Lonely Planet and the Beeb

On the theme of independent travel, on why we travel, on the whole meaning of travel, here's an interesting bit of news about Lonely Planet selling itself to the BBC. A good thing? Hard to know. But I agree with the blogger about the "end of independent travel." What does it mean anymore to be "independent"? I struggle with this. A decade ago, it meant you did things on the cheap. It meant you did things on your own. It meant you went places that few other people went. Today, that's a lot harder to do. First of all, there are many more travellers on the road today. There are more airports. There are more low-cost airlines. More people are traveling today then 10 or 15 years ago, it's a simple fact of life. So independence is hard to maintain. Moreover, it's hard to be alone anymore. The internet, mobile phones, community websites, travel sites -- there is so much more information available now, and so many networks of people sharing travel tips and suggestions. The world is less lonely today, for sure. Finally, travel is no longer 'cheap', or let me put that a different way -- it's harder to be cheap these days. Even the hostels cost $15 or $20 a night now. So yes, independent travel is going the way of steamship trampers and rail-car riders. Cool ideas, but a bit old fashioned.