I don’t know about you, but I find airports pretty dire places on the whole. One of my few respites is browsing around WH Smith, looking at travel books, the latest novels, along with newspapers and magazines. But for the time being I’m going to be steering clear.
Recently WH Smith did a deal with book publishers Penguin to stock only their foreign travel guides in their outlets in UK airports, railway stations and motorway service areas. On the face of it this might not seem that significant, but see how many other booksellers you can find in these places. Which means that if you happen to be passing through and decide you want to make an impulse purchase, the only choice you have will be from Penguin’s imprints of Dorling Kindersley, Rough Guides and Sawdays Guides. If you have a hankering for Lonely Planet, Bradt, AA Guides, Michelin, Insight, Berlitz or Frommers, it’ll be tough luck.
So in other words, what has happened is a stitch-up. Or in more legal terms, it’s anti-competetive. From the consumer’s point of view it’s a raw deal. Your choice is seriously restricted, particularly as the coverage afforded by the Penguin guides is far from universal. WH Smith argue that they’re making life easier for you by restricting choice for the “time-pressed” traveller. But honestly, how many time-pressed people do you see milling around airport terminals? I see zillions bored out of their skulls.
The British Guild of Travel Writers, of which I am a member, has been involved in writing to the Office of Fair Trading, lobbying ministers and generally making a noise about it, but many other organisations have too, including the Society of Authors. It could possibly be having an effect, as both WH Smith and BAA (for whom WH Smith are the sole booksellers) have hinted that the arrangement may be reviewed. But that strikes me as a bit of a cop-out while the heat is on.
WH Smith might be the only place in a BAA airport where you can buy a travel book, but they don’t have that luxury in the High Street. So if you feel sufficiently outraged at having your choice restricted, and want to make your voice heard in the Penguingate saga, do it with your feet!
Tags: airport, book, British Guild of Travel Writers, guide, motorway, Penguin, railway, Travel, WH Smith