Travelers Contribute to Online Guides

Joe Voboril poses for a picture in his apartment in New York, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006. The vase above his head was bought on a recent trip to Greece, which he researched on-line using traditional sources as well as travel blogs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig - AP)

RealTravel Inc., meanwhile, has a tool for recommending travel destinations based on criteria you enter, such as budget, age, interests and the size of the traveling party. Matches are made based on what similar users have said about places they've been.

Frommer's, Fodor's and Lonely Planet typically hire locals and seasoned travelers to update their guidebooks every one or two years. Although the publishers acknowledge their paid writers can't cover every single restaurant or hotel, the way scores of volunteers can, they question whether travelers really want everything.

"There's so much information out there that people want somebody to discriminate for them," said Michael Spring, publisher of Frommer's Travel Guides, a division of John Wiley & Sons Inc. "We're not doing anyone a favor to list 100 places. You want someone to say this is better than that."

The philosophy extends to the guidebooks' Web sites. Lonely Planet Publications Inc. has a lively online forum for discussions about everything travel, but when it comes to reviews, the publisher wants readers to respond only to items written by professional writers.

"That's who we are, and people look to us for that impartial review," said Brice Gosnell, Lonely Planet's publisher for the Americas.

Lori Gauld, 34, said she likes RealTravel for its journaling features but prefers guidebooks for planning trips.

"I write all my notes (and use) Post-its, highlighters and things like that," the Toronto consultant said. "I can bring the book along."

Reviewers' credibility is one concern. Sites differ on how they handle hotel owners, tourism officials and others who might want to flood the sites with positive reviews, but all agree it's a potential problem.

Tripmates and other sites let visitors check other travelers' profiles to gauge how alike they are and judge recommendations accordingly. A feature Gusto plans to launch next month will even help users elevate the writings that come from other members they deem friends.

The Web sites, meanwhile, are good for niche travelers and destinations that a travel guidebook might mention in passing, if at all.

Wikitravel, for instance, has a guide for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, a set of rugged islands off Antarctica. IgoUgo has entries from users who like to visit lighthouses or travel with a dog. World Wikia has resources on how to hitchhike out of Tokyo.

User-contributed Web sites can afford to devote entire guides for narrower audiences _ World Wikia is trying to start one on Iraq.