The decision by W H Smith to sell only travel guides published under the Penguin brand at its airport and station shops is coming under pressure from politicians and authors.

According to travel guidebook author and Tweeter Mike Gerrard, the Scottish Minister of Culture is to write to W H Smith asking for an explanation of the move.

The decision to stock only DK, Rough Guide and Sawday brands means all other titles - including Lonely Planet, Time Out and Frommers - were taken off the shelves this week.

The decision, taken for financial reasons, is all the more sensitive as W H Smith recently signed an exclusivity agreement with BAA airports which saw Borders and Hughes & Hughes shops taken out.

W H Smith axes dozens of travel publishers in new exclusive deal

From today, only travel guides from the Penguin stable will be on sale at airports and stations. What a disaster for choice and coverage

Today, The Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild wrote to the Office of Fair Trading expressing "concern" over the move. WH Smith Travel’s plan to make publisher Penguin the sole supplier of foreign travel guides in its airport, motorway and railway station outlets.

And in a report on The Society of Authors website, it is revealed that Society Chair Margaret Drabble has written to Kate Swann, the chief executive of WHS.

In the letter, Drabble "pressed" Kate Swann to "ensure that the range of books on offer at airports was improved and not, as seemed more probable, diminished as a result of the exclusion of traditional booksellers."

The move by WH Smith is all the more extraordinary as last month a group of authors from the Society met representatives of the retailer, led by Craig Hillier (Trading Controller – Books) at Terminal 5.

The authors were reassured, said the Society's website, that the range of books offered by WHS Travel, although much smaller than in WHS’s main shops, would be "considerable."

"Against this background, authors have been alarmed to read that in future WHS Travel will only stock foreign travel books supplied by Penguin.

"It seems that Penguin will be a monopoly supplier of this genre to WHS Travel, which has a monopoly in the supply of books at all airports operated by BAA. Consumers will have less choice; other publishers and their authors are being penalised."

The Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild has also added its weight to the pressure on W H Smith.

In a statement, secretary Jon Sparks said: “By creating a monopoly situation in a very significant section of the retail guidebook market, this deal is manifestly anti-competitive and will reduce choice for consumers.

“Although our members’ prime focus is on the outdoors, there are many among us who also produce travel guides, and many more who produce walking, cycling and other outdoors guides for overseas destinations. This move places other publishers at a serious disadvantage and thereby directly undermines our members’ future earnings potential."

His sentiments were echoed by guidebook author and editor Sue Viccars, who is also a member of the OWPG. “The industry owes its diverse customer base – family, trekker, independent traveller, retired couple and the rest – this opportunity."

In a statement previously given to Timesonline, W H Smith defended its stance.

"‘In travel locations our customers are often extremely pressed for time. We are therefore trying to simplify our range and the way it is presented so that it is easier for customers to find and select a suitable product.

"We have trialled a number of options for our range of travel guides and we now intend to roll out one which received extremely positive customer feedback."

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