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FACED WITH TOUGH COMPETITION LAST YEAR,
TRAVEL BOOKS POSTED A VERY MODEST GAIN
Here’s some helpful info hot off the press for travel writers, those lucky guy and gals pursuing my favorite niche in the industry.
According to the 2008 U.S. Travel Publishing Year Book, the travel segment found it hard to move off dead center, posting a very meager 1 % growth in 2007. Growth for guide books was just 1.7%, despite the fact that this is the largest segment of the industry. It garners 51% of sales.
Frommer’s leads the field with its 20% of market share, but Random House is the nation’s biggest travel publisher, with DK, Wiley and Lonely Planet following in that order. National Geographic Traveler and Avalon’s Rick Steves titles were the two fastest-growing series, the report states.
The study by Stephen Mesquita, based on stats from Nielsen Book Scan, created a list of the most popular destinations for Americans in 2007 based on the books that were purchased. Beijing, Vietnam, Israel, Croatia and Egypt topped the list. That’s no surprise with the dollar exchange becoming worse everyday in Europe. However, I was somewhat shocked to learn that travel to Canada and the Caribbean slipped.
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