Publisher’s Note

A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but its persistence.

—JIM WATKINS

Group Tour magazine is a proud member of:

American Bus Association Circle Michigan Louisiana TravelPromotions Association National Tour Association Ohio Travel Association Ontario Motor Coach Association Student & Youth Travel Association Tour Kansas Virginia Motorcoach Association

The Journey Ahead

IF YOU ARE READING THIS, you know a thing or two about perseverance. In fact, you likely personify it. While myriad industries were a ected by COVID-19, perhaps none came to a screeching halt quite like group tours.

As the pandemic raged on, many industries endured ts and starts to their ability to reopen, while group tour planners and destination marketing organizations remained fully immersed in a nightmarish Zoomland waiting for groups to gather, employees to return, travel to resume and hotel occupancy rates to rise.

And yet here we are ... cautiously emerging from behind our masks wanting to believe that this time it’s for real. at we’ve made it — stronger, wiser, forever changed as individuals and organizations.

At Greenspring Media, we genuinely couldn’t be more thrilled to navigate this “new norm” with you. For the past few months, our parent company Hour Media along with our sister company Gemini Media have been in negotiations to purchase Group Tour Media. Although the pandemic stretched our desired timeline, the wait was worth it.

And now we are in a unique position to help this industry forge a solid path to recovery. How will we do it? By expanding the audience reach to new highs, reinvigorating content by listening and engaging with group tour professionals and sharing best practices through these pages and across our digital platforms. We will do this all with one goal in mind: to help you navigate this post-pandemic world and to drive business for both your organization as well as our loyal advertising partners across the country. ankfully, the amazing editorial and sales team that has been devoted to these publications for decades is on board and will play instrumental roles in achieving that goal. Greenspring Media has worked closely with the hospitality, meetings and events industries along with their suppliers and partners throughout our 55-year history. We understand the challenges you have faced, we see the bright opportunities on the horizon, and we look forward to the journey to get there, together.

Tammy Galvin

tgalvin@greenspring.com