Travel Massive Melbourne presents: A live interview with Tony Wheeler, co-founder of Lonely Planet.

Join us for an inspiring evening with the Travel Massive Melbourne community at The Wheeler Centre on Wednesday, November 25th from 6.30pm - 9.00pm, where we are thrilled to host a headline fireside chat with Tony Wheeler, the Melbourne-based co-founder of Lonely Planet.

How I created it - the journey to now and what hasn’t changed

In a fireside chat tailored for creators, media, in-house content and travel professionals, Tony will reflect on his founder journey from kitchen table publishing to a global guidebook empire. While travel media platforms, formats, and algorithms continually evolve, the key drivers of human wanderlust, discoverability, and travel research remain remarkably constant. Tony will share his perspective on building an enduring brand and the timeless fundamentals of how travellers seek out the world.

The fireside chat will be followed by an open panel discussion and audience Q&A exploring what lies ahead for travel content, technology, and storytelling. This event is made possible by our friends at Stay22, the monetization partner for ambitious creators and intent-rich platforms.

📍 The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
🗓️ Wednesday 25 November, 2026
🕕 6.30pm - 9.00pm
👗 Business casual
☝️ RSVP is essential — please register on this event page

About Tony Wheeler
An Asia ‘hippie trail’ trek in 1972 led to the creation of Lonely Planet and the New York Times to describe Tony as ‘the trailblazing patron saint of the world’s backpackers and adventure travelers.’ Since selling Lonely Planet in 2007, Tony’s activities have included the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne, the Wheeler Institute at London Business School (concentrating on entrepreneurship in the developing world), the Wheeler History of Travel Writing Programme at Warwick University in England and the Planet Wheeler Foundation’s education and health projects in the developing world. Plus Tony has undertaken plenty more travel in the past couple of years that has included Algeria, Nigeria, South Sudan and most recently, Greenland. Learn more at tonywheeler.com.au

About The Wheeler Centre
The Wheeler Centre is Australia’s only dedicated hub for Books, Writing and Ideas – a place where audiences connect with leading writers and thinkers from across Australia and the world. The Wheeler Centre played a key role in Melbourne being recognised as the world’s second UNESCO City of Literature in 2008. The Centre opened to the public in 2010 thanks to the Victorian Government’s commitment to the City of Literature initiative and the vision of its founding patrons Maureen and Tony Wheeler. Learn more at wheelercentre.com

Thanks to our partners

💫 This event is powered by Stay22, the monetization partner for ambitious creators and intent-rich platforms. Stay22 recently unveiled its new brand, reflecting a decade of growth and a continued focus on helping partners earn more and have more freedom to do what they do best. Learn more at tmsv.co/stay22-learn-more

📚 Book giveaway: Supported by Lonely Planet, who have generously provided a book giveaway for attendees on the night.

🍹 Drinks: Non-alcoholic drinks to be kindly supplied by Remedy.

Space is limited. Please reserve your place to connect with fellow travel acquaintances, creators and media. Please also feel free to extend this invitation to others in your travel and tourism network.

We look forward to seeing you there!
— Justin and Casey