Virtuoso Secures New Media Alliances and Forms Exclusive Travel Advisory Boards
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 07:49PM
NEW YORK (December 3, 2009) – Virtuoso®, the leading luxury travel network, is pleased to announce new partnership alliances with a series of Bonnier Corporation lifestyle magazine titles, including ISLANDS, SPA, SNOW, and SAVEUR. Each magazine will feature its own Virtuoso Travel Advisory Board – comprised exclusively of Virtuoso members – allowing readers to find and collaborate with the most appropriate Virtuoso travel advisor, providing the ideal specialty to match any reader’s wanderlust.
The magazines’ Virtuoso Travel Advisory Board members will develop specialized itineraries, featuring some of the world’s finest travel providers and destinations. Customized itineraries, from delectable culinary escapes to snowy-white ski adventures, will be showcased within the pages of these magazines, as well as on their respective Web sites.
“Virtuoso is pleased to have these well-respected publications recognize the value that our member advisors bring to their organizations and to their readers,” said Matthew D. Upchurch, CTC, CEO of Virtuoso. “The increased popularity of niche travel, such as culinary trips, calls for an expert travel advisor who knows the product thoroughly, and can build trust with the consumer while creating a customized itinerary that makes the pages of the magazine come to life. ISLANDS, SPA, SNOW, and SAVEUR have cleverly identified a new level at which they can engage their readers, and Virtuoso Travel Advisory Boards provide the perfect match to fulfill these opportunities.”
Virtuoso is also proud to announce the SAVEUR Travel Advisory Board, which consists of travel advisors specializing in culinary travel and destinations renowned for great cuisines, wines and spirits. A full list can be found below.
“Our new alliance with Virtuoso is an extraordinary one and we are eager to put our exclusive travel advisory board to amazing use come early 2010,” said Merri Lee Kingsly, publisher of SAVEUR. “We have quickly established an incredible bond with these 54 very well-connected Virtuoso travel advisors, who will create exceptional culinary packages, based on their established relationships. We tapped into the leading luxury travel network because they understand the intricacies of countless destinations, as well as our readers’ needs. We want to see these advisors flourish and will work hard to help them do so.”
Specifically, these SAVEUR advisory board members will receive special benefits including involvement with the magazine’s consumer and industry events; exposure via www.SAVEUR.com/virtuoso, allowing readers to pick the board member that best fits their interests in culinary travel; inclusion in regular e-mail blasts to SAVEUR readers with culinary trips created/sourced by advisory board members, and prominent exposure within each issue of the magazine through advisory board advertisements featured in each issue. These advertisements, seen below, will showcase six board members and the destinations where they have recently traveled.
Sample travel itineraries with SAVEUR include; an eight-day Artisan Chef Tour entitled ‘The Art of Mexican Cooking,’ whereby Master Chefs from the Mexican state of Michoacán guide authentic cooking classes enabling exclusive experiences unavailable to most travelers. Wine tastings and a full understanding of the UNESCO World Heritage City Morelia along with local markets and insider tips from these chefs ensure a truly memorable experience. Similarly, culinary aficionados can enjoy a three-night deluxe package for two people at Le Bristol, Paris inclusive of gourmet dining, VIP amenities and private airport transfers. Additional exquisite travel experiences include a private cider distillery tour in Vancouver, a luxurious culinary tour of China, and a South Africa Cuisine, Wines & Wildlife adventure.
The response from the members of the new SAVEUR Travel Advisory Board has been phenomenal. Suzy Nevins, Protravel International, Beverly Hills said, “The opportunity to partner with Saveur and Virtuoso was most appealing to me as I have a strong personal interest in food and wine, and how it enriches our mutual clients’ travel experiences. The doors that it will open for me both in developing new clients, as well as, enriching my existing clients with offers that are unique to the advisory board make this an extraordinary opportunity to continue expanding my luxury travel business.”
Jennifer Campbell, Explorations – A Travel Agency Ltd., Atlanta, said, “My appointment to join the Saveur Travel Advisory Board has attracted much attention from my clients. It gives a national level of focus and attention that ‘cements’ the food and wine credibility I have with Explorations and our local clients. As the leading magazine dedicated to true, experiential foodies, Saveur is equal to a religious text in my view. As we strive for our travel experiences to be life changing, this relationship is yet another tool for the magazine, and for us, as a Virtuoso agency.”
The editors of ISLANDS, SPA, and SNOW magazines are hand-selecting advisory board members, which will be unveiled in the coming months.
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About Virtuoso®
Virtuoso® is the industry’s leading luxury travel network. This by-invitation-only organization comprises over 300 agencies with more than 6,000 elite travel specialists in 22 countries in North and South America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, as well as over 1,000 of the world’s best travel providers and premier destinations. The network’s member agencies generate over $5.1 billion annually in travel sales, making the group the most powerful in the luxury travel segment. Their relationships with the finest travel companies provide the network’s affluent clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. Virtuoso is the exclusive network of travel services and benefits provided by MasterCard® for participating World Elite MasterCard® programs. For more information, please visit www.virtuoso.com.
About SAVEUR:
SAVEUR seeks out stories from around the globe that weave together culture, tradition, and people through the language of food. On every page the magazine honors a fundamental truth: cooking is one of the most universal and beautiful means of human expression. Each month, SAVEUR takes you on an in-depth culinary journey that is all about context and unique experiences with award-winning journalism and lush photography. In 2009, the magazine has won a National Magazine Award for single-topic issue, as well as multiple awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. The April and June/July 2009 editions were the largest issues of SAVEUR for those months in the history of the magazine, and, contrary to industry trends, SAVEUR is up 11% in ad pages over last year. For more information, please visit www.SAVEUR.com
Media Contacts:
Misty Ewing
Director of Public Relations, Virtuoso
(o): (212) 588-8242
(c): (206) 484-8022
Merri Lee Kingsly
Publisher, SAVEUR Magazine
Merrilee.kingsly@bonniercorp.com
(o): (212) 219-7402
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