Travel research and inspiration before the digital age never involved a hashtag or a geotag on your phone. It involved browsing the Travel Literature section of bookstores, flipping through pages of destination magazines… or picking your next destination by spinning a globe and seeing where your finger would land.
In every traveller’s backpack was a medium-thick travel guide, coupled with a map, that would pave the way when in-destination. Chances are, that book was either a Lonely Planet or an Insight Guide.
But as travel has gone mobile and you simply need to Google a destination you are curious about, it puts these old school travel guides in an interesting position. How do they keep up as everything goes digital?
Insight Guides, for one, has chosen to recreate itself almost entirely.
THE HISTORY
The first Insight Guide was published in 1970 by German founder Hans Hoefer. The books aimed to give readers a deeper understanding about the history, culture and context behind the destinations covered.
It became a leading resource for travel information around the world as each edition was translated into multiple languages and updated year on year with the latest information.
René Frey, the man reimagining Insight Guides
Eventually, the business was sold to Langenscheidt KG – a German publishing group, mainly known for producing language-to-language dictionaries – before eventually being sold to Apa Publications UK Ltd in 2014, based in London.
They were an incredibly influential resource whenever we travelled, before the age of constant connectivity. Sadly, the 2008 financial crisis and the gradual demise of the print and traditional media industry threatened to put Insight Guides out of business.
By 2014, the business was on its last legs… but before Insight Guides would breathe its last breath, René Frey (CEO of Apa Publications UK Ltd.) stepped in. In his words, Frey bought Insight Guides from the Langenscheidt family “for a song and a sandwich”.
A PUBLISHING VETERAN TO A TECH STARTUP
But in Frey’s eyes, “paid content has no future in the digital world”. Simply put, Insight Guides would not survive if it were to stay in its original form. It is a sad notion to say the least… but if content is theoretically in the midst of its demise, why would Frey buy a content-focused company like Insight Guides in the first place?
Understanding the guides’ value at the inspiration stage of the travel cycle as travellers filled their backpacks with the slim but densely informative books, Frey recognised that Insight Guides’ reputation could be harnessed and repurposed in a totally new way.
Thus, Frey and his company reimagined Insight Guides not a content company, but as a digital travel marketplace for travellers and local tour operators.
“At a certain moment in your life, time is more important than money,” he said. Insight Guides seeks to make the travel as seamless as possible for perhaps more ‘established’ individuals with a little extra cash to splash on a big trip, but don’t want the hassle of organising and co-ordinating.
It would guarantee an exciting and enchanting trip without the organisational ‘admin’ that comes with a complex itinerary. More importantly, Insight Guides also gives their customers the assurance that any package bought is secure via a money-back guarantee. In essence, Frey has changed the model (almost) entirely.
While the company has evolved massively, that is not to say that the books will be left to turn to dust. Frey recognises the value and the beauty in Insight Guides’ original purpose. In the midst of its transition, Insight Guides will become “a tech company, with great books… that’s the vision. That’s why we continue to make the books.”
Nevertheless, in the digital world, Frey claims “the guidebook is not our primary goal… it is to create the marketplace for travellers and local tour operators. Our future is as a tech company, not a publishing company.”
SIZING UP THE COMPETITION
Yet to be a successful business online, you could say that a veteran company like Insight Guides will face the challenge of figuring out how ‘think like a startup’ as the company deals with a vastly different set of obstacles to when it first began.
The tours and activities/ travel planning space is a competitive field that many startups have dabbled in before, often to no avail. So how exactly does Frey plan to succeed?
“We know the model works” but the main challenge new players face “is creating the marketplace” in the first place. “You need to be able to convince partners to give you the product, and even if you have a good product, you need to convince the consumers to use you,” observed Frey.
Fortunately for Insight Guides, there is no denying their reputation as a known and globally recognised authority on travel. Customers and partners alike may be more inclined to use a brand they already know and can trust. Leveraging this status will help them prove their credibility in the new space.
Coupling this with an entire archive of travel content, links with local travel experts able to provide the coveted ‘authentic travel experience’, and a secure payments system, Insight Guides will be one to watch.
RETURNING HOME TO NEW BEGINNINGS
Since its metamorphosis, Frey has noticed a persistent trend in online bookings. That being that the majority of those booking trips with Insight Guides predominantly is coming from South-east Asia (approximately 70%).
In Frey’s eyes, the fast-growing technology landscape in Asia, especially with respect to travel, cannot be ignored. “It is not emerging, it is way above.”
As a result, operations have shifted and the company is making a pretty snappy move from their London and Warsaw offices. As of January, parts of the Insight team will relocate to the little red dot – Singapore.
In essence, what began as a little travel book about Bali has now grown up, travelled all around the world, and is now returning to its home in Asia to roost. That being said, it is clearly a much different creature from the one that started. It will hopefully still be able to deliver all the romance of travel, just in a whole new, tech way.
