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United States Arthur Frommer revolutionized the travel industry by making international travel accessible to the masses through his acclaimed guidebooks, tours, and media ventures.
Frommer sold his travel guide book business to Simon & Schuster in 1977.
Frommer sold Budget Travel magazine to Newsweek.
The hotel built by Frommer in Amsterdam, now known as the Hotel Mercure Amsterdam Arthur Frommer, is part of the Accor group.
Frommer wrote a travel column syndicated through King Features Syndicate for over 2 decades.
Google acquired Frommer's in 2012, but Arthur Frommer eventually reacquired the brand from them.
Frommer, along with his daughter Pauline, co-presided over Frommer Media LLC and relaunched the print series of guidebooks.
Arthur Bernard Frommer, born on July 17, 1929, in Lynchburg, Virginia, began his journey from an early life in Jefferson City, Missouri, moving to New York City at age 14. He pursued higher education, earning a political science degree from New York University in 1950 and graduating with honors from Yale Law School in 1953, where he served as an editor for the Yale Law Journal. His legal career included work on water rights cases and defending D.H. Lawrence’s novel ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’, a benchmark First Amendment case. Drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War, his linguistic skills led him to Europe rather than Korea, marking the unexpected beginning of his travel writing career.
While serving in Germany in 1955, Frommer self-published “The GI’s Guide to Traveling In Europe,” which quickly sold out its initial print run. This success spurred him to release a civilian version in 1957, the seminal “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day: A Guide to Inexpensive Travel.” This guidebook became a bestseller, profoundly influencing postwar Americans by introducing them to budget travel. In 1961, Frommer left his legal practice to fully dedicate himself to his growing travel business, Arthur Frommer International, Inc., where he served as chairman and president until 1981. His philosophy centered on authentic, affordable travel, encouraging travelers to engage with local cultures and eschew luxury accommodations.
Frommer expanded his empire beyond guidebooks, venturing into package tours with the founding of $5-a-Day Tours, Inc. in 1962. He also built four Arthur Frommer hotels in locations such as Amsterdam, Aruba, Curacao, and Copenhagen. In 1977, he sold the guidebook business to Simon & Schuster, though he eventually reacquired the rights in 2012, relaunching the print series with his daughter, Pauline Frommer. His career also encompassed publishing “Frommer’s New World of Travel,” founding Budget Travel magazine, hosting “The Travel Show with Arthur and Pauline Frommer” radio show and podcast, and establishing Frommers.com in 1997, one of the earliest and most respected travel websites. Arthur Frommer passed away on November 18, 2024, at the age of 95.
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