The Lonely Planet is the leading tour book for India. The others (Rough Guide, Footprint, and Let's Go!) don't come close. It's even earned the name "The Lonely Bible" ("The Bible" or "THE Book" for short). This book is so important that most people don't make a decision without consulting it. For me, I've learned that it's wrong about a third of the time. Places that may be highly worth visiting in the book (eg. Bijapur and Trichy) really are wastes of time. And I typically don't go to hotels or restaurants simply because they're recommended. But so many other people do.
Which makes me wonder which came first: The tourism or the Lonely Planet. See, I think it's the latter. I think when the first Lonely Planet came out, it said that certain places are great to go. Then, as the book became popular, so did these locations. Places in Hampi and Varkala (among others) wear their Lonely Planet mentions like badges of honor. I'm currently in Allepey, where the houseboat industry is the biggest tourist draw in Kerala. I bet the Lonely Planet had something to do with that. In fact, I talked with a tour agent today, and he said that, while most houseboats are with motors, punting boats (pushed by long poles) are becoming increasingly popular. He didn't know why. It seems random to him. Yeah, not so much. The Lonely Planet, in more recent years (I've seen an older one, so I know), has been saying that tourists shouldn't be taking motorized boats because of environmental issues. Punting boats are recommended.
The Lonely Planet has lifted up an entire industry, thus giving an instant edge to the only agency still stocking punting boats. They were previously useless relics. Now they're gold mines (they charge more due to less supply and greater demand...oh, and the monopoly). Thanks Lonely Planet!!!
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