Virgin Holidays and Hip Hotels has recruited Alex James to join them in the role of Travel Laureate, in their efforts to reinvigorate the world of travel literature.
With over 8.5million UK adults admitting they find travel guidebooks ‘boring and staid’, VHip Hotels has tasked James to pen a series of first-hand destination-themed novels entitled ‘The VHip Collective’ that aim to excite and inspire the reader and provide a new, modern alternative to the traditional guide book.
The campaign was developed by VHip Hotels following a noted increase in customers asking their Travel Gurus for advice on where they could get interesting travel literature to help get them in the mood for their holiday. Deciding to solve the problem, VHip Hotels conducted research with over 2000 British holidaymakers to understand their opinions around travel books.
The first book in the series to be published will focus on Alex’s recent trip to New York - a fast-paced and punchy tale in which he compares a recent visit to a trip back in 1995 during his Blur heyday. The second book is centred on a trip to Jamaica, and the third book is a collection of short stories penned by the VHip Hotel Travel Gurus, which include some great hints and tips for people visiting locations including Thailand, the Maldives and Morocco.
The newly appointed Travel Laureate, Alex James, comments, “I’ve recently been given the fabulous title of Travel Laureate… it means I get to travel to and write about beautiful wildly interesting locations. It’s a great gig. As humans we love to escape the everyday. Reading about travel, travelling, reading – the result is always the same – escape. With the VHip Collective, the stories really help to give a feel for the destination. They have even included some of my favourite places to visit when you arrive so it acts like a travel guide at the same time. Beautiful and useful; the best combination.”
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