Traditional travel guides loss of speed

In the least paradoxical observation, the number of tourists who invade the planet returned to its pre-Cavid-19 level (with 1.4 billion travelers in 2024, according to the World Tourism Organization), but in France the tourist guides market remains in pain and has not, far from it, found its magnitude of 2019.

According to Philippe Orain, editorial director of Michelin Voyage & Cultures guides, “The turnover in France of tourist guides is comparable to that of cooking books; According to the GFK Institute, 95 million euros in 2024 (3 %), which represents nearly 5 million copies sold ( – 6 % compared to 2023), was established. However, this market was already slowly self -employed before the pandemic.

Do tourists now prefer to consult their phone to find information rather than taking a guide in their bag in their bag that they would consider too heavy or bulky? No doubt. “We must make a distinction between tourists who obey a very standardized consumption mode and travelers who document themselves before leaving and always read guides”says Philippe Orain. In other words, on the one hand, users of social networks, even artificial intelligence (AI) – who prepare their journey by questioning tools like Chatgpt – and, on the other hand, the followers of traditional works. In paper almost exclusively, since sales of the electronic version guides remain, according to him, at insignificant levels.

Supplementarity apps-paper

However, the trend does not despair the publishers. Hélène Firquet, editorial director of the Gallimard “Voyages” collection, is focusing on the natural complementarity between the paper guide who consults at the hotel and other telephone applications, such as Mapstr, which allows addresses worldwide, or Geovelo, a navigation application in bicyclette. Gallimard also offers his own travel podcasts, called “Speak Me elsewhere”, on Puglia, Japan or Andalusia.

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