LONDON/NEW YORK – August 15, 2018 – Condé Nast today announced a new partnership between the company’s US and UK Condé Nast Traveller teams to create one editorial platform in 2019. Beginning with the January issues, all content creation for both US and UK editions will be led out of Condé Nast Britain, overseen by Melinda Stevens, editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Traveller, with fully integrated teams at Vogue House in London, One World Trade Center in New York and travel correspondents based in locations around the world. Additionally, the partnership will create one website across both countries with personalized content experiences based on the location of the user.
The content produced will be a combination of shared creative, as well as culturally specific to the US and UK. Business and revenue teams for the brands will increasingly collaborate but continue to function independently. There will be no changes to the frequency of either edition. This announcement is the first title collaboration between the two divisions of the company and kicks off several new initiatives set to launch between Condé Nast and Condé Nast International, leveraging our global footprint.
“Travel is by nature global, and placing the editorial teams under one leader is a way to harness the expertise of two highly talented teams, delivering the best of all worlds to audiences,” said Albert Read, Managing Director, Condé Nast Britain. “In addition, the combined reach of both editions of the brands opens up innovative new opportunities for our advertising partners.”
The combination of the brands’ operations in the UK and US will strengthen the competitive position of both Condé Nast Traveller UK and Condé Nast Traveler US in these markets, integrating editorial and commercial capabilities to accelerate new business initiatives across print and digital. This strategic move complements the existing stability and strength of the Traveller UK brand while leveraging the CNTraveler.com network to deliver long-term sustainable growth.
“With a digital operation on a single URL, the new Condé Nast Traveler will be the first travel brand to speak exclusively to the international luxury travel marketplace,” said Fred Santarpia, Chief Digital Officer, Condé Nast. “The premier authority in travel, with destination guides covering the world’s most popular locations, provides information that millions of discerning travelers use to inform their trips and book their next adventure.”
With a combined print readership of 3.8 million alongside 8.2 million unique online users, this collaboration allows Condé Nast to deepen the relationship with its readership of increasingly sophisticated travelers while driving new revenue streams.
Other international editions of Condé Nast Traveler/Traveller including those in the Middle East, China, India, Italy and Spain will continue to operate their editorial and business functions independently.
Pilar Guzmán, who successfully led Condé Nast Traveler (US) as editor-in-chief since 2013, will continue to work on the transition alongside the US and UK teams. The integrated US edition will debut in January 2019.
About Melinda Stevens:
Stevens is the editor of Condé Nast Traveller, a position which she has held since 2012. During her time on the publication, Stevens has elevated the brand across all platforms, creating content which is loved by readers, highly respected throughout the industry, and viewed as the leading travel lifestyle publication in the UK. She was awarded New Editor of the Year in the British Society of Magazine Editors Awards in her first year, followed up in 2017 by Editor of the Year in the travel category. Also in 2017 she was awarded Columnist of the Year by the Professional Publishers Association, the first time an editor has won the prize for an Editor’s Letter.
Prior to Condé Nast Traveller, Stevens was the travel editor of Tatler for seven years. She has also been a journalist and columnist for The Sunday Times, The Evening Standard, and started her career at Vogue having been selected through the Vogue Talent Competition. In the last six years on the brand Stevens also has launched the very successful Traveller Events series, as well as the Editor’s Best Trips booking engine initiative. The Traveller book Chic Stays, published by Assouline in 2017, has become one of their best sellers and a new follow-up book is in the pipeline.
About Condé Nast:
Condé Nast is a global media company producing the highest quality magazines, websites and digital content. Reaching more than 340 million consumers in 29 markets, the company’s portfolio includes many of the world’s most respected and influential media properties including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Brides, Self, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller/Traveler, Allure, Architectural Digest, Wired, and W among others.
In addition to publishing 143 magazines and over 100 websites, the company operates a restaurant division and several ventures in education. Condé Nast Entertainment develops film, television and premium video programming.
Please visit CondeNast.com, CondeNastInternational.com, and follow @CondeNast on Twitter.