An Open Letter to Lonelyplanet.com

To Whom it may Concern,

What you have done to the actual level of real content on your site is a travesty. This website USED to be helpful for those needing to find out more about where they wanted to go (BEFORE buying your guides). Now, the maps are a TOTAL DISASTER. If I wanted a small political map with random cities, I’d use one of the thousand of maps sites on the internet. People liked your maps because they USED to be focused on what travelers wanted to see. Why can't the destinations on the maps be linked to the content on the website? That's how it used to work. Aside from the maps, it seems you’ve cut the amount of information that’s available in half. Shame on you. The ONLY reason why you would have done this is because you felt like the free content on the site was cutting down on guidebook sales. I've used your books and site for years, probably spending hundreds of dollars on your products, the reason why I trusted your company was that I felt you all had something going on other than your bottom line. The changes on this site show me that I was wrong. You are wrong to think that the level of information available online has an effect on guidebook sales, they are mutually exclusive. Well, actually....they aren't...because I'm never buying a Lonely Planet guide again because of what you've done to your site.

-JS