Travel publishers report sales uptick but warn it may take years to return to normal

Travel publishers have reported an uptick in sales in recent months as coronavirus restrictions have eased. However many warn it may be “years” until things return to normal, with some pivoting towards popular UK and activity-based guides.

James Atkinson, brand manager at DK Eyewitness, told The Bookseller the publisher has seen “a much more positive picture” in recent weeks, with more travel guides sold, and a greater spread of destinations. He said: “We're finally seeing key destinations like Italy, France and even New York City starting to move. Interest in our Japan books also started to spike to record post-lockdown levels over the Olympics, and our inspirational books like Unforgettable Journeys and Ride: Cycle the World continue to sell well — showing that book buyers' appetite for travel titles continues to grow stronger and stronger.” However, he cautioned: “We're by no means back to normal.”

Daniel Start, founder of Wild Guides, has recorded some impressive sales as he largely specialises in UK book guides, which have performed well during the pandemic. “We’ve had our busiest three months ever and probably turnover wise our best ever two months over June and July in our nine-year history,” he said.

Even though the European guides have been “pretty slow” to sell, he says the staycation UK books have “more than made up for it. Overall it’s been pretty good for us," he said.

Andy Riddle, m.d. at Heartwood Publishing, has also noticed a demand for UK guides, but hopes there will be a “gradual return” for places further afield, as people start booking holidays for winter sun, “hopefully following into a healthier spring and summer 2022”. However, he warned: “Clearly there’s lots that can go wrong. There’s a danger in having firm plans at the moment. Depending on variants, long-term vaccination efficacy and the levels of co-operation between different countries things can change. But I would expect to see the European travel market rebound more strongly than long-haul. European countries tend to have stronger vaccination programmes, are more likely to be co-operative around constraints for visits. But with long-haul, with a combination of low levels of vaccination in some countries or continued caution around inbound visitors for places like Australia and New Zealand, I think that’s going to take a lot longer to come back."

The impacts of Brexit have also yet to be seen, Riddle told The Bookseller: “I think longer term we need to see how that plays out. Whether its to do with inconveniences or costs so whether it’s travelling with pets or roaming charges or queues at airports, that will be interesting to see as we return to some sort of semblance of normality.”

John Williams, m.d at Cicerone Press, also emphasised the uncertainty in the market: “If you took it month to month then some of it is relatively hard to explain except in terms of confidence in the ability to get back. It’s a little bit erratic but we’re seeing Americans travel pretty well.”

He added: “I would expect that a recovery and the rebuilding of confidence is going to take some time, and I think by time I mean years, not months. So we’re hoping for better on that next year but we do think it’s going to be a long process to bring international back."

Vivien Godfrey, chair and c.e.o. of travel specialist store Stanfords, which had to launch a crowdfunder to secure its future during the pandemic last year, said sales “remain greatly depressed”. She said the team were “grateful” for the furlough scheme and still have a number of staff either fully furloughed or on flexible furlough. “We wish the scheme would extend beyond September,” she said.

“We really rely on three drivers for our London and Bristol shops: customers travelling and buying their maps and books for their trips; tourists visiting the city centres of London and Bristol; and office workers in the city centre shopping in person,” she said. However, she noted recent in-person author talks and book launches at the London store had proved popular.

Adrian Phillips m.d. at Bradt Guides, said the picture “remains a mixed bag” with UK guides doing “spectacularly well” while overseas guides “remain sluggish” despite easing restrictions. He told The Bookseller: “Our hope and expectation is that - as travel continues to open up, and confidence gradually returns - sales of our guides to destinations in Africa, the Middle East, South America and elsewhere will grow significantly next year. The likely trend in travel is towards fewer but longer and more immersive trips, and our guidebooks cater precisely to that approach. Furthermore, we believe some of the moves we have made over the last 18 months will serve us well in the long term. But, like many others in the travel sector, we anticipate an uncomfortable, bumpy ride for some time to come."

Piers Pickard, books m.d. at Lonely Planet (pictured below), also noted a trend towards more "ethical travel". He said that, during the first lockdown, Lonely Planet stopped publishing its guidebooks for a while, giving the publisher the opportunity to “sit back and take stock”. “We're really interested in thinking about how travel will come back, not just where, and I think people are going to be a bit more thoughtful about it. You know, before the pandemic, we were having a lot of discussions about things like over-tourism and flying and how often you should be flying. I think, because people have had basically a couple of years off, people are valuing travel again, and I think they're going to be more thoughtful about where they go, how they go, and when they go as well.”

Pickard said Lonely Planet will be looking into launching some guidebooks next year which respond to some of these issues. He told The Bookseller: “We’ve got a new series with more local authors, more diversity of voice in the book, much more experiential, immersive experiences, and a bit more of a message of sustainability in the book. Not ramming it down anyone’s throat, but if you want to give back to the communities you’re visiting we’ll give you fun and interesting ways of doing that.”

In the meantime, he says sales have been following government guidelines: “If a country goes on a green list, then we instantly start selling the books. We’ve seen some really interesting examples of that, with places that have gone on the green list and back off it like Majorca.”

He said he is particularly excited that France is back on the green list, as that opens up driving holidays for people in the UK, and will help the publisher’s European sales. While classic European holidays are doing better than long haul for now, Pickard says sales are increasing for “dream destinations” further afield.

“I think there is huge pent-up demand for 2022 and beyond,” he said. Even if people can’t go too far yet, bookstores have used the Olympics as focal events to bring their travel sections back. The excitement that travel is coming back. We can all go on holidays again and explore the world. I think we’re just starting to see that reinvestment in travel as a category and as a section in the bookstore."