BBC Magazines had planned to launch the magazine last Friday, but opted for this week after an accusation from Wanderlust editor and publisher Lyn Hughes that BBC Worldwide had deliberately targeted the title by launching Lonely Planet magazine on the same day as its 15th anniversary issue. Wanderlust is part owned by Media Week parent Haymarket.
Lonely Planet, which will be priced at £3.50, will have a print run of 90,000 copies and carry advertising from an array of brands including Virgin Atlantic, Peugeot, British Airways and Canon.
Editorial content covered in the first issue will include Stephen Fry's Wild West Road Trip, taken from Stephen Fry in America, the TV show recently shown on BBC1, a feature on "Why Britain is best in winter" and a postcard section, which will offer readers the chance to share travel stories. The first issue will come with a free 2009 calendar.
The magazine will be aimed at frequent travellers and feature a mix of editorial and photography, with a particular focus on ideas for future trips, both short breaks and long-haul journeys.
Lonely Planet is published from BBC Worldwide's west London office and edited by Peter Grunert, previously deputy editor of BBC Worldwide's Top Gear Magazine.
BBC Magazines said Lonely Planet aims to be "more than a travel magazine", covering culture, history and food content about destinations around the world. Much of the content in the title will link back to BBC programmes and websites.
BBC Worldwide, which paid £75m in October 2007 for 75% of Lonely Planet to its founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler, has come under fire for its acquisition.
In June, Tony Elliot, the founder of Time Out urged the Office of Fair Trading to look into the BBC's acquisition, complaining that the corporation is breaking its own fair trading rules.
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