The first thoughts I had on the topic of new media and travel guidebooks was while backpacking through China and South-East Asia in summer 2009. I had backpacked in Asia, South-Africa and Eastern Europe the years before and noticed that compared to 2006, when I started backpacking, much more people were traveling with (mini) laptops, iPhones and Blackberries. Whilst talking to other travelers I noticed how these products were used next to traditional travel guidebooks such as Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and Footprint and I wondered how long it would take for new media products to push traditional (paper) travel guidebooks out of the market. Or will travel guidebooks keep existing next to new media tools? How are publishers of travel guidebooks responding to this? Are they changing the content of their guides? And how is the content for new media tools differently structured? Are publishers designing new products fit for iPhones, blackberries and laptops and do they cooperate with developers of new media products such as Apple or Google? How much attention is given to their websites by publishers?
With all these question whirling in my mind I decided I wanted to devote my master thesis to the topic of new media influences on travel guidebooks.
