Travel tips - Tell you about Bookstore Tourism Part-I

Bookstore tourism is a type ofcultural tourism that promotesindependent bookstores as a group travel destination. It started as agrassroots effort to support locally owned and operated bookshops, many of which have struggled to compete with large bookstore chains and online retailers.

Those who promote bookstore tourism encourage schools, libraries, reading groups and other miscellaneous organizations to create day-trips and literary outings to cities and towns with a concentration of independent bookstores. Groups of various sizes around the U.S. have offered such excursions, usually via a chartered bus, and often incorporating book signings, author home tours and historical sites. They also encourage local booksellers to attract bibliophiles to their communities by employing bookstore tourism as an economic developmenttool. Others benefiting include local retailers, restaurants, bus companies and travel professionals. The effort also provides organizations with an outreach opportunity to support reading andliteracy.

The bookselling, publishing, and motorcoach industries have recognized the concept's potential as a group travel niche and marketing tool.

See also

• Book town
• Independent bookstore
• Used book
• Used bookstore

A book town is a town or village with a large number of used bookor antiquarian book stores. These storesand literary festivals, attract bibliophiletourists. A number of the book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns.

Bookshop in Hay-on-Wye

Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop

List of book towns

Book towns with known dates of operation

• Jinbōchō, Tokyo, Japan (early 1880s)
• Hay-on-Wye, Wales (1961)
• Redu, Belgium (1984)
• Bécherel, France (1988)
• Montolieu, France (1989)
• Bredevoort, Netherlands (1993)
• Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S.A., ^[1] (1993)
• Saint-Pierre-de-Clages, Switzerland(1993)
• Fontenoy-la-Joûte, France (1993)
• Mundal, Fjærland, Norway (1995)
• Wigtown, Scotland (1997)
• Zossen-Wünsdorf, Germany (1997)
• Damme, Belgium (1997)
• Dalmellington, Scotland (1997, though the last bookseller closed in 2005 and the project has folded)^[2]
• Sysmä, Finland (4 July 1997)
• Mühlbeck-Friedersdorf, Germany (1997)
• Kampung Buku Langkawi, Malaysia (3 December 1997)
• Archer City, Texas, U.S.A. (1999)
• Southern Highlands, Australia (2000)
• Mellösa, Sweden (17 February 2001)^[3]
• Tvedestrand, Norway (2003)
• Sedbergh, England (2003)
• Blaenavon, Wales (28 June 2003,^[4]though the project had folded by March 2006)^[5]
• Brownville, Nebraska, U.S.A., (2004)^[6]
• Hobart, NY - Book Village of the Catskills (^[7]) (2005)
• Atherstone, Warwickshire (2005)
• Torup, Denmark (2006) ^[8]
• Kampung Buku Melaka, Malaysia ^[9](17 April 2007)
• St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada(2007)^[10]
• Urueña, Spain (2007) ^[11]
• Bellprat, Catalonia (2008) ^[12]
• Esquelbecq, France (2010) ^[13]
• Clunes, Victoria, Australia (2012)
• Montereggio Mulazzo, Italy
• Borrby, Sweden (2011)

Book Towns with unknown dates of operation

• Sidney, British Columbia
• Bosu-dong, Jung-gu, Busan, South Korea
• Gold Cities BookTown, Grass Valley, California