Market-leading travel trade media company Travel Weekly Group has acquired travelGBI, the monthly newspaper focused on domestic and inbound travel and tourism.
The acquisition is part of an ongoing growth strategy for Travel Weekly Group, and is the company’s second acquisition this year following the purchase of Kingley Event Management in March.
TravelGBI will sit within the Travel Weekly portfolio under managing director Stuart Parish, alongside other titles, websites and events including Travel Weekly, Travolution, Aspire and the Globe Travel Awards.
Travel Weekly Group chairman Clive Jacobs said the acquisition offered “a unique opportunity to expand coverage of the UK domestic and inbound sectors” and would also complement Travel Weekly’s sister publication Caterer and Hotelkeeper.
He said: “Since acquiring the Travel Weekly business in 2009 I have been looking to enhance our presence in the domestic and inbound travel markets, and in travelGBI we have identified a title which is both well respected and has great potential for growth.
“While travelGBI will sit alongside the Travel Weekly portfolio, the areas of crossover with Caterer and Hotelkeeper make it a perfect fit across the broader business.”
He added: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Travel Weekly Group as we approach our fifth anniversary of independent ownership.
“The business is on track for a record year, and with the launch of new print and digital products in addition to events such as our exclusive Connections portfolio, we are demonstrating our desire to grow both organically and through acquisition.”
TravelGBI was established in 1977 and is distributed monthly to the travel trade. The title is ABC audited and the June 2014 edition had a circulation in excess of 13,000.
Publisher Bob MacBeth-Seath said: “TravelGBI has nurtured the travel trade’s take-up of the domestic and inbound travel sectors for 37 years and now, while products within these sectors face increasing travel trade demand, I feel that the time has come for it to move into a much larger organisation.
“Travel Weekly Group is an organisation which will best serve the country’s now vibrant domestic and inbound industry, and is a fitting new home for travelGBI.”
As part of the deal, associate publisher Gary Kaye will continue to be involved in a consultancy role.