Travel Trade Media in Focus
January 24, 2020 | By: Amalia MelitiIf you’re vying for attention among the travel trade media for your destination, you’re not alone. Destinations nationally and internationally are competing for attention of their audiences, notably travel advisors. Yet, many travel PR professionals completely ignore the digital travel advisor content portals and popular travel trade publications that reach this influential audience.
At Development Counsellors International (DCI), we cover the U.S., but we know a thing or two about Canada. In 2019, in partnership with Travel Relations LLC, we conducted a study among 1,705 travel advisors across the U.S. and Canada. The findings of this study help to demonstrate which publications that target travel advisors are the most influential.
We wanted to take a look at just a few of these travel trade outlets to get you started.
Travel Weekly
Reach, UVM: 37,005
Type: Magazine, trade/industry
Frequency: Weekly
DMA: National
Established in 1958 and written for U.S. travel agents, tour operators, corporate travel executives, and travel industry suppliers, Travel Weekly covers airline, lodging, packaged travel, tourist-focused rail, and cruise industry news. Travel Weekly includes news from major regional and national travel agencies and agent networks, as well as travel agent trade associations. The publication works to “help agencies increase profits, sell specific destinations or niche markets, as well as educate the industry about current news and trends.” Specific topics covered include hotels, resorts, cruises, destinations, car rentals, rail travel, airlines, incentive travel, technology, meetings, agency management, and government.
In addition to travel trade news, Travel Weekly offers destination sections designed to promote travel sales to those areas. The destination sections, called Selling [Destination], offer information about notable attractions, tours, accommodations and cruises in the area. Of special note for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) are the special topic supplements dedicated to specific destinations or types of travel, which are listed in the publication’s editorial calendar.
Regular sections include agent life, covering personal and professional issues affecting travel agents, business travel, along with news and trends specific to business-oriented travel. Travel Weekly also covers travel industry-related technology of interest to industry professionals, such as reservation systems and travel booking Web sites.
Travel Agent Magazine
Reach, UVM: 50,013/154,622
Type: Magazine and website, trade/industry
Frequency: 6-7 times a year
DMA: National
Designed to interpret and analyze news, trends, Travel Agent magazine presents helpful topics that enable agents to thrive in an ever-changing marketplace. Highlights include changes in travel marketing, market research and forecasts from Europe, North America, the Pacific, and the Caribbean.
Travel Agent magazine is a well-respected publication and online source for information on new hotels, resorts, golf courses, cruise ships, changes in travel agents’ commissions and opportunities to improve sales and profits. Established in 1930 for travel agents, Travel Agent magazine targets agency owners/managers, and other industry personnel involved with the various phases of domestic and international travel.
Travelweek
Reach, UVM: 21,374
Type: Magazine, trade/industry
Frequency: Weekly
DMA: N/A
Travelweek targets travel professionals and agencies in Canada. Editorial focuses on current news in the travel industry, with each issue carrying new product developments, familiarization trips, personnel changes, editorial comments, and other items pertinent to travel professionals.
Insider Travel Report
Reach, UVM: 52,362
Type: Online, trade/industry
Frequency: daily
DMA: National
Insider Travel Report (ITR) is a collaboration between the data-intelligence trade platform, taCONNECT and the award-winning travel journalist, James Shillinglaw. The platform maintains a subscriber base of 101,000+ active verified travel advisors and delivers its travel professionals and suppliers curated content based on their specialities and destination sales.
Editorial content includes timely news articles, in-depth analysis of top stories providing an “insider” perspective based on years covering the industry, insightful product profiles and destination reports. The website also produces video content, including interviews with key travel industry executives, destination and product reviews. Look for compelling content on tours, hotels and cruises alongside sections on technology and how it is shaping the industry.
Recommend
Reach, UVM: 48,311
Type: Magazine, trade/industry
Frequency: Daily
DMA: National
Founded in 1967, Recommend includes important content for travel agents to encourage the sale of worldwide destinations. Timely articles focus on issues and trends affecting the travel agent community. Regular sections include Destination Coverage, Niche Market Features, and On-Site/On-Board Reviews. Regular columns include Agents Speak, Hotel Desk, Tour Talk, Africa, Cruise, North America, Asia, Latin America, and Caribbean features.
Profiles of popular national and international vacation spots are published in each section. Reference guides are featured periodically. Niche markets include Adventure/Dive, Active Vacations, All-Inclusive Resorts, Ecotourism, Family/Intergenerational Travel, Golf/Tennis, Group Travel, Luxury Travel, Religious and Cultural Tourism, Spa Vacations, Specialized Rentals, Ski Vacations, and Romance/Wedding/Honeymoon.
Skift
Reach, UVM: 1,201,175
Type: Online, trade/industry
Frequency: Daily
DMA: New York, New York
Skift is a travel intelligence company that offers news, information, data, and services to professionals in the travel industry. Online, it covers travel industry investments and start-ups, as well as information on destinations, restaurants, lodging, transportation, cruises, along with health, wellness and more.
Skift also covers travel industry investments and start-ups, including information on destinations, restaurants, lodging, transportation, cruises and more. Other topics of interest are business travel, health and wellness, and the restaurant/catering industry.
Although our research shows that travel agents are not frequent readers of the content on Skift, it is an influential platform on which to be seen, since our research shows that journalists reference the content to inspire story angles.
TravelAge West
Reach, UVM: 21,000
Type: Magazine, trade/industry
Frequency: Twice a month
DMA: Los Angeles, CA
Established in 1969, it serves travel agencies, corporate travel agencies, tour operators, and home-based independents in the Western United States. TravelAge West covers travel developments in the Western market and reports of consumer trends. Regular issue features include general industry news, destination features important to Western agents, niche travel topics and cruise news.
Regular sections include industry news; cruise news covering cruise lines, ships, and ports; fam trips, listing familiarization trips available to travel agents; industry personalities; seminars and meetings, listing educational opportunities and vendor exhibitions; and Doing Business, a weekly feature on such topics as management, technology, and subjects of specific interest to the at-home agents.
TravelAge West also features several destination sections. Destination sections cover local travel news, trends, along with major attractions and events.
We know there are plenty of other trade media to discuss, including TravelPulse, Travel Courier, Travel Market Report, but we just wanted to get your started thinking about travel trade media.
Marketing to travel trade media outlets takes time and resources. Streamlining your approach to target the right outlets for your destination is important for reaching the appropriate audience. DCI is proud to partner with destination marketing organizations to attract visitors and increase visitor spending, resulting in revenue for your destination. Contact [email protected] to learn how a travel trade marketing program can work for your destination.