diatas karena sedikit-sedikit harus istirahat, dan begitu kita sampe di atas rasanya gue pengen tereak “I DID IT!!!”.

Gue, yg lg hamil 3 bulan dgn bangga bisa sampai keatas :)

Rasanya bangga juga hamil 3 bulan tapi bias sampe ke Templenya Athena itu, kenapa gue bilang bangga? Karena gue itu benci banget climbing, hiking…. Makasih deh kalo yang urusan nanjak2.… Jadi kalo gue bisa nanjak pas hamil 3 bulan, berat, panas, capek… suami gue aja bangga…. Haha

Open air theatre

Tempat nongkrong para turis di Athens itu di Pssiri, Plaka dan Monastiraki, area2 ini di penuche dengan restaurants, bars dan kafe. Tapi Monastirakilah yang paling ramai karena tempatnya sangat strategis karena view nya Acropolis, jadi dua malam itu kita selalu dinner di Monastiraki sambil memandangi Acropolis yang diterangi dengan lampu2 sorot, indah banget. Dan satu malamnya lagi di salah satu Taverna di Pssiri yang lebih menyediakan sea food.

Taverna itu seperti Trattoria di Italy, lebih seder hana dan lebih murah dari restaurant, tapi kalo di Athens, semua yang namanya Taverna itu bagus2 dan harganya seperti harga restaurant, jadi ngga ngaruh kalo di Athens, kecuali di pulau2 kecil di Egypt, kalo Taverna biasanya murah banget.

Greek food is one of the best food, mereka banyak sekali menggunakan kambing dan Veal di Athens, dan sea food di pulau2. Makanan kesukaan gue di Athens ialah Lamb Souvlaki, dan Kleftiko; goat yang sudah dibumbui dan dibungkus dengan paper lalu di masak dalam oven, wuihhhh enaknyaaaa....

Pemandangan di Athens

Kita juga sempat ke National Archeological Museum (dari hotel naik Metro) yang menyimpan mask nya Agamemnon, bekas2 panah dan tombak dari perang 300, dan sculpture 2 dari orang2 terkenal bekas kejayaan Greece. Seperti Zeus (gambar disebelah), Poseidon, Aphrodite, Eros si Cupid dsb.

Ongkos akomodasi di Athens tidak terlalu mahal dibanding negara2 Eropa lainnya, seperti ongkos taxi dan juga harga makanan sedikit lebih murah. Pengalamn lucu kita, sebelum pergi kita udah baca2 buku panduan sejenis Lonely Planet, disebutkan dalam buku: Bila ingin naik taxi dari airport ke downtown Athens, ongkosnya TIDAK LEBIH dari 25 Euro. Nah kita naik taxi dong, abis belum ngerti kalo naik metro mesti turun dimana, setelah sampe hotel di downtown, ternyata argonya sebesar 30 Euro dan supir taxinya minta 40 Euro, alasannya bayar tol dsb, gue hanya tersenyum, lucu ya... ngga cuma di Indonesia berlaku sistem cheating, tetapi juga di Eropa.

Jalanan di Athens

Hari pertama kita sampai di Athens, hari itu pulalah terjadinya kebakaran di banyak kota2 di Greece, hari kedua Athens penuh dengan abu di udara yang terbawa angin dari lokasi kebakaran, hari kedua gue udah cetacean karena berita2 di TV tentang kebakaran di Greece yang lokasinya tiap jam bertambah, maka hari ke tiga kita cabut ke Santorini, salah satu pulau terindah di Greece….

*Turut berduka cita atas korban-korban kebakaran di Yunani selama periode August 2007*

Avalon Travel Publishing Purchased by Blackwater?

It's just a parody by Jeff, but still a good laugh at the corporate insensitivity and ruthless impersonal actions of Bill Newlin in recent years.

Reuters Newswire

Blackwater USA, the private security firm hired by the Department of Defense and the State Department to provide support in Baghdad, announced today that it has urchased Avalon Travel Publishing. The sale was announced after the close of trading on the Dow Jones Stock Exchange.

"I've long admired the management style of Avalon, particularly the Moon component," said Col. (Retired) Mike Hammer, CEO of the controversial security firm. "I thought we ran a tough outfit, but after seeing how Bill Newlin and his people deal with authors, we knew we had to have his team on board with us. The best way to get talent, I always say, is to go out and buy it."

Hammer elaborated on the management style at Moon. "I admire a kick-ass company with absolutely no heart. That's what it takes to succeed today. If someone's been with you for more than four years, throw them out! They're useless. Cut the wages and hire some dumb bastards who don't know any better. That's how we try to operate at
Blackwater, but we're pikers compared to these guys at Moon. I expect to learn a lot from from them in the coming months."

Hammer and Newlin announced the titles to be released in the spring of 2008:

--Road Trip Iraq: Jamie Jenson dodges IEDs for a humorous romp through Fallujah, Tikrit, and Mossel.

--Rick Steve's Green Zone Through the Back Door (Quickly! Quickly!)

--The Practically Dead Nomad, by Edward Hasbrouck

--The Run Over Dog Lover's Guide to Iran, by Margaret Littman

Newlin announced that the few authors being retained by Moon will be asked to input more typesetting codes and, beginning in January of 2008, to glue the covers on their books. "We call these Moon 'Handbooks,'" he noted, "so we think that authors ought to have a hand in the production."

Hammer and Newlin also announced a new website that will focus on management. "We've had a lot of success with www.travelmatters.com," said Newlin, "so our new site, which we will roll out when we hire a new web crew to replace the one we just fired, will be called loyaltydoesntmatter.com."

Media inquiries should be sent to Hannah Cox.

# # #

With love and happiness to all,

Jeff

Save the Bahuaja Sonene National Park

An urgent appeal to all fellow travelers. It has recently come to my attention that the Peruvian Government and a number of large multinationals are planning to reduce the size of one of the country’s key national parks by 200, 000 hectares. If the proposed bill – soon to be deliberated by the Peruvian Congress – gets passed, concessions will be granted to a number of gas companies in the Bahuaja Sonene National Park. As surreal as such a plan may seem, pressure from large wayward conglomerates has led the Peruvian Government to make some very poor decisions in the past, and it is not inconceivable that such a bill could be passed.

Located in the South Eastern department of Madre de Dios, Bahuaja Sonene (sometimes called the Tambopata Candomo Park) has historically been off limits to everyone. It is perhaps one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet, and is home to a number of endemic and endangered wildlife. The park is also home to an area of Amazonian savannah, the sole of its kind and unique to the area. Recently, members of an indigenous group, thought to be the Mascho Piro, were spotted living north of the park. This sighting makes the existence of indigenous groups living inside the secluded park extremely likely.

Not only it seems will this project endanger the extraordinary flora and fauna found in the reserve (much of which remains undiscovered), but it also seriously risks destroying an already endangered culture and threatening the health of members of indigenous groups who are still believed to be fatally susceptible to such maladies as the common cold.

200,000 hectares. I know it just seems like a figure, but let’s put it into perspective. Comparatively speaking, we’re talking about an area of land about the same size as Luxembourg, just a little smaller than Rhode Island. This isn’t just a few football fields – it is an enormous tract of untouched land. And not just any land either. We’re talking about what is probably the most biologically diverse environment on the planet – and in one fowl swoop, a group of backward greedy institutions would have this reduced by an area the size of a small country.

In a time when global warning is the most prevalent threat to the continued survival of us all, it seems that there are people out there determined to destroy this beautiful planet even further. The destruction of this beautiful park for financial gain – or any other gain for that matter – simply cannot be allowed. An appeal needs to be made to the Peruvian Government as soon as possible. They need to know just how atrocious and devastating this proposed bill will be, and they need to know the extent of the opposition towards it, so that when the bill gets deliberated, the right choices can be made. Currently there is petition online at http://www.salvemoscandamo.com/. I urge everyone to take a minute or two to sign this and get their voices heard. I would also encourage people to oppose the US-Peru Free Trade agreement which will give large US multinationals free reign to plunder the country’s many natural treasures. A petition against the agreement can be signed here - Democracy in Action. If anyone has any further information on this issue, and knows of ways which could help us unite against this bill being passed, please let us know.

Bart

http://www.cat-travel.com/

Phuket

Waktu kita tinggal di Malaysia, adik gue Citra (anak no 3) dateng dari Medan untuk menjenguk kita, selama di Malaysia gue ajak jalan2, nah gue kepikiran ngajak dia ke Phuket, kebetulan karena dekat, tidak perlu visa dan gue berdua belum pernah kesana. Suami pun setuju dan mengizinkan kami pergi ke Phuket selama 3 hari. Selama ini gue hanya mendengar cerita tentang keindahan Phuket dari orang2 yang sudah pergi kesana. dari KL kita langsung terbang ke Bandara di Phuket, dari atas sebelum pesawat mendarat kelihatan pemandangan air dibawah yang sangat indah, lautnya berwarna hijau dan kelihatan pula pulau2 kecil dari atas, semua kepala penumpang melongok ke arah jendela saat itu.

Kita akan menginap di South Sea Resort Hotel di Karon Beach, atas rekomendasi seorang teman di Malaysia yang pernah menginap disana, hotelnya bagus dengan harga yang tidak terlalu mahal, gue lupa tepatnya berapa karena gue juga bookingnya lewat internet dgn credit card.

Kamar hotel

Citra di hotel

Sampai di hotel, nama gue udah tertulis di depan receptionist, bahwa mereka sudah menunggu kedatangan kita. Cukup puas dengan fasilitas yang ada di hotel, didepan kamar langsung ada kolam renang dengan pool bar nya. Very nice....

Hari pertama kebetulan kita sampainya sudah sore hari, jadi hari itu kita bermain2 di pantai Karon di depan hotel kita. Karena kita juga sudah lelah, makan malam lalu tidur, sebelumnya gue udh booking kapal untuk ke Phi phi island esok pagi2 sekali pukul 7 akan dijemput oleh travel agent.

Biaya ke Phi phi island tidak murah, karena gue pesen paket yang full, artinya mulai naik kapal dari Phuket ke Phi phi Don, termasuk snorkeling dan di bawa ke phi phi island termasuk juga makan siang, dan berenang sampai sore.


Phi phi island adalah sebuah pulau kecil yang sangat sangat indah, menghipnotis para pengunjungnya. Tempat dibuatnya film The Beach yang dibintangi Leonardo Di Caprio.

Phi phi island

Esok harinya kita booking jalan-jalan sekitar Phuket dengan rent car dan supir, perjalanan ini sudah termasuk Elephant trekking, ox cart, monkey show, Phuket point view dan makan siang. Di acara monkey show yang paling excited adalah Badai, karena monkeys nya juga jinak dan Badai ngga takut sama sekali. Setelah selesai dengan keliling Phuketnya kami berhenti membeli durian monthong, kalo sampai thailand ngga makan durian monthong rasanya aneh aja, walaupun di Jakarta ada, tapi kok rasanya beda ya, lebih lezat yang di Thailand. Setiap malamnya kita coba dinner di restaurant yang berbeda2, ada satu restoran di sebelah hotel kami, namanya Wildfire, mereka menyediakan makanan yang sangat lezat, ada makanan khas Thai dan juga steak, tapi Tom Yam nya yang paling kita sukai.

Eating my Lobster

Hari ketiga kita jalan-jalan dan stay seharian di Pathong, pusat nongkrong dan ngumpulnya para orang-orang, Pathong diramaikan oleh hotel-hotel, kafe, restaurant dan toko2 cindera mata. Pantainya juga paling ramai, dari Karon beach hotel kami, kami naik tuk tuk ke Pathong, hanya sekitar 50 Baht. Kami bermain-main di Pathong beach, massages, bikin tattoo, makan siang, belanja cindera mata dan makan malam lobster di restaurant lobster yang paling terkenal dan ramai dengan pengunjung. Pokoknya seharian itu kita di Pathong.

Pulang dari Pathong sudah malam kita pun menyiapkan koper, memasukka pakaian dan cindera mata. Esok paginya kita kembali ke Malaysia. Perjalanan ke Phuket adalah salah satu perjalanan yang paling menyenangkan, keindahan Phuket sampai sekarang gue gak bisa lupakan.

Harper Collins Editor Phil Friedman Won't Mention Tiananmen Square Massacre

Way to go Harper Collins and editor Paul Friedman who will soon produce a book that ignores the civil and military atrocities of the Tiananman Square massacre, and so intend their book to gain favor with the Chinese authorities.

The politics of guidebooks
By Finlo Rohrer
BBC News Magazine

A new book for travellers to China plans to make no mention of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Should travel guides tell the whole history of a place, or bow to local sensitivities?

Hotels are a must. So are tips on the local cuisine. A few key phrases. Some maps. A list of the best tourist sites and their opening hours. Perhaps some cultural do and don'ts.

...and this is another

All are key ingredients of a typical guide book. And yet many also feel the need to offer something more - a grounding in the history of the place that can help flesh out its culture, architecture and art.

Take Nuremberg. You could describe the city's medieval architecture, its beautiful perch on the River Pegnitz and its role in the German Renaissance.

But many travellers might find it strange if you didn't mention the Nazis' Nuremberg rallies. At least once.

And one might find it a little surprising that HarperCollins is to publish a guide entitled Travel Around China to coincide with 2008's Beijing Olympics that will make no mention of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

I don't think talk about the killings is appropriate for a travel guide

Phil Friedman, HarperCollins

The 1989 protest that culminated in demonstrators being fired on by soldiers, and the death of hundreds, is a taboo subject in China. Internet searches that would throw up results relating to the episode are censored. Newspapers do not mention it.

HarperCollins are yet to confirm the content of the book - compiled from contributions from native Chinese writers - but the prospects do not seem to favour a mention.

Years of history

Editor Phil Friedman - who is working on the book - says people want different things from a travel guide.

"I don't think talk about the killings is appropriate for a travel guide... Tiananmen Square had thousands of years of history before that occurred. Tiananmen is a feudal site, hugely important historic site. I'm not sure people travelling there would go there because there were shootings."

You could praise Nuremberg's architecture...
But to Independent travel editor Simon Calder, this attitude is problematic.

"Travel guides are not just about telling you where to get a cheap bed and meet the locals in civil circumstances. They are helping you to understand a place," he says.

"The notion you could get a proper idea of a country as complex, fascinating and in many ways alarming as China without knowing about the history and politics is preposterous."

BBC Link

Lonely Planet Responds

Tony Wheeler has taken some heat recently from fans of Lonely Planet who accuse him of selling out to a British government media monopoly which will only exploit his vast storage of travel information and use it for the exploitation of the masses. But most readers seem to think this is an OK match and that LP-BBC Worldwide will be a comfortable merger that will someday send travel information to travelers on the road along with upscale tourists who still want to know the dance schedule at Nana. Time will tell.

Here's what Tony has to say to the readers of Thorn Tree:

A Message from Tony & Maureen Wheeler
Posted at 05:02PM Oct 02, 2007 by CarolB
A message to the Thorn Tree community from Tony & Maureen Wheeler:

It's time.

Yes, it's finally happened, after 34 years almost to the month, we’re moving on from Lonely Planet. We could say it's so we have more time for travel, but the reality is we've known for some time that Lonely Planet has to make a big step into the future.

But guidebooks are only part of Lonely Planet, the non-print part of our activities from websites to Lonely Planet Images, LPTV to B2B projects, may be a smaller part in turnover terms, but it’s the area which we believe is going to become increasingly important. Since 1994 we have spent a lot of time and money trying to find ways to help travellers access the immense amount of information we have on just about everywhere, as, how, when and where they want it.

We have developed useful tools online for travellers and instigated the mighty Thorn Tree, but to really develop this medium to its fullest extent, to be as innovative and as powerful a resource online as we are in print, we need help. The books subsidise everything else and are the basis of everything we do. We need to continue to invest in researching and collating information, but as technology develops we also need expertise and financial muscle to really exploit our full potential as the travel information authority of the future.

Enter BBC Worldwide. It's the side of the BBC which produces and markets BBC projects for the outside world, not just the British radio and television programs but also magazines, international TV channels, websites and mobile services. It's global, it has a wonderful reputation and as of today it's the new majority owner of Lonely Planet.

Why did we choose them? We had many offers from digital companies to international publishing houses to private entrepreneurs, and many were interesting, however BBCW got our attention because on so many important levels they 'got' Lonely Planet. Innovative and quirky, authoritative and trustworthy, ethical and principled are all words that we use within Lonely Planet to describe our company. All these words can also be applied to BBCW. We have spent several months getting to know BBCW and we are confident they are the right partner to help us take Lonely Planet into the future.

What changes is this going to mean? Only positive ones we believe. Their view is the book side of the operation ain't broke so they don’t have to fix it. That side will continue with new projects and new ideas just as it is doing today. The other side of Lonely Planet – that non-print side – is going to get a lot more energy and push.

And what will we do? Well we’re still going to have a substantial stake in Lonely Planet – 25% ownership – and BBCW have asked us to stay on board and work with them. We think we're going to be involved in some exciting new projects. And we might get more time to travel.

Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Message from Tony Wheeler

Lonely Planet Sold to BBC Worldwide

This momentous event in travel publishing history took place a few weeks ago, but it seems that the word hasn't really gotten out that Tony Wheeler has sold his legendary Lonely Planet to BBC Worldwide for an estimated $200M, plus he's keeping 25% in his back pocket....just in case.

BBC Worldwide buys Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet publishes guides to 500 destinations

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has bought the travel guide publisher, Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet, founded by husband and wife team Tony and Maureen Wheeler in 1972, publishes around 500 titles that are widely used by backpackers.

The purchase fits in with BBC plans to grow online revenues and expand operations in America and Australia. Lonely Planet also produces travel programmes and its web site receives 4.3 million visitors a month. The Wheelers, who owned the business along with John Singleton, will retain a 25% shareholding in the company.

"We felt that BBC Worldwide would provide a platform true to our vision and values, while allowing us to take the business to the next level," they said.

The amount paid was not disclosed. The BBC said that the deal would strengthen Lonely Planet's visibility and growth potential. It would also allow Lonely Planet users to access BBC content - such as Michael Palin's New Europe.

After travelling overland from Europe to Australia, the Wheelers produced their first book, Across Asia on the Cheap, from their kitchen table. Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, Oakland and London, with more than 500 office employees and more than 300 on-the-road authors.

BBC Link

And another report with more information and terms and price.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corp., bought Lonely Planet in a deal that values the travel publisher at about 100 million pounds ($203 million), a person familiar with the talks said.
Lonely Planet founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler will keep a 25 percent stake, the BBC said Monday.

The couple, who met on a bench in The Regent's Park of London, started the publisher in 1972 after a honeymoon trip across Asia with "a beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure," Lonely Planet's Web site says.

More than 30 years after Across Asia on the Cheap, the couple have made about 70 million pounds ($142 million) on the sale, figures from the source suggest, since they owned about 90 percent of the business.

"Joining BBC Worldwide allows us to secure the long-term future of our company within a globally recognized media group," the Wheelers said in a statement.

Lonely Planet, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, publishes about 500 travel guides, including language, cycling and walking titles. The company, which employs 500 staff and as many as 300 on-the-road authors, has recently targeted a mature traveling audience after focusing on campers and backpackers for decades.

The deal will help the BBC become "one of the world's leading content businesses," BBC Worldwide Chief Executive John Smith said.

The broadcaster also aims to grow online brands, and to increase its operations in Australia and North America, Smith said.

"The association will strengthen Lonely Planet's visibility and growth potential, particularly in the digital arena, as well as providing their users access to the wide range of BBC content (that) connects with their interests," said Etienne de Villiers, nonexecutive chairman of BBC Worldwide.

Deloitte Touche Tohumatsu's Corporate Finance Advisory arm, as well as Australian law firm Blake Dawson Waldron, advised the BBC on the purchase, the broadcaster said.

ZD Net Link

And the best coverage with the best links comes from the Los Angeles Times.

Lonely Planet founders ’sell out’ to BBC Worldwide

The British Broadcasting Trust and Lonely Planet Publications announced today that Lonely Planet’s founders, Tony Wheeler and Maureen Wheeler, have sold their majority stake in Lonely Planet to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Worldwide for an undisclosed sum.

Here’s a link to an upbeat video of Tony and Maureen’s official ‘adieu’ announcement on lonelyplanet.tv [after the 15-second ad].

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is reporting a sale price of $250 million [in Australian dollars, or roughly US$220mil]. Reuters pegs the price at 100 million pounds (or US$203mil). The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has is at CA$221 million.

Here’s an ABC mp3 audio of Tony Wheeler explaining the deal (and the decision to keep publishing a Burma/Myanmar guidebook), in which he uses the phrase “sell out.”

The BBC and Lonely Planet are both reporting that the Wheelers will retain a 25% share of Lonely Planet and seats on the company’s board. As of Oct. 1, Lonely Planet is still hiring in Melbourne and London, from an Executive Assistant to the CFO to a Business Development Manager for Lonely Planet Images.

Here’s a link to a recent Q&A with Tony and Maureen Wheeler, with the Travel editors at our sister publication, the Chicago Tribune. As of the time of the sale announcement, here’s what the BBC had to say about Lonely Planet:

“BBC recommends: Lonely Planet

Select your destination and find indispensable, money-saving local information, including practical details like whether it’s acceptable to haggle.”

Here’s what Lonely Planet had to say about the BBC:

“BBC World Service - 648AM: Internationally known for its news coverage; also current affairs from around the world with a British accent.”

Finally, here’s what user ‘odecar10,’ a self-described “Economic migrant to the UK from the Emerald isle in the bad old days of the 1980’s and still there” had to say, on Lonely Planet’s Thorntree bulletin board:

“Unfortunately its true. LP now owned by the propoganda [sic] arm of the British Government.”

Watch this space for updates on how these developments might affect the guidebook and “independent” travel publisher’s future publishing, multimedia and broadcasting plans.

Does this move bode well for LP, its vibrant online community and tradition of ‘independent’ travel advice? Chime in below in the Comments section.

LA Times Link