Do you love a great story? I do, but I especially love the story behind the story. Lonely Planet was founded by Tony and Maureen Wheeler after they spent (literally) their entire honeymoon traveling across Europe to Asia and eventually to Australia. This may not be a huge feat for those who can afford such a luxurious vacation, however this 
was not the case with Tony and Maureen. They may have had no currency in their pockets at the end of their journey, but the true value was in their stories.
Their first book, Across Asia on the Cheap sold 1,500 copies which led to the launch of Lonely Planet and several more publications covering travel.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland with 500 staff members and 300 authors. BBC Worldwide acquired the majority share of Lonely Planet, but pledged to uphold the “commitment to independent travel, trustworthy advice, and editorial independence.”
Four of my friends have been rightfully nominated for the Lonely Planet 2009 Travel Bloggers awards and I encourage you to explore their writing and vote!
Lilinoe and I were fortunate enough to meet Sheila Beal, author of GoVisitHawaii.com and her husband, Internet Marketing expert, Andy during their most recent visit. As I shared in my comment on Erika Engle’s The Buzz article in the Star Bulletin, Sheila and Andy are truly genuine people with a fondness for Hawaii.
Vote for GoVisitHawaii.com in the following categories:
- Best Destination Blog
- Best Video Blog
Mommy bloggers are an online force to be reckoned with. Their influence, their voices are powerful. I first heard about the Traveling Mamas from Lilinoe. She had been surfing the ‘net prior to booking our plans for Blog World Expo last year and had stumbled upon their website. We were able to hang out with Cajun Mama (Shannon Hurst Lane) and Desert Mama (Beth Blair) at BWE, and will do so again later this month at South by Southwest. Traveling Mamas gives great tips on places to visit with children and family vacations.
Vote for TravelingMamas.com in the following categories:
- Best Consumer Travel Blog
- Best Group Blog
I first began communicating with the SoulTravelers3 via Twitter. They (it’s one account, but 3 souls) are featured on Alltop and have been wonderful supporters. Read about their journey around the globe, it’s not a race but a marathon in which they will absorb the culture of each destination.
Vote for Soultravelers3.com in the following category:
- Best Themed Blog
The author of Nerd’s Eye View is Pam, a witty, ukulele strumming, cross-country skier who recently wrote a guidebook about Hawaii. Pam will be speaking at South by Southwest, at which time I will have the opportunity to gain her knowledge.
Vote for Nerd’s Eye View in the following category:
- Best micro-blogging
Lilinoe, the kids and I love to travel. We find recommendations via testimonies from those who traveled before us. But, we believe the best recommendations come from the residents of our future destinations. This is something I hope the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Hawaii Tourism Authority, and State of Hawaii will implement in their tourism campaigns.
Neenz and Noe – Thanks so much for supporting us. We’re so excited to even be nominated for such an honor. Can’t wait to see you at SxSw and give y’all a big ole hug!
Thanks for the endorsement!!
Thank you so much for your endorsement of GoVisit Hawaii. It’s my labor of Aloha that I love to share with visitors each day. Mahalo!
I voted for GoVisitHawaii already. Thanks for letting me know of the others you recommended – I like them too (like nerdeyeview, travelingmamas and soultraveler) so I will definitely vote for them too.
Aloha,
Liza
Liza,
I appreciate your support and I especially appreciate the support of Sheila, Soultravelers3, Pam and the Traveling Mamas of Hawaii.
Aloha,
NEENZ.
Thank you so much NEENZ for your kind words about our soultravelers3 website and supporting us and your friends in the Lonely Planet Travel Awards!
What a sweet friend! I love your family picture here too!
We have lots of family in Hawaii and it is my daughter’s favorite place in the whole world, so we look forward to connecting with you in person when we get there on our open ended world tour!!
We feel very honored to have been nominated for 3 awards and we feel very blessed to have such supportive friends! Thanks!!
Mahalo NEENZ for the kind words and support of Go Visit Hawaii. Your endorsement means a lot to us!
Thanks SO much for calling out both my crazy award and my talk at SxSw. My partner there is terrific too – and I’m really looking forward to meeting you!
Hi Neenz – That’s an interesting story. I had no idea that Lonely Planet was founded on a shoestring.
I love reading about travel, so I’ll definitely be checking out some of your blogger friends.n