New focus for DK Eyewitness

DK is to relaunch its travel guide series Eyewitness following research into how travellers are using the books. The guides have been comprehensively redesigned for the first time in their 25-year history, with new photos, redesigned covers and clearer layouts. The first 10, including guides to Ireland, Italy, London and New York City, are to be relaunched at the end of September.

DK travel publishing director Georgina Dee, who led the revamp, said: "We have conducted extensive consumer research into the travel guide market, looking at what people buy, why and how. It’s great to hear that people still see the value in printed travel guides. We know that flicking through a travel guide can, for many people, be the start of their trip, the first point where they begin to get excited—what a privilege to be a part of that."

Dee told The Bookseller that the starting point had been the recognition that though the travel book market had stabilised over the past two years, it was clear that travellers were now looking to guides to do different things, with many travellers using the web for their initial decision-making, but still buying the books to add a level of extra detail or provide inspiration to find activities or destinations not easily discoverable online.

Opportunity knocks
"Historically, guidebooks were used as part of that exploration about where to go, but that has changed. Now travellers do their research and booking online, but once they know where they are going and when they are going the book becomes important. That is our opportunity." 

Research undertaken last summer revealed that guidebook buyers were not segmented by age, but by mind-set and the purpose of the trip. It also found that people were starting to distrust online content. The research suggested that travellers could visit more than 100 websites when thinking about their trip, but often found the internet confusing—some even printed off documentation from the web as their own printed reference.

Dee said the research showed that travellers wanted the reassurance of the practical information from a guidebook, but for its contents to be curated. "The experience of the book should be calm, you don’t want to work too hard on your holiday, but people want to know it’s there. A lot of people find looking at many websites quite stressful. We see this as an opportunity for the guidebook. In the past we tried to be Google before Google was a thing, but now people want curation. Travel has become more experiential. I feel passionate about giving people the experience that they don’t realise they want."

A sample spread from DK's new Paris guide

Dee said the research suggested there was a trust issue with online content, which had become increasingly apparent, as well as content overload. "Almost from
the moment it is on the printed page people trust the material, and that wasn’t necessarily true, 10, even five, years ago."

Both the look and feel of the guides has been changed. All of the photographs have been reshot, with images selected to convey not just what the scene looks like but how it feels to be there. "Photography has become really important," said Dee. "People are used to seeing so much beautiful photography these days. We’ve moved the photography on, making it aspirational and experiential. The aim is to make you feel that you are there, or could be there. We’ll also inform readers where and when to take the best photographs for sharing on sites such as Instagram."

Dee said the front cover image was particularly important, conveying to customers what experiences they could expect to find inside the book. DK has redesigned the covers with new images displayed on a white background alongside the destination name and date, the DK Eyewitness logo, and the words "Inspire", "Plan", "Discover" and "Experience" that now serve as the principles behind the books. DK has also moved away from the glossy facias that had been the hallmark of the list to a matt finish, giving the books the feel and flexibility of a paperback. "People don’t want to carry round a huge heavy book, so we’ve lightened them."

Retaining the audience
But she stressed that DK didn’t want to lose its core audience, with the books retaining their familiar features of the raised maps, and cutaways of key buildings. The street maps have also increased in size, and each guide now includes an editor’s letter, introducing the destination.

"The balance of text and visuals is very important, as is the insider knowledge and tone of voice. Brand recognition can be important too. We are not moving too far away from where we were, just moving with the times. We aim to be stylish rather than fashionable. The book can be the first physical manifestation of their trip, as travellers no longer get physical tickets." E-book versions of each guide are also being made available, but Dee said she was reluctant to use the content digitally outside of its book context, despite the challenge of free travel advice available on websites such as TripAdvisor.

"We are thinking about digitisation all the time, but we also want to remain focused on what we do best. The book co-exists alongside these things. The moment you put it online people lose their ability to see the value of it, and that is difficult from a commercial point of view, but we use digital to market and sell our books."

The redesigned books launch on 27th September in the UK and 2nd October in the US with guides to Amsterdam, Berlin, Ireland, Italy, London, New York City, Paris, Prague, Rome and Washington DC publishing first. This new look will roll out across the publishing programme with more guides publishing throughout 2019. In the US DK has 17% market share, behind Lonely Planet and Avalon (Rick Steves). In the UK the list has a 20% market share, behind Lonely Planet.

The travel guide market is well off its peak, having halved in value over the past decade, but since 2012 the value has stabilised at around the £58m–£59m mark in the UK according to Nielsen BookScan, with the travel guide sub-section steady at £35m. Nevertheless, with DK selling its Rough Guides business late last year, and Lonely Planet once again on the market, it is clear that sector remains poised for further disruption.

"My strong view is that at the moment we want to celebrate the book. This is a big investment of time, effort, cash, and creativity, and I want to nail it," said Dee.