In his 11 years with The Group Travel Leader, Jewell is most proud of what he hears from readers. They love the design, they love the articles, and they rely on the magazine to help plan travel for their customers.
“People really count on us for ideas, for guidance, for trends and to keep up to date with what’s going on in travel,” he said.
Moving forward, Jewell wants to continue to build the magazine’s influence and provide insight beyond basic reporting to remain a “voice of authority and a real voice of innovation.”
“We’re adding our own vision to it,” he said. “We see ourselves leading the charge in the new age of group tourism. We’re in a place now where we’re sharing insights and ideas with our readers, which is impacting the tourism market. We’re doing things that are a service to group travel planners and making travel better for their customers, and that helps our travel industry clients be more successful, too.”
As for the next 25 years, Lacy thinks print will remain a valuable medium with a prominent place in publishing, especially because “there’s a certain gravitas to print that you don’t get online.” He also said it will be key to continue to involve readers and build those relationships through readership events, from small gatherings to large events such as The Group Travel Family’s annual conferences.
If Lacy could have seen the company and its three magazines today when he was starting the business 25 years ago, “I would have been amazed at how diversified we’ve become,” he said.
“I would have been amazed at the amount of work we can do and the quality of work we produce, especially considering we started with a little newsprint newspaper,” he said. “I’m very proud of that, and I know Charlie is as well.”
