TRAVEL PUBLISHING:THE CREDIT CRUNCH has spread to travel books, with sales slumping, according to figures from Nielsen BookScan.
The data company says 2008 book sales in the travel sector are down 8.7 per cent on the previous year’s total, compared with a general book-market decline of 1.5 per cent.
Specialised books on where to stay, eat and drink in a destination have taken a whopping 20.9 per cent hit, suggesting that holidaymakers are turning to the internet for their insider tips. Free travel websites, such as Tripadvisor.com and newspaper’s online travel sections, are proving especially popular.
The travel-guide sector of the market took a hit of 4.8 per cent in volume in 2008, but the worst-hit book sectors were atlases and street plans, which suffered drops of 12.6 per cent and 19.6 per cent respectively. Satellite navigation systems and online route finders, such as Viamichelin.com and Google Maps, are being blamed for the demise of atlases, but travel guides can shoulder some of the blame, as many city guides now include foldable maps.
For those looking to save money while on holidays, a few guides could prove well worth the investment. Rough Guide’s Budget series has comprehensive affordable listings for food, accommodation and those all-important cheap travel tickets. The titles in Lonely Planet’s On a Shoestring series – among its bestselling titles – should see your money travel a lot farther. Lonely Planet’s online store, at http://shop.lonelyplanet.com, is offering 30 per cent off selected titles at the moment.
The drop in sales is an indication of a wider malaise in the industry. According to Hitwise, part of travel website Experian, the week ending January 3rd saw a 42 per cent plunge in the number of web searches for UK flights against the same week in 2008.