Arthur Frommer, Budget Travel Pioneer, Dies at 95

Budget travel pioneer Arthur Frommer passed away yesterday at the age of 95, his daughter Pauline Frommer wrote yesterday afternoon.

As an active-service officer with the United States military working in Europe in the post-World War II years, he self-published his GI's Guide to Traveling in Europe in 1955. It became the prototype for every English-language guidebook series that followed, from Lonely Planet to Let's Go to Rough Guides, and more. He turned the follow-up, the seminal Europe on $5 a Day, into a brand and then a publishing empire that's now run by his daughter.

The GI guide came about because, as a soldier, Arthur realized that when he had a few days off, he could hop on a military transport plane and be in a different European destination in a matter of hours. He took advantage of this benefit, and then he told his colleagues and then the world how they could do the same.

For the next 70 years, he kept telling people where they might enjoy a great experience outside the comforts of home.

This was not a straight path. Arthur