The future of traditional travel guidebooks is still very much in doubt, but Britain’s Rough Guides is battling back to rebuild its brand and to hang onto market share. Facing a serious shake-up following its take-over by Penguin last Fall, Rough Guides dropped most of its non-travel titles and has refocused its efforts on its strong list of travel destination guides.
With a revamped website and an amusing new ad campaign, Rough Guides hopes that travelers will again opt for old-school, well researched guidebooks, along with digital media. As a former guidebook writer, I wish them well.