Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011. Originally called Lonely Planet Publications, the company changed its name to Lonely Planet in July 2009 to reflect its broad travel industry offering and the emphasis on digital products. After Let's Go Travel Guides, it was one of the first series of travel books aimed at backpackers and other low-cost travellers. As of 2010, it publishes about 500 titles in 8 languages, as well as TV programmes, a magazine, mobile phone applications and websites.

Lonely Planet also has its own television production company, which has produced numerous series: Lonely Planet Six Degrees, The Sport Traveller, Going Bush, Vintage New Zealand, Bluelist Australia and Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled. Lonely Planet is headquartered in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with affiliate offices in London and Oakland, California. As of 2009, it was increasing its digital, online presence greatly.

In 2009 Lonely Planet began publishing a monthly travel magazine called Lonely Planet Magazine in the UK, and in 2010 it launched the Indian and the Argentine editions. Its Korean edition, with a digital edition for iPad, was launched in March 2011.

The company name comes from a misheard line in "Space Captain", a song written by Matthew Moore and first popularized by Joe Cocker and Leon Russell on the "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" tour in 1970. The actual words are "lovely planet", but Tony Wheeler heard "lonely planet" and liked it.