There is some surprising news in the travel industry. Omnipotent guidebook publisher Lonely Planet has been bought by BBC Worldwide. Tony and Maureen Wheeler founded lonely Planet thirty-five years ago. Their first book was a guide to budget travel in Asia. Today, the company publishes nearly 500 guides and has an expansive website. The Wheelers proved to be colorful characters, according to a profile of them published in the New Yorker Magazine. Lonely Planet guides are virtually holy books amongst the backpacker set. The BBC did not disclose the amount it paid for L.P., but stated,

"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."

I'm sure numerous Lonely Planet users are taken aback by the sale. Their brand of budget travel has been defined by the guidebooks for so long. We'll have to wait and see if the BBC changes the mystique that makes L.P. so attractive. Perhaps there will be little change.
Still, though, it is the end of an era. What would backpacker meccas like Khao San Road (below) have become with Lonely Planet?