Forget binary thinking, the question is not whether fiction or the tourist guide is the 'main' source of inspiration for a trip. These two feed off each other in unexpected ways, and the guide offers a third path for inspiration. I have seen writers ignite for a story after reading an old Michelin guide, finding inspiration for scenes and characters in the description of a local market or regional recipe. The concrete detail of a guide can ignite a narrative spark much more powerful than a novel. An author could, for example, imagine an entire plot around an isolated inn described in a hiking guide, even before thinking of an existing work of fiction.