Lonely Planet prints 100 millionth book
Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler wrote their first guidebook in the 1970s
A competition to find images of travelling experiences, whether they are of a llama at Machu Picchu, a backpack on the top of a chicken bus in Columbia or a man eating Pad Thai from a street vendor in Thailand, has been launched by Lonely Planet.
The competition, which celebrates the publication of Lonely Planet's 100 millionth guidebook, the 15th edition of the guide to Australia, will be launched on 29th January and aims to encourage travellers to share their favourite travel images.
Speaking about why the company decided on a photography competition, Lonely Planet's co-founder, Tony Wheeler, said pictures "are a wonderful way to tell a story".
"They can celebrate memories of travel and capture the essence of our experiences," he added.
Lonely Planet was famously established by Mr Wheeler and his wife Maureen after the pair embarked on a trip crossing Europe and Asia overland, all the way to Australia in the early 1970s. It was a trip which "few people thought possible", but after several months, the pair made it. The first guide, Across Asia on the Cheap, was written shortly after by the couple at their kitchen table.
Mr Wheeler added: "I'm delighted and amazed that we've published 100 million books, but the real cause for celebration is the hundreds of millions of shared travel stories experienced by Lonely Planet travellers. Sharing those stories is something we've been encouraging for decades."
Take action
- Sign up to the Lonely Planet website for updates and information
- Share your photos with Flickr
- Tell other about your experiences with TripAdvisor
A round-the-world trip for two and Nokia handsets are among the prizes which people who submit an image could win.
In 2007, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in the company.
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