More guidebook news today. It appears that Lonely Planet is indeed the travel advice force to be reckoned with, as the city of Moscow has decided to pin their image problems re: crime, corruption, and hedonism on the publisher’s Moscow city guide. That’s a lot of punch for a 258-page paperback. According to a report in the Guardian city officials claim the book “portrays the Russian capital as a gangster-infested Gotham and presents an image of the city that is at least 15 years out of date.” Among the complaints are mentions of the possibility that tourists might encounter scams, fake vodka, prostitution, or the occasional bedbug. Unfortunately for Lonely Planet, the release this year of the Moscow guide’s third edition coincides with a $26 million effort on the part of the Moscow government to pretty up their reputation overseas and drive tourism. The Guardian points out, though, that tourism is already growing at a healthy 10% per year, and quotes a local hostel owner who says that the majority of her new guests arrive “clutching the Lonely Planet guide.” The copy for the tome on LP’s website is hardly unflattering:

“Delight in the iconic onion domes of St Basil’s Cathedral, treat yourself to world-class ballet at the Bolshoi, be dazzled by chandeliers in the metro and get steamed and washed at a banya. From the splendour of the Kremlin to fine dining haute-russe, you’ll discover a city that’s cloaked in history and embracing the future. Revel in this frenetic, changing capital with this best-selling guide.

DISCERNING REVIEWS – hand-picked eating and sleeping options from Georgian cuisine to the best renovated Soviet hotels

MUSCOVITE NIGHTLIFE – elite clubs, bohemian bars, cafés, opera and ballet”

Makes Moscow sound pretty appealing, doesn’t it. What would be the use of a guide that didn’t steer travelers away from the potential bad mixed in with all that good? I would hazard that there isn’t a world capital that’s been spared the same treatment, the only difference here being a Russian history of, well, image control and political coercion in the not-too-distant past. The times may be changing fast, but it seems the tactics still have some catching up to do.

Elsewhere:
- “Furious Muscovites say ‘nyet’ to Lonely Planet” (The Age)
- “Doughnuts get down and dirty when lost in translation”: Tony Wheeler on the perils of publishing Lonely Planet (The Australian)