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Lonely Planet travel writer about Colombia never went there

The Australiian Sunday Times wrote:

April 13, 2008 12:00am

Lonely Planet's bad trip

THE Lonely Planet guidebook empire is reeling from claims by one of its authors that he plagiarised and made up large sections of his books and dealt drugs to make up for poor pay.

Thomas Kohnstamm also claims in a new book that he accepted free travel, in contravention of the company's policy.

His revelations have rocked the travel publisher, which sells more than six million guides a year.

Mr Kohnstamm, whose book is titled Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?, said yesterday that he had worked on more than a dozen books for Lonely Planet, including its titles on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Chile and South America.

In one case, he said he had not even visited the country he wrote about.

"They didn't pay me enough to go Colombia,'' he said.

"I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating - an intern in the Colombian Consulate.

"They don't pay enough for what they expect the authors to do.''

An email to management, posted on the company's authors' forum, describes Mr Kohnstamm's book as "a car crash waiting to happen''.

"Why did you (management) not understand that when you hire a constant stream of new, unvetted people, pay them poorly and set them loose, that someone, somehow was going to screw you?'' author Jeanne Oliver wrote.

Ms Oliver, an experienced travel writer having written for Lonely Planet on eastern Europe, France, Germany and Greece, admitted to sending the email, but did not wish to comment further.

Other writers believe some practices described in the book are widespread. Lonely Planet forbids their authors from accepting gifts or discounts.

Another email, sent in the name of Lonely Planet chief Janet Slater, states that Mr Kohnstamm's books were all being urgently reviewed.

The email said: "If we find that the content has been compromised, we'll take urgent steps to fix it. Once we've got things right for travellers as quickly as we can, we'll look at what we do and how we do it to ensure as best we can, that this type of thing never happens again.''

Lonely Planet publisher Piers Pickard told The Sunday Telegraph that the company's urgent review of Mr Kohnstamm's guidebooks had failed to find any inaccuracies in them.

By plokij on Apr 13, 2008, 05:39 in Friendly Talkzone.

aztec says on Apr 13, 2008, 07:13:

Lonely Planet's bad trip

At least many posters on PBH have actually visited Colombia!

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23530231-5013605,0...

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MaFe says on Apr 13, 2008, 08:18:

I can't believe this! What a jerk & fraud!

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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miamimike says on Apr 13, 2008, 09:36:

I rely a lot more on Footprints Guides. Their info is more current with verifiable sources. A little more money but well worth it!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/South-American-Handbook-Footprint-Travel/dp/19...

My Avatar-- Sarah Palin Says " "You know the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?? Lipstick!" Now on a Short Verbal Tether by the Honorable John McCain

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Cheers Terry says on Apr 13, 2008, 09:43:

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/no-wonder-the-lonely-planet-guid...

Cheers,
Terry

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orestesdd says on Apr 13, 2008, 13:02:

Well I don't know Colombia enough, but I have been there a couple of times, and hopefully will keep visiting Colombia at least once a year. I plan to retire there, and I need to know the country by visiting as often as my wallet allows me.

By the way, I found a lot of good information about Colombia here, and I am glad I found this web site.

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ixent says on Apr 15, 2008, 07:02:

From The Times, April 15, 2008

Lonely Planet Colombia sham: a traveller’s taleMatthew Parris

This story is hugely reassuring. It proves that in a 21st-century world of virtual experiences, there’s still no substitute for going there. When my friends and I toured Colombia last year and found a country to which the Lonely Planet guide did not begin to do justice, we were perplexed. Unconvincing, unhelpful and thin, the guide seemed to have been dashed off in a hurry and missed the magic. It never occurred to us that at least one of the authors had not been there at all.

Lonely Planet was sketchy and vague where it should have been bursting with enthusiasm and information. The unbelievable Tierra Adentro country, for example, now safe for visitors - where stone manbird statues stand beneath dripping forest trees, our only link with a civilisation that has disappeared and of which almost nothing is known – was covered in a cursory way that gave no hint of the sense of mystery and revelation felt by any visitor. There was something half-hearted about this book – unaccountably smaller and inferior to the previous (1980s) edition, which our Colombian guide still kept with him.

The South American Handbook was not only more useful, but conveyed an authentic sense of the thrill of one of the world’s most beautiful, varied, spectacular and friendly countries. You cover a country properly or you do not do it at all. It is either safe enough for your readers to visit – and Colombia most emphatically is – or you should not be encouraging visitors at all.

But look on the bright side, fellow-enthusiasts for this little-visited country. An authentic account might have filled the place with tourists. By offering so flimsy an understatement of Colombia’s charms, Lonely Planet has helped to keep the secret – and done us all a favour.

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