Online travel sites go - surprise!

In the last 10 years, travelers have witnessed nothing short of a revolution in how they research and plan their travel. Not long ago, travelers relied primarily on printed media for information. They searched guidebooks, magazines, brochures and newspapers for reviews, recommendations and inspiration.

More than half of all travelers now use the Internet for travel planning, according to a 2005 survey from the Travel Industry Association, a Washington-based trade group.

Travelers are increasingly turning to Web sites such as TripAdvisor.com and VirtualTourist.com, which provide reviews of hotels, restaurants and destinations written by regular travelers--so-called "user-generated content," which differs from most print content that is generated by professional travel writers.

TripAdvisor.com, based in Needham, Mass., has more than 5 million user reviews and opinions, covering more than 220,000 hotels and attractions.

Founded in 2000, it has more than 20 million monthly visitors, making it the most popular of such sites.

VirtualTourist.com, based in Manhattan Beach, Calif., has been around for six years and counts more than 780,000 members who contribute content. It has accumulated 1.2 million travel tips and recommendations on more than 27,000 destinations, making it one of the largest of such sites.

This spring the company will expand its reach by launching a printed-on-paper publication--VirtualTourist Travel Guides--composed almost entirely of user-generated content.

That's in contrast to the print magazine started last month by New York City-based travel bargain Web site ShermansTravel.com. It's written by staff and freelance writers, though it does integrate some user-generated content.

The companies have their work cut out for them in the highly competitive print travel publication market. VirtualTourist will be competing on bookshelves against guidebooks from such established brands as Frommer's, Fodor's and Lonely Planet. Sherman's Travel's competition includes magazines such as Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic Traveler.

While success is by no means guaranteed, both companies believe that their print material fills a need in the market.

In four years, ShermansTravel.com has built a large audience among travelers looking for bargains and values. Its weekly Sherman's Top 25 travel deals e-mail newsletter now claims 3.5 million subscribers.

Shermans saw a niche in the crowded market for printed travel magazines and thought that it was unfilled.

"There is a real need for a magazine that focuses on smart luxury values," said James Sherman, founder and chief executive of Sherman's Travel Media. "We recognize that while there are budget travel-related magazines, there's nothing for the more upscale traveler who's looking for value."

In a nod to Internet practicality, the magazine has what it calls "making it happen" pages. These are pages designed to be cut or torn out of the magazine and are loaded front and back with tips on where to stay, eat, shop and explore. The pages include contact information for businesses, including Web sites, as well as capsule descriptions. There is also a cost calendar that, using color gradations on a graph, show the high and low seasons.

In the first issue, the "make it happen" pages for a story on Maui include recommendations for some of my favorite places on the island. They recommend the Hotel Hana-Maui, a four-star resort on Maui's secluded Hana coast; Mama's Fish House, which the magazine calls one of the island's most popular spots for fresh, local seafood; and the Red Sand Beach, a small tucked-away beach with excellent snorkeling in a protected cove in Hana.

"We know that this audience is an active audience," said Sherman. "Other travel publications are designed more for those we believe are aspiring to that level of travel whereas Sherman's Travel is aimed at those who are already traveling at that level and need practical advice on how to make it happen," he said.

For now, the magazine is available only by subscription (4 quarterly issues for $11.95). Subscribers are being generated by sending marketing messages to the Sherman's Top 25 e-mail list and through postings on the Web site. It is expected to be available at newsstands early next year and is scheduled to cost $4.50 an issue.

From the beginning, VirtualTourist.com's site has been modeled after a traditional printed guidebook.

"We have really mastered the online user-generated content," said J.R. Johnson, founder and president of VirtualTourist. "Now we want to go after what we had originally wanted to do and create an offline guidebook."

Using the site's rating system for reviews as a starting place, a team of professional travel editors selects the best reviews of destinations, hotels, restaurants and things to do, and assembles them into a printed guidebook. The first five guidebooks will be on London, Paris, Montreal, San Francisco and Rome.

I was provided with a review copy of the London guide, a city I have visited three or four times a year for the last decade. I found the content to be well organized, but some of it could have used a little editorial help.

In a tip about Travelcards, there is no mention that they are passes to London mass transport good for transit on buses and on the subway, also known as the Underground or Tube--neither of which are mentioned either. The reader is left to guess what Travelcards are or is referred to another chapter, which is fine for explaining in more detail how to buy them and what they cost. A few simple words would have cleared things up.

I also found it very odd that in all the descriptions of London's Soho neighborhood there was no mention that it is the center of one of Europe's most vibrant gay scenes.

Editors will do little to the selected content other than correct for punctuation and spelling. They will verify information such as addresses and pricing on hotels, though that is subject to change, depending on season and any specials offered. Otherwise, the writer's voice is allowed to come through unfiltered, even if the English is imperfect. For Johnson, this is one of the strengths of the guidebook, adding to its authenticity.

For each volume there are about 300 contributors whose only compensation is a byline and maybe a picture at the front of the book. Readers who find a writer whose travel sensibility matches their own can reference other contributions.

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