Expedia Travels Launching in Fall 2000

Posted on April 14, 2000

Ziff Davis Publishing Inc. has announced the name of the new travel magazine the company is launching this fall with Expedia.com, to be titled Expedia Travels. The company has also announced the appointment of Gary Walther, formerly Editor-in-Chief of Departures, as the Editor-in-Chief of Expedia Travels magazine. The announcement was made by Scott Crystal, Executive Vice President and Publishing Director of Ziff Davis Publishing's Consumer Magazine Group.

Scott Crystal said, ``The online travel marketplace is growing exponentially. According to the most recent TIA study (Travel Industry Association of America), more than 52 million people visited travel web sites for information to make travel plans in 1999. Clearly, this new marketplace demands a new magazine that understands the needs of these web-savvy consumers who plan travel online and integrate this new dynamic into their real travel experiences. We're delighted to launch Expedia Travels magazine with a marquee editor such as Gary, who has a stellar reputation in the travel arena.''

``Our goal is to make Expedia Travels the first 21st century travel magazine -- the only one whose mission is to link cyber-travel with real-world travel,'' said Gary Walther. ``Our job is to tell readers how to use the Internet to make their travels more rewarding, and how to use their travels to become more sophisticated users of the Internet. We hope to entice readers by being a beautiful magazine; we will keep them by being a useful one.''

Walther joins Expedia Travels magazine from Departures, where he served as Editor-in-Chief since 1989. Prior to Departures Walther held senior editorial positions at Travel & Leisure magazine.

Expedia Travels magazine will connect with on-the-go readers, showing them how to use the Internet to travel better and smarter, to become better informed, and to meet other people with a passion for travel. While Expedia Travels magazine will use photographers and writers to inspire its readers, the publication's foundation stone will be service journalism. Setting it apart from other travel magazines will be Expedia Travel's integration of Internet travel coverage into the magazine.

The first issue of Expedia Travels magazine will be launched in October 2000 with a rate base of 200,000, and is scheduled to launch as a bi-monthly, with plans to go monthly in Fall 2001. Expedia Travels magazine will be available on newsstands, by subscription, and through the Internet, with a close association with Expedia.com.