Two juniors returned to classes today after an intersession trip far less exotic than their summers in Peru and India as researchers for the Harvard-produced travel guide series “Let’s Go.”

Ultimately, though, their five-city publicity tour may prove more important to the success of the company—but only if favorable sales numbers result.

The media blitz of over a dozen television and radio appearances—primarily during the trip taken by Megan M. Brumagim ’04 and Nitin Shah ’04—promoted Let’s Go’s newly updated guides for 2003, which came out in December.

After marketing research commissioned by Let’s Go and its publisher, St. Martin’s Press indicated that the student publication was “out of step” with students and young people who saw travel as an adventure rather than a vacation, the travel guides have been repackaged for a broader, more culturally savvy audience.

And they said it’s working.

Both St. Martin’s and Let’s Go officials said early sales figures suggest the campaign has been successful, although they declined to provide specific numbers or break down rates for individual titles.

Esti M. Iturralde ’00, St. Martin’s editorial liaison for Let’s Go and a former employee herself, said initial bookstore orders were up by 30 percent almost across the board compared to orders this time last year.

As part of the series’ new look and feel, Brumagim said, guides now focus on a more flexible travel experience, and include options for higher-end accommodations and volunteer opportunities to encourage what Brumagim called “sustainable travel.”

“Traveling with a purpose and trying to be sensitive, leaving nothing behind but your footprints—it seems like a growing trend today,” she said.

New book covers eliminate Let’s Go’s trademark “thumb” logo, which the 2001 marketing report called outdated, while revised content includes more in-depth descriptions of foreign locations and four new guidebooks.

Although guides to Europe have traditionally been among the series’ best-sellers, Iturralde and Let’s Go editor-in-chief Jeffrey B. Dubner ’03 said Thailand and Costa Rica—both new titles—have also done well in early sales.

“The sales of the books you would consider either adventure or developing world have been pretty impressive,” Dubner said, although he added that the publication does not have demographic data on who is buying the new guides.

“The added publicity is certainly a factor in the increase in sales,” he said.

Shah said the media effort is essential to making sure readers notice the series’ revamping efforts for 2003, as Let’s Go has always updated each guidebook on a yearly basis.

“We’ve neglected marketing efforts a little bit in the past,” he said.