Issued October 13, 2009

Lonely Planet announces new leadership in the US

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Lonely Planet has today announced new leadership in the US with John Boris starting as new Executive Vice President, Lonely Planet & Managing Director, Lonely Planet Americas.

Reporting to Matt Goldberg, Lonely Planet's CEO, Boris has joined the company in Oakland and will be responsible for defining and delivering the strategy to drive growth in revenues and audiences across the US and leading Lonely Planet's global client solutions business.

Matt Goldberg says of the appointment, "We are excited to have been able to attract such a talented brand builder and media thought leader in John Boris to lead Lonely Planet on the next phase of its growth across the US and to elevate our client solution business globally. John will be pivotal to transforming Lonely Planet in the US and connecting with audiences across all channels – print, digital and other emerging opportunities."

John Boris added: "I'm thrilled to be joining one of the world's best-loved travel brands at such an exciting time, with Lonely Planet rapidly evolving as a cross-media travel player. I'm looking forward to building on the considerable success already achieved in the US inspiring and enabling curious people to experience the world and enrich their lives by getting to the heart of a place."

Boris is charged with transforming the US business to grow market share in Lonely Planet's core print business, while establishing Lonely Planet as a strong contender in the digital market, and continuing to expand the company's global solutions offering.

Boris has career history of successfully driving revenues and business development opportunities with high profile US operations. He joins Lonely Planet from Zagat Survey, where he was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Interactive, responsible for the marketing, promotions and development of Zagat lines of business including retail, corporate, online and mobile. Boris also held general management responsibilities overseeing various operational departments including Production, Survey Research and Customer Service.

Prior to joining Zagat Survey, Boris held leadership positions at 1-800 Flowers, where he managed brand development and communications, and Fresh Direct, where he was responsible for launching the brand in New York and driving revenue to over $200million. Lonely Planet has identified the Americas as a key geographic market and further strengthened its leadership team recruiting Laura Sullivan as Vice President Marketing and Lotte Vester as Vice President Finance.

Sullivan joins Lonely Planet after ten years with American Express, most recently as the Vice President of Consumer Brand Strategy. Her roles at American Express focused on integrating marketing approaches via public advertising, online, social media, live experiences and direct marketing. Vester is a ten-year veteran of Nielsen, where she worked across a range of digital and information businesses in Europe and the US, most recently as VP Finance for Nielsen Mobile.

Matt Goldberg says, "Laura Sullivan and Lotte Vester are world-class professionals who bring diverse cross-industry expertise to Lonely Planet. I am confident that they, along with the rest of our strong US leadership team, will help take us to the next level"