Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is a large travel guide book publisher. The company is owned by American billionaire Brad Kelley's NC2 Media, who bought it in 2013 from BBC Worldwide for USD $77 million (the equivalent of £45.5 million in pound sterling), after it was valued at £130 million in 2008.

History[edit | edit source]

Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked on an overland trip through Europe and Asia to Australia, following the route of the Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition.

The company name originates from the misheard "lovely planet" in a song written by Matthew Moore. Lonely Planet's first book, Across Asia on the Cheap, had 94 pages, was written by the couple in their home. The original print run consisted of stapled booklets and sold out.

In October 2007, the BBC acquired a 75% stake in Lonely Planet. It has since been gradually sold off to NC2 Media.

Publications[edit | edit source]

Lonely Planet publishes travel guides, mobile applications and websites for world travelers. The company also provides services for digital travel products and offers travel advice to its users. The guidebooks are published in 11 different languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and more.