Will all travel guides and travel reviews be switched to travel websites and mobile apps?
Google is to buy the travel guidebooks brand Frommer's as the internet company ramps up its bid to become the premier destination for local reviews and listings online.
Google will pay an undisclosed sum for the Frommer's brand, which launched in 1957 when Arthur Frommer published his 'Europe on $5 a day' guidebook.
The deal gives Google a vast and growing archive of digital reviews for its local listings, maps and mobile applications.
It comes nearly a year after Google bought Zagat Survey, the restaurant review and ratings service. Google said the Frommer's purchase - which includes more than 300 guidebooks - would complement its aim to provide "a review for every relevant place in the world".
The future of Frommer's print titles is understood to be safe in the near term, but could be made online-only as the brand is merged with Zagat inside Google. "The Frommer's team and the quality and scope of their content will be a great addition to the Zagat team.
We can't wait to start working with them on our goal to provide a review for every relevant place in the world," said a spokeswoman for Google.
