A new trip for Traveler; shaking up the old guard at the Society has raised competition in the travel field again

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May, 1989 by Margaret Hunter

A new trip for Traveler

Washington, D.C.--Foreign cultures are nothing new for travel magazines. But for the National Geographic Traveler, a bit of culture shock is being felt at home.

A significant circulation decline forced changes at National Geographic Traveler, which have begun to show results. It hired a new editor, who orchestrated a facelift. It increased its frequency, raised subscription prices, and added two new international editions. Advertising for the March/April issue is up, sparking hope that readers will notice the changes as well and come back to Traveler.

Such changes are a welcome relief after recent years when the National Geographic Traveler's "straightforward, classical" style has been overshadowed by the 1986 start-up of Conde Nast's Traveler, known early on for articles that provoked advertisers and an innovative introduction under editor in chief Harold Evans that shook up the travel magazine field.

Having published its travel title since 1984, the National Geographic Society sued Conde Nast over rights to the name "Traveler," but the court ruled in 1988 that the two competing magazines in fact have different names, Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic Traveler. Meanwhile, circulation at the National Geographic Traveler slipped from around one million three years ago to the current average paid circulation of 809,000.

That inspired Robert L. Breeden, the Society's senior vice president, publications and educational media, to do something unusual: Last June he hired a new editorial director, Richard Busch, from outside the Geographic fold--the Society traditionally promotes from within. What's more, Busch had spent the previous nine years as editor of USAir, an airline magazine serving a younger, business-oriented audience, with an editorial budget much smaller than any of the Geographic's four magazines.

Busch ran into conflicts immediately. Breeden had chosen not to fire the existing editor, Joan Tapper, but she quickly left to edit Islands magazine. Illustrations director David Bridge left as well.

Adding to the stress was adjusting to the Society's corporate culture, which included a reluctance to fire anyone, and a certain rigidity about changing editorial plans if stories weren't worth the space allotted. A penchant for research led to 10 full-time regional editor/researchers working on Traveler when it was quarterly. The luxurious editorial budget eclipsed cost-consciousness. "At editorial meetings people would ask, `Should we send the photographer back to Alaska to get the bear picture?'" says Busch. "It wasn't often asked, `Is it worth it?'"

That culture accounted for some of the problems Busch was hired to fix. The magazine had an "old-fashioned stodgy feel to it," says Busch. "Mostly that had to do with being crowded visually. It felt like the goal was to cram as much space and text in as possible. The magazine also lacked a sense of variety and pace."

Busch, who had spent seven years with Popular Photography and before that, several years with Life, has placed great emphasis on design, particularly with the January issue, the first bimonthly issue and the first created under his sole editorship. That issue featured a bolder cover logo, fewer pages in the old three-column format, more white space, greater variety in the lengths of stories, and a design that "when you turn the page, you don't feel like you've seen that layout before," he says.

Other changes include a sub price hike, up $2 per year to $17.95. Two new columns on money and photography appeared with the March/April issue. A German edition was launched in February and a Spanish edition in April, in addition to the existing Italian version, published since 1987.

Such changes appear to be paying off. The March/April issue brought in $1.1 million in advertising revenue, the largest single-issue total in Traveler's five years. Total ad pages rose to 51, an 18 percent increase over the year before and the highest count since the magazine's first year.

Publishers Information Bureau figures show 1988 ad revenues rose 15 percent over 1987, from $2.9 million to $3.3 million. Ad pages were up slightly, rising 1.7 percent to 144.5.

On its own track

Busch claims he's not concerned about Conde Nast's glitzy style: "National Geographic is on its own track," he says. "We're more mainstream. A little older, more conservative, with a straightforward, classical approach."

Busch compares his magazine more closely with American Express Publishing Corp.'s Travel & Leisure, the field's leader according to at least one other editor at a competing magazine. Both "are more focused on travelers who are older people," says Busch. "They're the ones who have time to travel, empty nesters who don't have kids to bring up and educate anymore."

PHOTO : Unprecedented experiments, such as Ronald Searle's playful illustration of spring training, marked a departure in style for the Society.

PHOTO : Ad revenues were up in 1988 for all four magazines, but circulation was down at the two Travelers. Conde Nast hit extremes in both directions.