When travelling, you may be somebody who slavishly follows guidebook
recommendations, or you may prefer to simply take tips from the book and
make your own discoveries.
Either way, the cheap-and-clean guesthouse highlighted may have changed hands,
or the superb jungle trek leader may have moved on. At best, the information
you read will be at least nine months old due to publishing schedules.
So, can you believe everything you read? Well, clearly not, as
information-based books will start to be dated as soon as they are
published.
The case of Lonely Planet writer Thomas Kohnstamm - who is reported to admit
making up sections of the Colombia guide and never visited the country -
takes us into a whole new area of misinformation.
It's one thing recommending a back street bar in Bogota that may not be in
existence by the time the next Colombia edition comes out in two years time.
It's quite another to to parade a friend's recommendation as fact and keep
your fingers crossed.
But that's exactly what some guidebook writers do: they scour the internet and
other guidebooks, then ring or email to check the place is still open and
latest prices, then simply re-write the copy.
I've yet to meet any guidebook writer who never actually visited the country
they are supposedly experts on - but the economics of guidebook writing are
such that corners will be cut so that the author comes out at least in
pocket.
A friend is currently writing a round-up guide (non-travel). His fee is
£3,000, but it's a desk-based research job. He knows his subject so it
should take less than a month to write.
Good money? Well, not when the editor's queries follow, extra research is
requested and the proofs are read. Then the job takes seven weeks in total
and the £3k advance isn't quite so attractive.
Guidebook authors are not paid hugely more. But the thing is - they have to
travel, and as a rule, guidebook publishers don't pay expenses.
I remember one author several years ago being asked by Thomas Cook to write a
mini guidebook to the Algarve for £2,500. The money was poor, so she spent
only two weeks in Portugal, two weeks research back home and two weeks
writing it up.
Another researching a book on Namibia offered a top slot recommendation in the
hotels section in return for a a free stay in a suite. Guidebooks are not
full of wilful fiction, but little money can mean little careful research.
Jeffrey White on the website Gadling, puts it thus: " I know writers who I
know to call in favours, farm out their work, barter, happily receive comps
and overall travel in a way that is, well, rather less than incognito."
The best writers are those that live in, or have lived in, the destination
being covered. They spend many weeks or months in situ, have widespread
contacts there and an inherent interest in their subject.
There are others who will only devote as much time as they deem economic. And
there are still more who are happy to make a loss, writing off against tax a
commission which at least brings them free hotels and other perks.
What about the publishers? They aren't stupid - as with newspapers and
websites, there are those that are diligent, others that care less for
original content or in verifying information.
Anecdote suggests that competition and cost-cutting in publihsing means that
the situation is worsening. A family friend wrote a guidebook to Scotland
and updated it for several years: she has now retired but was shocked to
find several inaccuracies in the latest edition.
A few calls confirmed what she suspected - the young writer hired to update
her work never visited the places in question, but had used websites or
phone calls, failed to double check - and neither did the publishers.
I respect and trust the Bradt writers and find Rough Guides the most
consistently reliable (and easy to read) of the mainstream publishers.
That's not to mean I don't trust all the others. But I really don't believe
everything I read.
I find guides that are written by people that live and work in a place are generally more helpful than ones written by fly in, fly out writers. For ski resorts in Europe, I really like Mad Dog Ski guidebooks - written by people who work in the resorts, you get little nuggets of invaluable advice.
Amelie Dechaux, London,
Melissa has made an excellent point! I'll add to that: food critics have their meals paid for by their publisher (and they often take colleagues, friends and family members so they can try as many dishes as possible), book critics don't buy their books, they receive them free from publishers to review (and get to keep them!), and likewise, movie critics generally get free cinema tickets to preview screenings and premieres. And I'm sure we can think of more. Great point, Melissa.
lara_dunston, dubai, uae
I am a guidebook writer of longstanding - having written over 25 books and edited over 100. On the matter of "freebies and perks" - I am a critic not a PR person and I take my job very seriously. A motoring journalist is not expected to buy the car in order to test drive it; a theatre critic is not criticised for getting a free seat. I make no apologies for getting free hotel rooms - I would not be able to stay at the hotels otherwise, given that my expenses for a book generally range from £0–£500. I select hotels potentially suitable for the project and treat it as a test drive. If it doesn't measure up, it doesn't go in - simple. The dire economics of our profession are such that we simply cannot survive without support from tourist offices and the travel trade. As professional travel writers, we build up sufficient experience not to be overawed by a bunch of flowers, to compare products and make an informed opinion - and ultimately that professionalism is what we are needed for.
Melissa Shales, London, UK
Steve,
As I write for Bradt, it was nice to be included in your commendations rather than in your condemnations. I am amazed at the number of writers who parachute into a country, race around for a month and then produce a so-called "guidebook" Frequent visits are necessary, if only to compare the seasons and how perceptions change between them. I do not rule out asking friends' opinions as I cannot stay in every hotel or eat in every restaurant that I mention. The "parachutist" is of course unlikely to make friends during his hurried visit so has to rewrite websites to produce some copy and has nobody to bounce opinions off.
In large countries, gambles will have to be taken from time to time. I write on the Baltic States, which are small, cheap, safe and fully covered by public transport. Would it be fair to impose on writers in Colombia, Mongolia, Nigeria the standards which I hope I set myself in a totally different terrain?
Neil Taylor
Neil Taylor, London, U.K.
Carol, please don't take offense but I trust Trip Advisor less than Thomas Kohnstamm and that's saying something. Thomas aside, professional travel writers have an enormous knowledge and skill-set that the average traveller doesn't have. Those of us who take our jobs seriously *are* on the ground, constantly travelling and developing our expertise and skills, not only at research & writing, but at discernment. I'm continually developing knowledge of people, places, history, geography, culture, languages, etc, and expertise in destinations, travel, airlines, hotels, etc. My job requires me to be able to talk to a chef about cookings techniques one minute and to hoteliers about recruitment the next. I travel 365 days a year & work 7 days a week. What I do is not a holiday. How can you compare my opinion with someone who only travels 4 times a year? Please look at my blog: http://cooltravelguide.blogspot.com/ and perhaps you'll see how seriously I take my work. We're not all like Thomas.
laradunston, Dubai, UAE
I have two words - Trip Advisor (www.tripadvisor.com) . It is written by travelers for travelers, comments are posted by people on the ground or who have recently returned from a destination,and there's almost always a plethora of good info. I've always found great information and tips there which, combined with a good guidebook, give first-time visitors to an area lots of inside information.
Carol Jean Davis, Sarasota, FL/USA
My favourites are the three "Jetlag Travel Guides" by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch:
Molvania: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry
Phaic Tan: Sunstroke on a Shoestring
San Sombrèro: A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups
Very funny and worth reading!
Oliver, Switzerland,
I use the Routard guides which are in French. I've never had a disappointing experience yet either with the guide or eating in a Routard-recommended restaurant.
Sarah Hague, Montpellier, France