on my mind ❖
On My Mind jeff gayduk
❖ jeff gayduk
The More Things Change, The More Others Stay…Better
Vol. 22, No. 1 February 2012 Editorial & Advertising Office
621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406 Willowbrook, IL 60527 P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 info@ptmgroups.com
Publisher – Jeffrey Gayduk jeff@ptmgroups.com
Managing Editor – Randy Mink randy@ptmgroups.com Senior Editor – Dave Bodle
I’M prOud Of whaT we do here at
sites, which means you’ll find a great
Leisure Group Travel, but it doesn’t
cross-section of group tour, religious,
mean we can’t improve. It’s an issue we
student, girlfriend, niche and special-in-
tackle daily as we compile your maga-
terest itineraries.
zine and companion website. So as we
dave@ptmgroups.com
Director, Design & Production – Robert Wyszkowski rob@ptmgroups.com
InSite, our brand of e-newsletters for
usher in our first edition of the year, you
group travel, student & youth travel, reli-
will notice some subtle design enhance-
gious, cruise and sports event planning,
ments and a sharper focus to our edito-
has a new look for 2012. We’ve made
rial coverage. For example, fonts have
the design more user-friendly, removing
been updated throughout the magazine
some ads to focus on content and adding
– creating a fresher, more inviting look.
interactive elements like surveys and
Northeast & Eastern Midwest/Canada – Harry Peck
Links to online articles that support the
web polls. Subscribe to any of our InSite
print content are more prevalent, and
e-newsletters free of charge by visiting
P 440.334.7928 • F 630.794.0652 harry@ptmgroups.com
our special-interest editorial coverage
LeisureGroupTravel.com and clicking
has taken on a fresh new look. (See
on the Subscribe tab.
“10 Top Factory Tours,” page 16.)
Our niche market directories are
The true test of a magazine’s quality
an easy way to find new destinations
is not a pretty cover, but what’s inside.
and group-friendly hotels, attractions
That’s where Leisure Group Travel
and service providers. This spring
shines. While the competition chooses
we’re unveiling the second update to
glossy covers and advertiser-sponsored
our directory platform in less than a
content disguised as editorial coverage,
year. We’re incorporating features like
we’ve doubled down on our commitment
Click to Call and making them mobile
to create useful content that helps you
device-compliant.
build better groups. There’s a time and
As much as I’m still a print guy, I
place for advertorial, and Leisure Group
have seen the future and the age of
Travel’s editorial isn’t the place. We
digital transformation is upon us. Our
continue to invest our resources into
purpose is to marry this great content
creating unique content based on our
with technology, making it easy for you
experience in planning group trips. This
to conceive, design and execute great
you can rely on.
group travel programs.
2012 – The Year of Online
ship – best to you in 2012.
I thank you for your continued readerOn Jan. 3 we debuted our latest planning website, TourItineraries.com. We
Happy Traveling,
know how important sample itineraries
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 jim@ptmgroups.com
Mid Atlantic – Ellen Klesta
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 ellen@ptmgroups.com
Southeast/West Coast – Cheryl Rash
P 563.613.3068 • F 815.225.5274 cheryl@ptmgroups.com
Southern – Dolores Ridout P/F 281.762.9546 dolores@ptmgroups.com Florida & Caribbean – Prof Inc. P 813.286.8299 • F 813.287.0651 jimg@ptmgroups.com The publisher accepts unsolicited editorial matter, as well as advertising, but assumes no responsibility for statements made by advertisers or contributors. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information published, but the publisher makes no warranty that listings are free of error. The publisher is not responsible for the return of unsolicited photos, slides or manuscripts.
Leisure Group Travel (ISSN-1531-1406) is published bi-monthly by Premier Tourism Marketing, Inc. 621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406, Willowbrook, IL 60527. The magazine is distributed free of charge to qualified tour operators, travel agents, group leaders, bank travel clubs and other travel organizations. Other travel-related suppliers may subscribe at the reduced rate of $12.00 per year. The regular subscription price for all others is $18.00 per year. Single copies are $4.95 each.
Send Address Change to:
Premier Tourism Marketing, Inc. P.O. Box 609, Palos Heights, IL 60463
A
are to your planning, so we’ve created a
publication
All rights reserved. Materials may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher.
one-stop-shop for researching worldwide trip ideas. TourItineraries.com is in-
Jeff Gayduk, Publisher
tegrated throughout our network of
jeff@ptmgroups.com
4 February 2012
Regional Sales Managers Illinois – Jim McCurdy
LeisureGroupTravel.com