Amidst Lonely Planet Fallout, a New Generation of Guidebooks Emerge

In light of long-time travel writer Thomas Kohnstamm's recent confession of unethical and radically unprofessional behavior while on the job for Lonely Planet in Latin America, VIVA Travel Guides, a guidebook company and online travel community based in Latin America, is proving there is a better way. "Similar to how Wikipedia has made a better encyclopedia, VIVA Travel Guides has made a better travel guide. By drawing on the collective wisdom of travelers who have recently been to a destination and creating books using print-on-demand technology, we can provide a guide that is far more accurate and up-to-date than the old school guidebook companies," says VIVA CEO Jason Halberstadt.

Quito, Ecuador (PRWEB) April 15, 2008 -- In light of long-time travel writer Thomas Kohnstamm's recent confession of unethical and radically unprofessional behavior while on the job for Lonely Planet in Latin America, one wonders if there is a better way to serve the millions of travelers who rely on guidebooks each year. VIVA Travel Guides, a guidebook company and online travel community based in Latin America, is proving there is a better way.

"Similar to how Wikipedia has made a better encyclopedia, VIVA Travel Guides has made a better travel guide. By drawing on the collective wisdom of travelers who have recently been to a destination and creating books using print-on-demand technology, we can provide a guide that is far more accurate and up-to-date than the old school guidebook companies," says VIVA CEO Jason Halberstadt.

"Most guidebooks are created in the same way that they were decades ago. The author(s) go on a whirlwind tour of the country, frequently lasting only weeks. Months later, the book is published and sits on shelves for several years while the world keeps changing and evolving. VIVA is raising the standard. We publish new editions of our books every six months instead of every two to five years."

As Kohnstamm's contribution to Lonely Planet's Colombia guide has called the validity of the book into question, VIVA offers a fresh alternative - VIVA Travel Guides Colombia is due for publication in June 2008. Anyone can access 100% of the book's content online, free of charge, making VivaTravelGuides.com the premier site for comprehensive travel information about Colombia. For those who still prefer a traditional guidebook, the book is available for pre-order at http://shop.vivatravelguides.com.

"I believe the best respect we can show to the people of a country is to have accurate information," says Lorraine Caputo, a staff writer for VIVA who spent six months on the ground in Colombia writing and researching for the upcoming book. "The only way to do that is to spend time in the country, getting to know the people and understand the country from the roots."

VIVA ensures the accuracy and authenticity of its content in a number of ways: All field writers who contribute to VIVA Travel Guides either live in the country they write about, have spent months traveling in and getting to know the area, or are personally trained by VIVA editors, attending VIVA's Guidebook Writing Boot Camps. (See more at www.VivaTravelGuides.com/bootcamp/)

Boot Camps are intensive one-week courses in exotic countries that prepare writers to fairly and effectively cover the country they are in. Boot Camps in 2008 are in Santiago, Chile (May 26th to May 30th), La Paz, Bolivia (June 8th to 13th), and Granada, Nicaragua (August 18th to 22nd). Boot Camps include a strict travel writing code of ethics, and writers must use multiple, verified sources while researching background topics.

All writing, whether submitted by on-the-ground field-writers or VIVA's thriving online community of contributors, passes through a thorough editorial process that includes fraud detection and fact-checking. By tracking IP addresses and requiring all writers to submit original photos, VIVA also relies on technological solutions to guarantee authentic, accurate content.

VIVA offers the savvy traveler the opportunity not only to gain access to the most up-to-date, unbiased and reliable information possible, but also to become a part of the VIVA community and the guidebook creation process.

VIVA Travel Guides is based in Quito, Ecuador and publishes printed and online travel guidebooks read by over 100,000 people per month.

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