I'm back in Okinawa and was looking through a travel guide that was published in 2005. It says that there are only two hostels in the main city of Naha at 1500 and 3000 yen per dorm bed.
It is very outdated information. There are many hostels in Naha ranging from 1000 to 1800 yen per dorm bed. Even now, none of the English-language booking engines have complete information on hostels here. I doubt that there were only 2 hostels in Naha back in 2005.
Better information can be found on Web sites by using a search engine. User-generated-content (UGC) means that the online travel Web sites have thousands of "travel writers" in the field continually updating content.
I saw that even Lonely Planet has started offering digital versions of their travel guides – maybe a way to keep the guides updated better?
Is there a future for printed travel guides?
14 years
Thise micro laptops are horribly expensive, but too small to work with all the time. I think most people wouldn´t consider to buy two expensive PCs - rather a good desktop PC for at home and a cheapo thing for travelling, for not more that $ 400. Just enough memory to store photos and some music (maybe 24 GB) , a Windows OS and a decent 1024 pixel screen - that´s all you need for a week away.
Nostalgic, isnt it?
:)
14 years
I don´t believe in the cellphone hype. Mobiles don´t have a keyboard and the screen is just too small to surf the web.
No offense to the person who wrote this, I probably felt the same way in 2008. Amazing what an affect smart phones, iPhone, Android have had.
I think the Wheelers recently sold their last stake in LP to the BBC. Smart people.
I don't want to say guidebooks are dead, but the cost to research and publish a guidebook now, might not be profitable. Guidebooks are 1 year or more out of date when they hit the bookstore. Wikitravel is a good resource and have started making a few edits of where I live.
14 years
Nostalgic, isnt it?
:)
LOL, true. :)
But I still don´t get the smartphone thing - I refuse to buy one of them. Maybe when they come with minibar or geiger counter I´ll get one.
14 years
But I still don´t get the smartphone thing.
You need to sign up for Twitter and Foursquare. ;)
14 years
No offense to the person who wrote this, I probably felt the same way in 2008. Amazing what an affect smart phones, iPhone, Android have had.
It's not just a surprise to us. Mobile has taken off at a rate that even Google didn't anticipate. Google's CEO (until April 4) Eric Schmidt gave the keynote speech at the 2011 Internet Advertising Bureau's annual Leadership meeting.
Mobile growth is occurring at a quicker rate than anyone expected, Schmidt noted. “We look at the charts internally and it’s happening faster than all of our predictions,” Schmidt said.
See clips and read more about his speech here.
Schmidt also said that "78% of smartphone owners use their phones while they shop." Not everyone carries a smartphone around, but those who have them clearly use them as part of their everyday life. And they'll use them when they travel too, don't you think?
11 years
It looks like printed guidebooks may still be hanging in there in the UK
Death of travel guidebook greatly exaggerated
1001 UK holidaymakers were polled about the source of their travel information.
It had been felt the traditional hard copy guidebook had been under threat from the internet and apps. However, almost one in six (59%) holidaymakers used a hard copy guidebook on their summer holiday in 2013. Two-in-five (41%) purchased their holiday guidebook, while 18% borrowed the book from a friend or relative.
Furthermore, the report found that guide books are the "key resource of holiday information" for one in six (14%) of the UK public.
…
Blogs however appear to be struggling to gain widespread adoption with a disappointing 3% describing blogs as their key resource. Other digital channels fare better, with peer review sites such as TripAdvisor by far the most important channel, favoured by 27%.
Do you still see backpackers pouring over printed guidebooks in your hostel?
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