

As Lonely Planet’s Editorial Director, travel is a rather fortunate occupational imperative for Tom Hall, who started off packing boxes in the warehouse 20 years ago and now has the top editorial job at the world’s favourite guidebook publishers. Tom tells us about breathtaking rock-carved churches in Ethiopia, exploring Chilean Fjords on a ferry, conquering crusader castles in Syria and we discuss the nomadic spirit in all of us that makes travel part of our very being.
On this episode we cover:
The Gap year that ignited his passion for travel guides
Starting off stacking shelves at Lonely Planet
Having 18 different jobs in 20 years
The good bits about working in travel
The World Travel Market in London
His stand out trip to Ethiopia
The Church of St George in Lalibela
Churches carved from rock in the ground
The Proclaimers!
Preconceived ideas about Ethiopia
Ethiopia brief Italian colonisation
Its ancient Christianity and green hills and mountains
Indigenous Simian wolves and trekking
Ethiopia’s relationship with Eritrea and the Horn of Africa region
How Tanzania is one of the most beautiful countries he’s been to
Being hit by the heat at Dar Es Salaam airport
The ‘terrible’ job of updating the nightlife section of the Lisbon Guide
The fallacy that writing a guide book is a month of cocktails in the Maldives
Lonely Planet diligent research in making everything accurate
Feeling the weight of responsibility of LP’s influence in choosing what to recommend
Trying to control over-tourism
The most perfect beach that they can’t tell people about
How instagram and social media is changing the way people travel
Holding back information and encouraging exploration
How to select what to include and what to exclude
Giving vague guidelines
How people are travelling more responsibly than ever
Lonely Planet’s highlights map
Travel from China and other non-English speaking countries driving world travel growth
How travel is easier and cheaper than ever
The London – Beijing – Hong Kong Vienna fare for £350
Talinn in Estonia and its food and spa hotels, Helsinki, Prague…
His US visa getting cancelled as a result of his visit to Syria
The beauty of Syria – reminiscent of Tuscany, the desert…
Byzantine Empire, Crusader Castles, traditional Arabic hospitality
Wondering what happened to the people he met
The challenges of travelling with children
Taking greater risks when backpacking around South America, Morocco, South East Asia
A spectacularly bad tuk tuk ride in India
Worrying about being stuck in the middle of nowhere in the baking heat in Namibia
The advantages of travelling in the information age
How travel is safer than ever
Feel the fear and do it anyway
Lisa’s terrible car journey to Dorset
Instagrammers with kids who ditch school and travel the world
Taking regular trips to Nashville – British Airways new route
Lisa’s obsession with the series Nashville
Music on every corner –Broadway and more
The East Nashville food scene and its hot chicken
His defining ferry trip down the length of Chile
Patagonia, Tierra Del Fuego, Puerto Montt to the Torres del Paine park
Australia’s red centre, Uluru and the alien environment
The primeval nomadic spirit in all of us
Keeping the aspirational side of travel realistic
Travel being the best money you can spend for return
How the more you travel, the more you realise just how wonderful the world is
Finding traces of the 1970s underground music spirit in New York