Travel Weekly Plans a Post-Tragedy Itinerary

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Dec 1, 2001 by Susan Posnock

It's not the most auspicious time for a new editor in chief to take over an already struggling--and recently sold--magazine like Travel Weekly. But Arnie Weissmann says he sees long-term growth opportunities in the corporate market. Folio: recently spoke to Weissmann about his turnaround plans for the weekly. How bad do you expect business to be for travel titles post-September 11? Is your survival at stake?

We're going to have to be a catalyst for some fundamental change within the travel industry. The relationship between travel agents and suppliers has, to some extent, deteriorated over the years. Travel agents are our readers; suppliers, for the most part, are our advertisers. We believe we can help redefine their relationship in a way that's more satisfying to both and that will in some ways help refresh the industry.

How will you redefine that relationship?

Travel agents influence a lot of consumer buying decisions. Suppliers try to influence travel agents simply to sell their products. That relationship can be extended significantly--travel agents can help suppliers with brand extension, with adding lifetime value--and really begin to see [suppliers] as extensions of their sales and service organizations.

How has the magazine's editorial shifted since September 11?

We've suspended a lot of our regular departments to devote more space to the news. There simply was so much breaking news across the travel industry that our role as news provider came to the forefront. This was done not only in the paper itself, but also on our Web site. We were adding stories hourly in efforts to keep everybody informed.

Has the travel industry gone through a period like this before?

No. This is deeper than the Gulf War. It took about 18 months for the travel industry to recover from the Gulf War, so we don't expect an overnight recovery--but we certainly do expect a recovery and growth shortly thereafter. But I've never seen anything like this.

What changes are you planning?

I was hired was to refresh and relaunch the paper, and to that end we have several changes in the offing. We're looking at relaunching the publication in early 2002.

At least two travel titles have folded recently--do you find that intimidating?

The titles that have folded were weak to begin with. Travel Weekly is a very profitable, very strong industry leader, and it can weather a downtime. But ultimately that's more for the publisher than for me to worry about. My job is to deliver the audience--and we believe we're going to be doing that better than ever.

Your group has had little continuity in terms of leadership, endured a year in limbo while waiting to be sold (recently acquired from Cahners Travel Group, it's now part of Northstar Travel Media LLC), and has been hit with recent layoffs. How's morale?

The current leadership have been in their roles for longer than the previous four predecessors were. Boston Ventures has expressed its confidence in the current leadership. And being independent of a larger company will allow these leaders to have a great deal more freedom of movement. We laid off seven staffers recently, and we're clearly sorry to have had to do that, but the health of the publication is important to those who remain.