The fastest growing and most innovative guidebook publisher is Rough Guides, based in London and New York. One of its directors, Simon Carloss, talked to Scott Steedman. Q: Why do people travel? SC: To experience and learn from cultures different from your own, get a taste of adventure, make new friends, relax. And occasionally to be reminded of how nice it can be back home. Q: Is it still possible to travel, or would you agree with the sceptics who say "we are all tourists now?" SC: This is a debate that could fill many pages as it touches on issues of the Global Village, the creeping hegemony of western culture, the importance of the tourism industry to most nation's economies, the nature of today's mass-tourism/holiday-making and the romantic view of bygone travel. I would paraphrase Paul Theroux a tourist is someone who doesn't know where he is and a traveller is a someone who doesn't know where he's going! Q: What is the ideal guidebook? SC: The ideal guidebook would be like the ideal traveling companion: inspiring, enthusiastic but not afraid of being opinionated, knowledgeable, reliable (most of the time), occasionally argumentative. But above all someone who knows how to enjoy himself. Q: What separates your books from the rest? SC: The aspects we are most praised for are the descriptive, informative and entertaining quality of the writing, the breadth and accuracy of the practical information and the well-designed user-friendly structure. And the context section at the back, covering a range of historical and contemporary topics and film and book listings, is always popular. Q: Are your guidebooks any use for people who live in a city or country, rather than just visiting it? SC: Most definitely. The greatest tribute is when the locals start using your book as a reference book. One reader from India wrote "We have even used The Rough Guide for information on Bombay, where we are long-time residents." Q: Do you fear that, in helping people to visit previously obscure locations, your books are aiding and abetting the despoliation of these places ? SC: I believe visitors will find these places regardless of guidebooks word of mouth is still very powerful. Just look at Goa's early popularity before guidebooks were around. Popularity brings its own dangers. It's often when the charter flights and package companies arrive, following in the footsteps of independent travelers, and the development projects that spring up are ill-concieved and insensitive, that an area will be spoilt. Q: What does the future hold for the guidebook market? SC: With tourism set to be the number one global industry over the next five years and a growing number of these tourists choosing to travel independently, the outlook for sales of travel guides is healthy. New guidebooks will cater more and more to increasingly specialized tourist activities and destinations. The biggest influence though for publishers and booksellers will be the Internet. Since 1994 the Rough Guides have set the publishing standard by embracing the power and potential of this medium and our web site (www.roughguides.com) now has comprehensive travel information for 4,000-plus destinations. Where this technology may take us is only limited by our imaginations. A bit like travel. Simon Carloss first started working for the Rough Guides in 1992, when it operated out of a small apartment in south London with nine workers. Reputedly taken on to bolster the "football team's" defense, he has worked in most areas of the company finally, settling in the publicity and marketing department. He is also still at "right-back." |
