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Travel guides: Not going anywhere
旅行指南书：哪里都不去
They declared that it was dead — or, if it wasn’t dead yet, it soon would be. The cause of the malady was viral: first blogs, then influencers on Instagram and TikTok.
他们宣称旅行指南书已死，如果它还没死，那么很快就会死去。带来绝症的原因是病毒式的：先是博客，然后是Instagram和TikTok上的网红。
Yet, for all journalists’ poor prognoses, the printed travel guide is still in fine fettle. Sales in Britain were mostly flat in 2014-19, a period when smartphones became both ubiquitous and powerful.
然而，尽管所有记者都做出了情况糟糕的预测，但印刷版的旅行指南仍然状况良好。2014至2019年，智能手机变得无处不在且功能强大，但英国的旅行指南书销售额持平。
But why do guidebooks still roll off the presses when all the information you could need is in your pocket?
但是，当你需要的所有信息都在你口袋里的手机上时，为什么旅行指南还在不断出版呢？
One answer is that print is a useful medium for information on the go. Books can be scribbled on and dog-eared; they need no charging or internet access. They can be easier to browse than social media, websites or e-books (and attract less attention from pickpockets).
一个答案是，对于边走边获得信息来说，印刷品是一种有用的媒介。人们可以在书本上写写画画和折角，书本不需要充电或联网。它们比社交媒体、网站或电子书更便于浏览（而且不太会引起扒手的注意）。
Another is that guidebooks have changed with the times. A more dramatic adaptation is visible in the newest editions of Lonely Planet’s flagship guides, which look like someone printed out an Instagram account. The books relegate restaurant and hotel listings to the margins.
另一个答案是，旅行指南书已经随着时代而改变了。一个比较夸张的改版可见于孤独星球旗舰指南的最新版本，这个版本看起来像是有人把Instagram账号打印了出来。书中将餐厅和酒店清单挪到了书页边缘处。
Nitya Chambers, Lonely Planet’s executive editor, says the overhaul was driven by market research that showed that readers “have more information than ever before” on eating and stays, but are looking for things to do.
孤独星球的执行编辑妮提娅·张伯斯表示，此次改革是由市场调研推动的，调研表明，读者在餐饮和住宿方面“比以往有更多信息”，但他们需要关于游览活动的信息。
If print books are no longer selling comprehensiveness, then what is it they are selling? One answer is authenticity. “I can’t help people that just want to do what everybody else does,” Mr Steves says.
如果印刷书籍的卖点不再是信息全面，那么它们的卖点是什么呢？一个答案是真实性。“对于那些只想随大流旅行的人，我提供不了什么帮助。”史蒂夫斯说。
Another is curation. “The more content out there, the better for guide publishers,” says Rene Frey, who publishes Rough Guides and Insight Guides.
另一个答案是对信息的筛选和梳理。“外面的信息越多，对旅行指南出版商就越好。”出版《易行指南》和《深度指南》的勒内·弗莱说。
Trust—or, rather, brand—is important. Mr Frommer, Mr Steves and Lonely Planet’s founders, Tony and Maureen Wheeler, all produced their first guides decades ago, in an era when both international travel and self-publishing were expensive and rare.
信任——或者说品牌——也是很重要的。弗罗默、史蒂夫斯和孤独星球的创始人托尼和莫琳·惠勒夫妇都是在几十年前创作了他们的第一本旅行指南，当时出国旅行和自费出版都是既昂贵又罕见的。
That allowed them to stand out and build businesses. Now, thanks to cheap air fares and social media, anyone can opine on eateries on the other side of the world. But wannabe travel writers will find that it is hard to gain traction online.
这使他们能够脱颖而出并创立公司。如今，因为有了廉价机票和社交媒体，任何人都可以对世界另一端的餐厅发表意见。但是，想要成为旅行作家的人会发现，在网上很难获得关注。
One market in which guidebooks have struggled is China, the world’s biggest spender on outbound tourism. On June 26th Lonely Planet announced that it was closing its China branch after ten years.
旅行指南书一直生意惨淡的一个市场是中国，中国是世界上最大的出境旅游消费国。6月26日，孤独星球宣布在中国运行十年后，将关闭其在中国的分支业务。
Many Chinese travel as part of organised tours, so see no need for guides; younger travellers are more likely to organise their own itineraries, but rely on digital resources rather than books.
许多中国人选择跟团旅行，因此不需要指南书，年轻旅行者更有可能自己规划行程，但依赖数字资源而不是书籍。
The most popular app for tourists is Xiaohongshu, which Rest of World, a digital news outlet, describes as “a cross between a niche subreddit, a Tripadvisor page and a video game”.
最受游客欢迎的应用程序是小红书，数字新闻媒体“世界其余地方”将小红书描述为“Reddit小众子论坛、猫途鹰页面和视频游戏的混合体”。
Gaode, a map app, offers user-generated lists of “must-visit sites”. Perhaps, in time, similar apps may take off in the West.
高德地图应用程序提供用户生成的“必打卡景点”列表。或许假以时日，类似的应用程序可能会在西方流行起来。
