A Brief History of Bookstore Tourism

The goal of Bookstore Tourism is to support independent bookstores by promoting them as a group travel destination. And although I haven’t been actively involved with it over the past few years, I still think it has a lot of promise as a group travel niche and marketing tool for the bookselling and travel industries. So I plan to get back into it again as time allows and as the economy continues to recover.

I first began leading “bookstore road trips” to New York City in 2003. I’d load 50 people on a chartered bus in Harrisburg, PA, and we’d spend the day visiting the 20 or so indie bookshops in and around Greenwich Village. Later, I also led literary jaunts to Washington, DC and the Brandywine Valley. To say that these sold-out excursions were popular would be putting it lightly.

At first the Bookstore Tourism idea was merely for fun, but it gradually turned into a mission when I saw how many indie booksellers around the country were struggling to compete with large bookstore chains, online retailers, and more recently, the rise of the e-book. I wanted to remind readers everywhere how important it is to support their local indies if they don’t want them fading into oblivion. These bus trips seemed like a great way to do that, so I started encouraging other folks to plan bookstore tours of their own. I promoted the concept with a website, a blog, podcasts, and even a how-to book called Bookstore Tourism: The Book Addict’s Guide to Planning & Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles & Other Bookshop Junkies.

Bookstore Tourism eventually grew into a grassroots effort in pockets around the U.S. It was never huge, but there was a nice ripple of interest and support. A lot of folks recognized the concept’s potential as a group travel niche and marketing tool, especially the American Booksellers Association, various regional booksellers associations and a few other groups that considered ways to collaborate and capitalize on the trend. In particular, the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association offered several bookstore tours in and around Los Angeles and San Diego.

Here’s what some people have said about Bookstore Tourism:

“A charming alternative.” — USA Today
“The beginning of a new concept in bookselling.” — Publishers Weekly
“Larry Portzline has taken a novel idea on the road.” — Boston Globe
“Just the thing to get people not only reading again but visiting their local independents.” — Chicago Tribune
“It’s good to know the bibliophile bus is still trucking on through Pennsylvania.” — The Guardian (U.K.)
“What a neat idea you came up with!” — Nancy Pearl, creator of the “One Book, One City” movement and author of Book Lust
“Buses and Bookstore Tourism: a heavenly marriage?” — United Motorcoach Association
“Imagine the bus business bonanza in this one.” — Trailways Traveler
“An inviting concept.” — Women’s Lifestyle
“Bookstore Tourism explains how to combine travel and the love of literature to support independent bookstores around the world.” — Orlando Sentinel
“Here’s a travel trend we can get behind.” — WorldHum.com
“Bookstore Tourism opens a new travel niche.” — Newport (Oregon) News-Times
“In a world where shopping malls are bona fide tourist attractions, here’s an alternative.” — Tucson Citizen
“Portzline has found a tremendous market in the printed word — and book-lovers.” — Destinations Magazine
“Bookstore Tourism promotes reading, supports independent booksellers.” — National Council of Teachers of English

Some folks continue to do literary road trips here and there, but the Recession has certainly taken a toll. I think Bookstore Tourism will rise again, though. It offers nothing but benefits: to the bookselling and travel industries, to other local retailers, to sponsoring organizations, to campaigns for reading and literacy, and on and on.

Like I told a reporter once: “If they can load people onto a bus and take them to outlet malls for the day, why can’t they do the same with indie bookstores?”

So, if I were to jump back into Bookstore Tourism with both feet again, I’d like to do the following:

1. Revive my idea of creating a non-profit/trade association called Friends of Indie Bookstores USA, complete with a board, an executive director (me), and a business manager (something I desperately needed previously).
2. Make the National Council on Bookstore Tourism an entity within FOIB.
3. Launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise seed money.
4. Publish a white paper on the viability of Bookstore Tourism as a type of cultural tourism benefiting not just the bookselling industry, but also the travel industry, the “local first” movement, and literacy/reading efforts in general.
5. Seek grant funding to make FOIB an ongoing, full-time operation.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Encouragement? Please share your thoughts! And visit www.bookstoretourism.com for more info.