Condé Nast Traveler Will Combine U.S. and UK Editorial Teams

Magazine publisher Condé Nast is combining the editorial teams of Condé Nast Traveler and Condé Nast Traveller in New York City and London, respectively, under the leadership of Condé Nast Traveller Editor-in-Chief Melinda Stevens, the company told employees Wednesday in an email.

Condé Nast CEO Bob Sauerberg described the combination as “a partnership to evolve the US and UK Condé Nast Traveler into one international platform.”

The new transatlantic team will begin publishing jointly beginning with the January 2019 issue. There is no word yet on whether the magazine title will be spelled with one or with two “l”s, as they do in the UK. There will be one website, which Sauerberg says will provide “personalized content based on a user’s location.”

As part of the change, the Editor-in-Chief of the U.S. edition, Pilar Guzman, will leave the title after a period of transition this fall. Business teams will remain separate.

“We will have more global partnership announcements with CNI to come,” Sauerberg wrote. “Working together with CNI as one team, we can leverage our worldwide footprint to better serve both our audiences and our advertising partners, and develop new global business opportunities for the company.”

Read our feature “How Travel Media Missed the Digital Leap”

The press release follows.

LONDON/NEW YORK – August 15, 2018 – Condé Nast today announced a new partnership between the company’s US and UK Condé Nast Traveller teams to create one editorial platform in 2019. Beginning with the January issues, all content creation for both US and UK editions will be led out of Condé Nast Britain, overseen by Melinda Stevens, editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Traveller, with fully integrated teams at Vogue House in London, One World Trade Center in New York and travel correspondents based in locations around the world. Additionally, the partnership will create one website across both countries with personalized content experiences based on the location of the user.

The content produced will be a combination of shared creative, as well as culturally specific to the US and UK. Business and revenue teams for the brands will increasingly collaborate but continue to function independently. There will be no changes to the frequency of either edition. This announcement is the first title collaboration between the two divisions of the company and kicks off several new initiatives set to launch between Condé Nast and Condé Nast International, leveraging our global footprint.

“Travel is by nature global, and placing the editorial teams under one leader is a way to harness the expertise of two highly talented teams, delivering the best of all worlds to audiences,” said Albert Read, Managing Director, Condé Nast Britain. “In addition, the combined reach of both editions of the brands opens up innovative new opportunities for our advertising partners.”

The combination of the brands’ operations in the UK and US will strengthen the competitive position of both Condé Nast Traveller UK and Condé Nast Traveler US in these markets, integrating editorial and commercial capabilities to accelerate new business initiatives across print and digital. This strategic move complements the existing stability and strength of the Traveller UK brand while leveraging the CNTraveler.com network to deliver long-term sustainable growth.

“With a digital operation on a single URL, the new Condé Nast Traveler will be the first travel brand to speak exclusively to the international luxury travel marketplace,” said Fred Santarpia, Chief Digital Officer, Condé Nast. “The premier authority in travel, with destination guides covering the world’s most popular locations, provides information that millions of discerning travelers use to inform their trips and book their next adventure.”

With a combined print readership of 3.8 million alongside 8.2 million unique online users, this collaboration allows Condé Nast to deepen the relationship with its readership of increasingly sophisticated travelers while driving new revenue streams.

Other international editions of Condé Nast Traveler/Traveller including those in the Middle East, China, India, Italy and Spain will continue to operate their editorial and business functions independently.

Pilar Guzmán, who successfully led Condé Nast Traveler (US) as editor-in-chief since 2013, will continue to work on the transition alongside the US and UK teams. The integrated US edition will debut in January 2019.