RECOMMEND MAGAZINE UPS THE ANTE TO CAPTURE TRAVEL INDUSTRY MARKET DOMINANCE: New Look, New Publisher, Expanded Sales Force

Recommend Magazine, the travel industry's leading trade publication, is aggressively seeking to become the number one ad buy among travel advertisers; a new publisher is taking on the challenge.

MIAMI, FL (PRWEB) August 2, 2003 -- While most in travel publishing see gloom and doom, 36-year-old Recommend magazine sees opportunity. Recommend President Laurel Herman is going all out to capture the number one spot in publishing for the travel industry. The August 2003 is the fourth in its redesigned format and boasting a new publisher, Lorri Robbins, only the third in the magazines history. Robbins has an aggressive plan to expand magazine representation in key markets.

Not long after Henry Luce launched Time magazine this country went into the Great Depression, yet the magazine survived," said Herman. Similarly, it has undoubtedly been tough times for the travel industry, but its going to turn around and well be perfectly positioned when it does. Were already starting to see signs of positive change."

The Travel Industry Association (TIA) and American Automobile Association (AAA) issued a joint Summer Travel Forecast report that showed a 2.5% increase in travel is expected during the peak travel months of June, July and August. In May, at the Travel Industrys annual International Pow Wow meeting, the U.S. Commerce Department forecasted the travel market would steadily increase in the coming years to fully rebound in 2006. They projected a 7% growth rate for 2004 and 2005 with it leveling off to 6% in 2006.

These positive tourism signs confirm that Recommends timing is right for an image revamping that includes a new logo, increased photo use, new easier to read typeface, open layout format and expanded editorial print and internet content. One thing that remains constant is the magazines editorial approach that continues to provide the most in-depth, quality destination and travel product information to help travel agents sell.

First published in 1967, Recommend magazine is the highest circulated travel trade publication in North America with more than 55,000 travel agent subscribers and a reach to over 200,000 agents.

While our competitors write about the news of the industry, market research reveals that destination and travel product information is what travel agents want," said Herman. With the demise of airline commissions and the drop in business travel, agents need to sell leisure products to thrive and prosper and the best agents are informed about product," Herman continued. Were an information resource that helps agents sell, which at the end of the day is what matters most. Thats the niche weve carved for ourselves and it is working."

Their success can be seen in research released last month by Simmons Market Research Bureau, in which a random sample of 500 travel agents were asked their preferences of the three major industry publications of Recommend, Travel Agent and Travel Weekly. Travel agents picked Recommend #1 as the publication that best helped them sell travel, and, the publication emerged on top as providing the most in-depth editorial coverage. The research also revealed that two-thirds of travel agents surveyed preferred destination and travel product oriented magazines over industry news.

The continued success of Recommend magazine can be attributed to the work of Herman, who spent the past 20 years as publisher of the industry magazine. With an eye to the future, Herman decided to turn the publication over to the exceptional talents of Lorri Robbins, as Herman focuses more of her attention to the growth of the magazines parent company.

Robbins brings industry experience and a fresh approach to Recommend. Robbins served as the Florida/Caribbean Sales Manager of Hachette Filipacchis Travel Holiday magazine; she went on to launch American Media, Inc.s Hispanic tabloid ¡Mira!, and, in 2001, was hired by Recommend to be its National Ad Director, before becoming its Associate Publisher and now Publisher. Under Robbins direction, advertising pages grew 13.8% from 2001 to 2002.

Her business success and innovative spirit made her the number one choice to become publisher of Recommend. Now, Robbins is heating up the travel trade advertising competition by hiring additional Recommend sales staff in New York and California.

Recommend is published monthly by Worth International Communications Corporation and has its headquarters in Miami, Fla. Recommend can be found online at www.recommend.com. Worth International Communications Corporation is a custom publisher that, in addition to its flagship publication Recommend Magazine, produces a variety of magazines and specialized publications for the travel and meeting industries.

Its titles include: The Florida Official Meeting Planners Guide and Mexico Official Meeting and Incentive Planner. Worth Custom Publishing clients include: Continental Airlines and a number of tourism boards and convention and visitor bureaus such as the Greater Miami and Ft. Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureaus and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism.

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