Group Tour magazine

What Group Tour magazine does

Group Tour magazine is a B2B trade publication serving professional group travel planners in North America, operating since 1980 as a subsidiary of Greenspring Media, a diversified media conglomerate headquartered in Minneapolis. The company produces two publications: the flagship Group Tour Magazine, which delivers itineraries, destination guides, supplier profiles, and industry news for tour organizers arranging motorcoach, school, and adult group travel, and the Youth Travel Planner, a sub-brand focused on student and youth group travel. Content is distributed through grouptourmagazine.com, print editions, social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube), and email newsletters.

The underlying technology is a conventional digital publishing platform built around a content-managed website featuring regularly updated itinerary guides and destination articles, with subscription fulfillment handled through the third-party simplecirc.com platform. There is no proprietary technology stack, mobile app, or software product beyond standard CMS and marketing tooling.

The business model is dual-stream: recurring subscription revenue from professional group travel planners (annual billing via simplecirc.com) and advertising/marketing package revenue from tourism boards, CVBs, destinations, attractions, and travel suppliers. Sales are driven by a three-person regional sales consultant team (Alan Linninger, Greg Jones, Aimee Smith) using downloadable media kits and direct outreach. The company employs 13 people including a Managing Editor (David Hoekman) and Audience Development Director (Cindy Fish), and operates as a privately held subsidiary with no disclosed funding history or external investment.

Name

Group Tour magazine

Legal name

Group Tour Magazine

Website

https://grouptourmagazine.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Group Tour magazine is a B2B trade publication (founded 1980) that serves professional group travel planners across North America with itineraries, destination guides, and supplier profiles via Group Tour Magazine and Youth Travel Planner, monetized through subscriptions and advertising sold by a regional sales team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Professional group travel planners subscribe to receive printed and/or digital editions of Group Tour Magazine and Youth Travel Planner publication.
2. Advertising and Marketing Packages: Tourism boards, destinations, attractions, and travel suppliers purchase customizable marketing packages including print, digital, and integrative advertising options. The company offers comprehensive marketing packages leveraging content relevant to destinations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Group Tour Magazine publishes a print and digital trade publication delivering itineraries, destination guides, supplier profiles, and industry news to professional group travel planners. It also sells customizable print, digital, and integrative advertising packages to tourism boards, destinations, attractions, and travel suppliers seeking access to its audience.

Product overview

Group Tour magazine operates as a content publishing platform offering two main publications: the flagship Group Tour Magazine serving professional group travel planners with itineraries, destination attractions, news, and supplier profiles, and the Youth Travel Planner targeting student and youth group travel. The publications provide comprehensive marketing packages including customizable print, digital, and integrative options for destinations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Youth Travel Planner: A separate publication focused on student and youth group travel planning.

Products and services

• Group Tour Magazine The flagship print and digital publication and online resource for professional group travel planners, offering itineraries, destination guides, news, and supplier profiles for arranging group travel. Available via subscription to professionals in the group travel industry.
• Youth Travel Planner A specialized publication focused on student and youth group travel, featuring articles on educational destinations, student travel news, and youth-specific itinerary ideas for educators and organizers planning trips for student and youth groups.
• Advertising and Marketing Packages Customizable marketing packages including print, digital, and integrative advertising options sold to tourism boards, destinations, attractions, and travel suppliers seeking to reach Group Tour Magazine's audience of professional group travel planners.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Travel Weekly: Long-running B2B travel trade publication serving travel agents and tour operators with news, destination content, and supplier information. Directly comparable as a trade magazine monetized through subscriptions and travel-industry advertising, with a broader (agent-focused) audience than Group Tour's planner focus.
• Travel Agent Magazine: B2B travel trade media brand covering travel agencies, tour operators, and supplier news. Directly comparable business model (subscription + advertising) and audience overlap with Group Tour Magazine's professional planner readership.
• TravelPulse: Travel industry news and trade publication serving travel agents, tour operators, and suppliers. Comparable trade-publication business model and audience overlap with Group Tour's planner and supplier readership.
• Tour Operator Magazine / Tourism Media: Tourism-focused trade publication covering tour operators, destinations, attractions, and group travel. Directly comparable niche focus on group tour operators and the same planner-and-DMO advertising ecosystem.
• Recommend Magazine: Travel trade publication aimed at travel advisors and tour operators, featuring destinations, supplier profiles, and group-travel content. Closely comparable to Group Tour Magazine in its B2B trade format, group-tour editorial focus, and advertising-supported business model.
• TravelAge West: Travel trade publication serving travel agents and tour planners in the western U.S. with destination coverage and supplier directories. Comparable as a niche regional trade magazine targeting the same planner/supplier ecosystem as Group Tour Magazine.

Broad incumbents

• Phocuswright: Travel industry research and media company producing reports, events, and news for the global travel trade. Comparable as a B2B travel information and research provider serving tour operators, DMOs, and suppliers, but at much larger scale and with research/event products rather than a magazine.

Emerging players

• Skift: Digital-first travel industry media platform covering news, research, and events across the travel ecosystem. Comparable as a travel trade media brand monetized through subscriptions and advertising, but operates at significantly larger scale and with a broader, digital-first audience than Group Tour.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/grouptour
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/gtmwebmaster
• Facebookfacebook.com/grouptourmagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/grouptourmagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grouptourmagazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Group Tour magazine