What qualifies as a Travel Guide?
Recent clarifications on restaurants, bars, pubs, businesses and theaters have included the phrase "that have been featured prominently in travel guides" in designating those that are eligible versus those that are generic. This is not the only criterion in determining eligibility, but if travel guides should be consulted, what qualifies as a travel guide?
I just reviewed a nomination for an Italian restaurant that included this statement in the supporting information: "Quaint, Italian restaurant noted on Trip Advisor if you search for top 10 places to eat in town, acceptable if noted in travel guides." TripAdvisor usually lists every restaurant in town, so I don't know that it is a great reference for a travel guide, but maybe I am overthinking things. As I look for things to nominate, I might use TripAdvisor or something similar as a starting point, but I am more likely to post information about reviews, awards and chamber of commerce type listings as being more authoritative than TripAdvisor.
(this post is not meant to slight tripAdvisor, it is a fine resource, but I just don't know if it is a good travel guide for Wayfarer)
Best Answers
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TheFarix-PGO Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭✭✭
I am extremely hesitant to call TripAdvisor and other ratings sites as travel guides. They are good to establish any claims of rankings, but nothing beyoned that. As for other websites, I would definitely include the local tourist bureau or visitor center's websites.
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JSteve0-ING Posts: 516 ✭✭✭✭
Here I am answering my own question. Here's what I get.
TripAdvisor itself has a subcategory on its website for travel guides. These commissioned articles are acceptable in my book as being prominently featured in a travel guide.
A TripAdvisor top 10 listing (the page that is most easily accessible for an area) is more or less a crowdsourced phone book entry. Yes it has some user reviews, but it is nothing authoritative.
There are some useful guides like those at World Travel Guide and AARP. Others like Forbes and Michelin may be helpful, but they may also be a bit too limited.
I would like Niantic to give some guidance on what they were looking for on travel guides when they added the statement to their guidance. This would be more useful than a self-appointed Niantic interpreter telling us to accept just about anything as a travel guide.
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TheFarix-PGO Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭✭✭
Travel guides are a curated set of restaurants, accommodations, and other local attractions and provides information, advice, or tips about each. TripAdviser, on the other hand, lists every restaurant, accommodations, and all attractions in an area and provide no such advice or tips. There is no curation at all. It is because of the lack of curation that makes TripAdviser a directory instead of a travel guide.
EDIT: Clean up language usage and make things more clear.
Post edited by TheFarix-PGO on
Answers
I am extremely hesitant to call TripAdvisor and other ratings sites as travel guides. They are good to establish any claims of rankings, but nothing beyoned that. As for other websites, I would definitely include the local tourist bureau or visitor center's websites.
The problem with relying on tourist bureaus/visitor centre guides is in many areas it's essentially a 'pay to get included' situation - there's no quality control or real reviewing.
This is a very good question actually.
I definitely don't see TripAdvisor as a travel guide for the same reasons most above stated. Depending on the size of the town/city I might look favourably on something in the top 10 on the website though (alongside other cultural/historical significance).
In doing a little research on this I have a little bit of a recommendation to myself.
First off, TripAdvisor has officially commissioned travel guides, articles that go beyond user rating top 10 lists. Here is an example of foodie locations in Dublin, Ireland: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Guide-g186605-k1767-Dublin_County_Dublin.html
World Travel Guide (https://www.worldtravelguide.net/) is something I would respect as a travel guide. This article would be a good resource on restaurants that could be eligible in Athens, Greece https://worldoffoodanddrink.worldtravelguide.net/food/athens-food-drink-guide-10-things-to-try-in-athens-greece/
Another example could be AARP. Here is their guide to Las Vegas: https://www.aarp.org/travel/destinations/united-states/las-vegas/
I would accept these type articles as travel guides over the general top 10 lists on the tripadvisor.
Are these the types guide Niantic is looking for? Hopefully they will comment.
Any other examples you all would think qualify as travel guides?
Here is another one, the Forbes Travel Guide https://www.forbestravelguide.com/. This one is almost too exclusive, but for sure if it is in there, it is worth a visit (if you have the money). Same with the Michelin Guide https://guide.michelin.com/.
Very good point. It is also on the reviewer to decide to accept.
I disagree, @Gabriel0322-PGO, but you do you.
If the submitter can't convince a reviewer something is eligible that's down to them. It's not "abuse" to reject something if you don't think if meets guidelines. Stop throwing that word around when you clearly don't understand the meaning.
First, it's not on TripAdvisor to confirm location, that's done by satellite, street views, or other supporting methods.
Second, it still must be featured prominently, meaning it is also responsibly of the reviewers to read the guide and make determination if it meets criteria or not.
Simply providing a link to TripAdvisor may not alone be sufficient.
You drop this "reviewer abuse" line a lot, but that's not abuse, it's reviewing thoroughly to avoid nomination abuse.
TripAdviser is not a travel guide. It is a rating/review website
TripAdvisor isn't a travel guide. If a reviewer isn't convinced by the evidence shown that a business meets criteria they are within their rights to reject. It is not abuse to have an opinion on something that isn't black and white, like a generic business.
Reviewer abuse would be purposely approving something that doesn't meet guidelines because they submitted it on another account or their friend did. Or approving something obviously K-12, PRP, no safe access etc. Or rejecting everything from a certain area because the opposing team has a stronghold there.
The guidance on businesses is purposely vague because each business should be judged on its own merit. So each reviewer will have their own take on what's acceptable, which is why the submitter needs to sell it.
Geez, I quoted the guidance and haven't been focusing on the "prominently featured". This is a good point.
If I make a website and start writing review articles and rating stuff is that a TravelGuide?
Is that a counterargument? If so, it doesn't do anything.
What does available space and length of a hyperlink have to do with this? We all have the same amount of allotted characters, so we do the best we can. Hyperlinks are long...? So don't include them and just reference they exist if you can't fit it.
It takes more than proving it exists to say I have no choice to accept. Wow.
Trip Advisor is no more a travel guide than, say, Yelp or Google Maps could be considered travel guides. All three are simply directories that happen to let users submit ratings.
That is not what I'm saying, dude. I am not saying you can't use hyperlinks, I'm not saying TripAdvisor ratings are negligible.
I said it is a shared responsibly of the reviewers to look at the information available and make an assessment if the nomination meets criteria. Simply providing the link isn't always enough.
Here I am answering my own question. Here's what I get.
TripAdvisor itself has a subcategory on its website for travel guides. These commissioned articles are acceptable in my book as being prominently featured in a travel guide.
A TripAdvisor top 10 listing (the page that is most easily accessible for an area) is more or less a crowdsourced phone book entry. Yes it has some user reviews, but it is nothing authoritative.
There are some useful guides like those at World Travel Guide and AARP. Others like Forbes and Michelin may be helpful, but they may also be a bit too limited.
I would like Niantic to give some guidance on what they were looking for on travel guides when they added the statement to their guidance. This would be more useful than a self-appointed Niantic interpreter telling us to accept just about anything as a travel guide.
Okay, so its not really a Travel Guide. For example I live in a very small town to the point where the Top 10 on TripAdvisor lists Chik Fil A as a TripAdvisor location in my town. Are you saying that makes Chik Fil A Eligible?