Northstar Adds Trade Shows to Travel Weekly

Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Media has added two trade show brands to its Travel Weekly magazine portfolio. The publisher today is expected to announce the acquisition of The Original Home Based Travel Agent Show and Conference from Real Trade Shows Inc.  

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Last year, Real Trade Shows produced a spring Home Based Travel Agent event in Chicago and another in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the fall. According to Northstar chairman and CEO Tom Kemp, revenues for the events were down about 15 percent last year after seeing growth of about 15 percent in 2008.

“These events held up relatively well compared to the print revenues serving the industry,” Kemp wrote in an e-mail to FOLIO:.  “We believe strongly in the future of face-to-face in spite of some of the impact of the economic climate on shows this year. Face-to-face events don’t have some of the secular challenges with which b-to-b publishing have been dealing for the last several years.”

Northstar also today is expected to announce the launch of Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld 2010, a show for travel agents who sell cruise vacations. It will be the first face-to-face event produced by the magazine.

The spring Home Based Travel Agent and CruiseWorld events are scheduled for April 14 to 16 and will co-locate at Florida’s Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. Kemp said he expects to announce a date/location for the fall Home Based Travel Agent event in the coming weeks.

In addition to Travel Weekly, Northstar publishes a number of magazines including Meetings & Conventions and TravelAge West.

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