See also POI Subtypes
Every POI is assigned a type.
A POI Type indicates the main purpose for which the POI is being recommended, allowing LP staff to work out where the content is best placed in a product and helping the traveller identify where the POI might fit into their travel plans.
A POI may have only one type assigned to it. If you feel a POI falls into two separate types, see POIs with Multiple Functions for information on how to address this.
Types are:
Sights
Activities
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Info
Transport
Covers the key sights of the destination – they may be as diverse as churches, fountains, art galleries, cemeteries, volcanoes, significant houses, statues, parks and zoos.
Destination-defining activities that a traveller undertakes themselves (as opposed to watches for entertainment). It is important to be selective here – focus on things that are destination-specific (eg onsens in Japan), or are particularly good to do in the destination (cycling in Paris). Avoid including POIs such as yoga, gyms and spas unless they are a definite, destination-specific part of the travel experience or an attraction in their own right (an art deco swimming pool, for example).
Covers major festivals and events.
Covers all accommodation. Aim to include a range of accommodation styles and budgets, as appropriate to the destination and quality of accommodation on offer, to ensure we offer options for all travellers. For top-end options we target places well worth the extra cost – the famous, unusual, boutique or special – rather than bland chain hotels. Fleapits that have nothing to recommend them except their bargain-basement price are ignored, as are run-of-the-mill chain hotels – where there are better alternatives available.
Covers places you visit for the purpose of eating, whether they be fancy restaurants or food markets. Aim to include a range of price points and subtypes, as appropriate for the destination.
Highlight:
the best local food
the gamut of price levels and relevant cuisine types
good value at a range of prices
reliable, atmospheric and long-standing favourites
trendy places (those that look like they’ll stick around longer than six months), reinforcing that Lonely Planet is up to date
self-catering and ‘quick eat’ options, as well as fine dining.
Avoid Western fast-food chains, cuisines irrelevant to the destination and places whose only virtue is that they are cheap.
Anywhere you’d visit for the purposes of having a drink, whether that be a coffee, wine, beer etc. Could be a cafe, pub, winery, bar, juice bar etc. Note the determining factor here is your reason for visiting: if a pub’s appeal lies in the live-music sets, it would be given the Entertainment type, whereas a pub that we recommend because it’s a great place to have a drink would be given the Drinking type.
A POI that travellers visit to be entertained by someone else, such as a spectator sport, live music venue, theatre, opera house, comedy club etc. The key here is that the traveller is the observer: so a professional baseball team would be classed as an Entertainment type, while a casual baseball league that travellers can join to participate in a game would be assigned the Activity type.
Covers shops and anywhere else that a traveller visits for the purpose of shopping (eg markets) – may sell anything and everything including fashion, accessories, toys, homewares, gifts, food, books, music, antiques and art. It is important to be selective here – focus on destination-specific options, shops or types of shops that the city is well-known for, or shops that will particularly appeal to the target market.
Practical, need-to-know information for the destination, such as tourist offices, post offices, banks, doctors etc.
Major transport-related POIs, such as ticket offices, train stations etc.