Points of Interest (POIs)

What is a POI?

A Point of Interest (POI) is something of interest to travellers that generally has perishable practical information. POIs are the backbone of LP’s destination coverage, showing travellers what the destination offers in terms of sights, activities, events, courses, food, accommodation, nightlife, entertainment, shopping, information and transport.

For information on when, where and how to create new POIs in Christo, see 'POIs' in the Content Manual.

POI Information

To ensure our POI content is comprehensive, flexible and useful, we collect the following information for each POI:

Type
Subtype
Name (and Alternate Names as needed)
Practicalities (includes Addresses, Websites, Telephone Numbers, Prices, Opening Hours and Transport Info)
Map Pinpoint
Score (not required for Info and Transport POIs)
Price Indicator (Eating and Sleeping only)
Review (not required for Info and Transport POIs)
Attributes (includes Free, Top Choice, Course and Tour)
Properties (includes Parking, Wi-fi, Family-Friendly, Sustainable etc)

Open the pdf below for a printable POI Information Cheat Sheet, organised by POI type.

POI-cheat-sheet.pdf

Selecting POIs

It is essential that LP provides POI recommendations that are of interest to travellers of all walks of life. Each place should cover enough POIs to consider travellers of different budgets, different travelling situations (solo travellers, families etc) and different interests, within the limits of available options.

The range of POIs LP can provide about a place is key to demonstrating our expertise and knowledge. While we always cover the must-sees of any destination, we also cover the new, the different and the exciting. We cover POIs that can create experiences for travellers, be it a major landmark, an authentic local meal, an unexpectedly thriving nightclub, an obscure but well-run museum, a great-value hotel or just an excellent park to lay back and relax.

POIs with Multiple Functions

Where a POI could be recommended for different reasons (ie could have more than one POI Type), Lonely Planet usually reviews the POI for one function, and notes its secondary functions in the review. For example, a hotel that runs local tours would likely be reviewed as a Sleeping POI, with the tour noted in the review. The POI could be linked to from some tours coverage if useful.

In limited cases, where the POI really must be recommended for both purposes (eg a museum that is a major sight but is also an important craft shop that travellers will be looking for) two POIs are created in the CMS.

In the review of each POI, a linked reference is made to the alternate function.

NB These instances are not to be confused with POIs in similar locations which are actually separate POIs (eg a hotel and a restaurant in that hotel with its own name and contact info).

Multiple Locations & Branches

A simple case is a shop with more than one physical outlet. Where we recommend multiple locations/branches, each will have its own separate POI.

One POI’s review may use linking functionality to refer to other branches where relevant.

What Is Not a POI?

POIs are not created for the following:

Things that do not require any ‘practicality’ information (including pinpoint), eg:
- - towns/regions
  - smaller things of interest below the POI level, such as a piece of artwork hung in a museum
References to websites
References to phone numbers
Groups of things or themes

Websites

A POI is not created where something only has a URL for its practicalities and is simply a useful information source, or where a website is the only practical info available for something that would not generally be considered a POI. Examples may include newspapers, celebrities, airlines and other regionwide transport companies, ticket-booking sites, government travel advice sites and discount cards. In these scenarios, the website is given in text, eg ‘Among Guatemala’s Spanish-language newspapers are La Prensa Libre (prensalibre.com) and…’; ‘The national carrier Vietnam Airlines (vietnamairlines.com) operates daily flights…’.

This is not to say anything that only has a URL for practicalities cannot be a POI. For example, some tour operators only have URLs, with no address or phone number; you might just make a booking online and then the operator picks you up. Because this is a service that LP wants to review and recommend – as opposed to simply being a website – a POI is stored in the CMS.

Phone Numbers

A POI is not created just to house a useful phone number being referenced in text, such as a helpline or emergency number, with no other practicalities. In these cases, the number can be given in text, eg ‘The local government runs a hotline (0911 081 968) for tourists wishing to report scams’. As with websites, that is not to say if something only has a phone number for practicalities it can’t be a POI. If a phone number is the only contact information for a service being reviewed and recommended (eg a tour operator with no office or online presence), a POI can be stored in the CMS.

Groups & Themes

A collection of things (eg temples, medieval buildings) is not a POI. These can be captured as individual POIs with their own practicalities and pinpoints; and/or covered as feature narrative under In Location > Sights (or relevant other category), with links to the individual POIs where appropriate.

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