The Rough Guide acknowledges that it does publish books on some countries with questionable records on human rights, but only when it believes “that well-informed travelers can bring positive economic benefits and assist in the spread of ideas in both directions.”
But, it adds, “there are, however, occasional instances where any benefits are overshadowed by the nature of the social and political climate. Apartheid South Africa was an example. Burma, with its brutal dictatorship, state control of the economy and forced labor used to build its tourist infrastructure, is another.”
The Rough Guide’s stance has placed it on the Burma Campaign-UK’s “clean list” of enterprises forswearing any commercial involvement with Burma, along with Moon Handbooks, issued by Avalon Travel Publishing, which declares that it won’t include Burma in its Southeast Asia guides “unless and until there is significant regime change that warrants a return to responsible tourism.”
One of the leading American guidebook publishers, Frommer’s, also drops Burma from its Southeast Asian editions, while its main competitor, Fodor’s, published by Random House, provides company for Lonely Planet, Insight, Pan MacMillan, Trailblazer Publications and Travel World Media on the “dirty list.”
“It should really boil down to one central conclusion,” commented a veteran Fodor’s writer. “If you’re going to Burma you’ll need a guidebook. If you’re not then, of course, you won’t require one. The Burma Campaign-UK call for a total boycott of Lonely Planet guidebooks, however, takes the debate into entirely new territory.”
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