Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler
“Many residents like to put down Nevada City for being too liberal, scattered and out of touch with the rest of the county. They make fun of its culture.
“But is Nevada City better positioned to bounce out of the recession than Grass Valley and the rest of the county?
It continued: “In short, Nevada City seems to be adopting a more youthful, “out of the box,” forward-looking growth strategy compared with Grass Valley and the rest of the county. It’s embracing green, clean and the outdoors.
“If it succeds, perhaps the rest of the county – still stuck in the past in many ways – will follow suit. Wouldn’t that be ironic? The county’s smallest town mapping a path for the rest of the region.”
So it was with great pleasure that Nevada City got cited by name in a ranking of top 10 travel destinations for 2012 by Lonely Planet, as I reported on Thursday.
Ranked at #6, the “Gold Country” listing for Lonely Planet read:
“Tahoe and Yosemite gets all the mountain love in California, but an hour closer to San Francisco (and cheaper and less crowded) is Gold Country. Towns that ooze century-old ambience are strung out like throw-back pearls along Hwy 49, a fun drive that passes stops like Jamestown’s historic train, a tiny gold town called Volcano (with no volcano), wineries (some even consider the region a contender to Napa and Sonoma), caves, gold-panning spots and a good overnight choice: the artsy town of Nevada City. Winter is also a treat with snow parks for kids and Bear Valley for hard-core winter sports – plus there’s sledding options galore. That’s how the locals do it.”
“A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure” is all the founders had who started Lonely Planet.
Now 30 years later it’s a globally loved brand, controlled by BBC Worldwide, a subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corp, who bought out Tony and Maureen Wheeler, the co-founders, for tens of millions of dollars.
It has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland with around 450 workers and more than 200 authors.
Lonely Planet has become a worldwide brand — just like Frommers Guides. It is used by hundreds of thousands of travelers for trade tips and advice. It has increased its market share to more than 20 percent.
The mention of Nevada City in the top 10 rankings — along with other destinations worldwide — is going to help fill up hotels, B&Bs and restaurants throughout our area.
To be sure, Nevada City has many challenges, as I’ve also written regularly, and the rest of our county has much to offer.
But the Lonely Planet ranking is a stark reminder that we all need to work together to embrace the diversity of our county, rather than make light of it. After all, that’s how Lonely Planet sees it — and so will its hundreds of thousands of readers.
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Good Show All and Congrats!
Kate
Beautifully done!
Good reporting Jeff although I am not sure that Grass Valley is not part of the mix alongside Nevada City. Now the area has a good chance to attract more European travelers who are the big users of Lonely Planet.
Grass Valley needs to get some credit. After all if it weren’t for the services it provides, Nevada City wouldn’t or couldn’t be what it is.
Grass Valley is getting credit, as is the rest of the “Gold Country.” It’s just that “artsy” Nevada City was called out by name. Let’s celebrate!
I’m with you Jeff…Yahoooo!!!
“But the Lonely Planet ranking is a stark reminder that we all need to work together to embrace the diversity of our county, rather than make light of it. After all, that’s how Lonely Planet sees it — and so will its hundreds of thousands of readers.”
This is exactly what I think. Problems are always solved better by adopting a point of view that embraces diversity. There is a huge and diverse potential of people and ideas in this area. If we could just get past the squabbling and find a way to listen to each other, we would all do much better.
During Victorian Christmas I overheard some visitors’ comments.
One was telling her companion that NC reminded her of , ” . . . Berkeley, only smaller.”
I hear some comments about our funky sidewalks.
Funky is okay, but they ought to be safe to walk upon.
People come here to escape the 21st Century.
Now that NC has a reputation, we all have to do our part to maintain it.
And Greg’s right, infighting only diverts us from the main mission.
The United Methodist Church does resemble the Campanile…but our restaurants are packed so much more conveniently together.
Greg,
The hard-right is already having a cow, making this a “political” story:
http://2012nevadacounty.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/lonely-planet-low-cost-travel-guide/
Judging by the demographics from Quantcast (and websites they also like), they are good “customers” for our towns.
http://www.quantcast.com/lonelyplanet.com
I wonder if the local complainers are the ones who have held back our community for so long?
Oh… is one of our local Archie Bunker upset about the lack of RV parking downtown?
’cause we know the type that travel in such a manner are amongst the thriftiest; of little impact on anything but grocery shops, gas stations and maybe the occasional restaurant trip.
Pops and Nan were snowbirds, and always angling for cheap/free hookups, dump sites, etc.
Just more of the same from the contrarians.
I just got a call from Mary West at KNCO, who’s going to do a story on this. The Internet is changing the way we communicate!
Has changed, perhaps?. While change is an ongoing process this change is so well along in the process that I’d say it has changed. Of course those who resist change are having fits as evidenced by all the cow birthing going on.
And to answer the allegations of cheapness, not only do people without money use Lonely Planet, but also those with money (not that I’m rich, but I don’t stay in youth hostels, either). I found it most helpful in getting ready for my trip to Kenya last year. We stayed in very nice hotels (Serena and Sentrim brands among others), when we weren’t staying with friends; and we also had a full time driver and van, game park visits, etc. People use Lonely Planet to decide where to go and what to expect, not just how to do it cheaply. Those who believe otherwise either have not used Lonely Planet, do not travel internationally, or both. I just checked the site and they book hostels to 7 star.
Well said Gail. The demographics from Quantcast (above) point to an educated and affluent audience as well. The “peanut gallery” can’t stand change. And they’ll increasingly lie to mask the truth. And you’re right: Most people are just walking around them. QED.
We certainly have an over abundance of artists, so please bring plenty of “feed.”