Ma Magazine Journalism Dissertation - Kingston University London

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Ma Magazine Journalism
2015/16
Is there a future for the travel magazines in
Spain? A critical examination of print and
digital evolution in Spanish travel magazines
between 1978 and 2015
By
Georgi Dianov Georgiev

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To my beautiful mother, Violeta

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Abstract
This dissertation intends to offer a meticulous analysis of the Spanish travel magazines
between 1978 (creation of Viajar, the first travel magazine in Spain) and 2015, and aims to
predict the industry’s future. In the first place, the history of magazines will be presented
globally and afterwards in Spain. The dissertation will look at the case of Altair magazine to
highlight its story, evolution and return in the print market. Then, the existing travel
magazines in Spain will be researched and discussed in detail, to better understand what
techniques differentiate one magazine from another.
Research will be performed to find the consumer behaviour of Spanish readers. This includes
figures such as the purpose for buying travel magazines, the reasons for reading less in print
format and readers’ distribution by their age. The primary research conducted for this
dissertation includes interviews with experts in the magazine field (editors, writers,
photographers, journalists, investigative reporters, lecturers and professionals in publishing),
as well as surveys and questionnaires to statisticians and magazine readers.
One of the key facts that was found during the research was that photographers are moving
from print into digital because readers prefer the digital platform when purchasing magazines.
The other key fact found was that magazines get pictures from travel and tourist institutions
for free or for unreasonably cheap prices instead of having freelance photographers working
for them around the world. Hence, Spanish travel magazines do not include original pictures,
but traditional copies. As a result, the print market is in decline. In light of this situation,
photographers are replacing the travel industry with other possible alternatives, leaving print
readers with unprofessional illustrations.
Keywords: Travel magazines, Spain, Viajar, Travel journalism, Print versus digital,
Magazines’ future, Travel photography, Altair, Magazine’s history, Travellers

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Table of contents
1. Abstract........................................................................................................................Page 3
2. Introduction..................................................................................................................Page 5
3. Literature review...........................................................................................................Page 9
4. Methodology...............................................................................................................Page 21
5. Presentation and discussion of data..........................................................................Page 27
6. Conclusion.................................................................................................................Page 47
7. References..................................................................................................................Page 50
8. Bibliography..............................................................................................................Page 54
9. Appendices.................................................................................................................Page 55
10. Interviews...................................................................................................................Page 65

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Is there a future for the travel magazines in Spain?
A critical examination of print and digital evolution in
Spanish travel magazines between 1978 and 2015
Introduction
“Travel magazines are just one cupcake after another. They are not about travel. The travel
magazine is, in fact, about the opposite of travel. It is about having a nice time on a
honeymoon, or whatever.” Paul Theroux
Travel magazines have existed for more than 37 years in Spain, since the creation of Viajar in
1978. They are different from holiday travel magazines. They differ in the fact that holiday
travel magazines are interested in selling products such as a destination, a hotel or a trip,
while travel magazines deal more with journalism. Thus, a travel magazine includes news or
information about travelling, reports, articles, travellers’ interviews, ethnographers and
adventurers, editorials, columns of opinion, et cetera. Therefore, it focuses more on giving
information about the world of travelling. This means that travelling has converted into a
journalistic area of interest from different points of view, and as such, it enjoys great prestige
from the strong reader’s demand. Hence, travel agencies create holiday travel magazines, and
on the other hand, publishing houses produce travel magazines.
Although the 21st
century is the era of technology and the Internet, some readers continue
enjoying magazine’s print pages. Technology is growing so fast that advances have allowed
magazine stories to be told in digital and new ways. Since the appearance of the iPad in 2010,
publishing companies have experimented different ways to flourish. What is more, in these
times magazines have no easy options as any social media like Facebook, Twitter, or even
travel bloggers, are giving the same information for less.

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Therefore, some experts have predicted the death of print magazines. Others affirm that there
will always be a need of having a paper between one’s fingers. Tools such as iPads could
bring new possibilities and drop print sales, but they can never replace the smell of freshly
printed pages (Kafka, 2010, p. 1).
Will Spanish travel magazines (henceforth abridged as “STM”) die in their print version? This
is what this dissertation will investigate. Thanks to a primary and secondary research, this
issue will be analysed by undertaking the case studies of several STM.
Thus, this study intends to provide first a scrupulous analysis of the STM between 1978
(creation of Viajar, the first travel magazine in Spain) and 2015. The world has become
smaller than ever for travel magazines as there are fewer and fewer new places discovered in
the globe. Frequently, readers find the same destinations in several STM. Belenguer (2002)
stated: “This combined with the travel democratisation and the apparition of the phenomenon
called ‘tourism’ (which generates a widespread growth and a commercialisation), are the main
crisis this sector has suffered (Belenguer, 2002). Hence, this paper will aim to predict the
industry’s future.
In order to follow such an aim, a walk through the history of magazines will be presented
globally, and afterwards in Spain. Then, the total amount of the existing travel magazines in
Spain will be specifically researched and disclosed in detail, to better understand what
techniques differentiate one magazine from another. Factors like the digital revolution, the
clash between print and digital and the 2007-2008 global financial crisis should be taken into
account throughout all of the present study because of its dreadful impact within the industry.
The dissertation will precisely look at the case of Altair magazine, in order to highlight its
story, evolution and return in the print market. This will disclose the different techniques used

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by STM. Thanks to this, we could see the structure, strategy and identity of each magazine
and thus, understand the reader’s preferences and tastes. What destinations did they cover;
were those destinations nationals or international; what type of articles did they use
(reporting, features, interviews, etc.), and the topics of the articles. Moreover, the importance
of the picture and the photographers, mixed with the philosophy of the magazine’s focus.
The result of this will take us to the next questions: Will today's STM succeed in the future?
Will some of the unsuccessful and failed magazines come back to the market?
Research will be also performed to determine whether Spanish population prefer the Internet
platform to the print medium, likewise figures regarding some of their consumer behaviour. In
addition, this paper will unmask the reasons why Spaniards read travel magazines; their
distribution in ages; how many minutes do they dedicate to the each type of media; how many
minutes a day do they dedicate to read a magazine; and the main reasons for reading fewer
magazines in all over the country.
In addition, the reader will be compared throughout the years since the existence of the travel
magazine world in Spain and graphs with statistics will be shown. In this way, it will be
disclosed the reader’s evolution in terms of age, interest and genre. What kind of
advertisements does each of the magazines use when it comes to the different type of reader?
Whit this question it will be revealed which sort of advertisement helped better the magazines
survive and which adverts did not.
The primary research conducted for this dissertation uses interviews with experts in the
magazine field (editors, writers, photographers, freelancers, journalists, investigative reporters,
lecturers and professionals in publishing), as well as surveys, questionnaires to statisticians
and magazine readers, and thorough observation at all travel magazines in Spain (the still

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existing and the no longer existing). This includes magazines from the 90s, the beginning of
the 21st
century and present magazines from 2016.
The secondary research was limited due to the fact that there is a lack of information on the
addressed topic. Books, articles and magazines were investigated in different autonomous
regions throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Universities, houses of experts and newspaper and
periodicals libraries were visited to gain a thorough knowledge and unique data because there
are only a few existing copies left of some of them.
One of the key facts that were found during the research is that photographers are moving
from print into digital because readers prefer the digital platform when purchasing magazines.
The other key fact found was that magazines ask institutions like councils, travel agencies or
business companies, for example, to send them pictures for free or for very cheap prices. All
of this is worsening the print issues in connection with its pictures and paper, and therefore,
deteriorating the print market. In light of this situation, photographers are replacing the travel
industry with other possible alternatives, leaving print readers with unprofessional
illustrations. This is extremely relevant because most readers who buy print travel magazines
seek for different and atypical pictures than what they could find in some travel blogs or in the
social media. A picture is worth a thousand words and, often, it is the main reason people
would buy a travel magazine.
At the end of this dissertation, a conclusion will be shown with the most relevant information
acquired, highlighting the purpose of the study with all the surprising and unexpected results.
The writer of this dissertation is the copyright owner of all the pictures, graphs and materials
used to adorn the present study.

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Literature review
“A magazine is like a club, which must flatter its readers, making them think they belong and
are welcome in the club.” Oliver Whitehorne (1997)
In order to commence a framework of understanding about the importance of travel
magazines in Spain, it is important to analyse and discuss the finding and beliefs expressed in
other literature. It should be pointed out that the topic in which this study is dedicated
remained unexplored. Books, articles and magazines were investigated in different
autonomous regions throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Universities, houses of experts and
newspaper and periodicals libraries were visited to gain a thorough knowledge and unique
data. This must be taken into regard throughout all the research paper, because, with this in
mind, it is hoped that the present dissertation will uncover the literature gaps within the
context of the travel magazine area in Spain.
Thus, it is rational to show in this section a literature review with a concise overview of the
magazine history relevant to this dissertation. The review touches on the importance of the
magazine’s progress worldwide until it arrived in Spain, followed by its evolution until the
present days. The dissertation also needs a research on the migration of readers from print to
digital in specialist magazines. In brief, this section will disclose what has happened to
magazines worldwide, focusing more on the move from print to digital and why there is a
struggle with falling sales and a drop in advertising.
Historically, Carlson (1938) says that the first publication released was the German
Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen (Edifying Monthly Discussions) by theologian and poet
Johann Rist in 1663. But Donald Bond (1940, p.85) argues that the first to use the term
“magazine” for a periodical was Edward Cave, who in 1731 founded the Gentleman's
Magazine in London, England.

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However, Bryan (1987) concluded that thanks to these events the rise of the magazines was
activated all over the world. One century later, exactly in 1888, the first travel and geography
magazine was born in the United States: The National Geographic Magazine (Medina, 1989,
p.16). Its creation became a fact after The National Geographic Society’s association gathered
33 geographers, cartographers, explorers, naturalists and professors with the aim of spreading
the geographical knowledge (Ibid, p. 21).
At present, in accordance with a publication by the Washington Post (2015) the magazine has
a worldwide circulation of 6.5 million per month in more than 35 language editions (the
Spanish edition was first in Europe in 1997). Furthermore, since 1984, the same society edits
another publication known as Traveler, and the Spanish edition of it launched in 1999.
In contrast, a worldwide fact that should be outlined here is that in the 50s television results in
a major drop in magazine ad revenue and circulation; after the 70s, there was a boom of niche
magazines that continues today; and after the 90s, magazines started publishing on the
Internet.
Once known the commencement of travel magazines, it is right to focus now the attention in
the case of STM in more depth. Belenguer (2002, p. 36), surely the only previous professional
interested in developing this field, claims that Spanish magazines specialised in travelling are
still young and their start was relatively recent. He believes that “due to the years of Franco’s
obscurantism, which closed the country’s borders and prevented a similar kind of journalism,
the Spaniards had to wait for the democratic opening to see the birth of modern magazine
covers” (Ibid, p. 36).
Payne (2005) believes that Franco’s regime (1939-1975) and The Spanish Civil War (1936-
1939), made it difficult for the travel magazines’ proliferation. In addition to this, Pérez
(2001) also maintained that the party in power established censor’s offices, which limited any

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kind of press. Nevertheless, García-Álvarez & Marías-Martínez (2013) found out in their
investigation project that the very first geographical magazine made in Spain, la Revista
Geográfica Española (1938-1978) was created in the middle of the Franco regime.
Regrettably, there was a lack of attention given to this ‘prototype’ of geographical magazine.
It is important to highlight la Revista Geográfica Española in this study because this
magazine, created by Valeriano Salas-Rodríguez (Cabezas, 1963, p. 9-11), represented the
Spanish version of National Geographic Magazine and the future core of the STM. García-
Álvarez & Marías-Martínez pointed out that “its articles devoted to the travel journalism in
Spain and apart from being a vehicle for ideology and propaganda, the Revista Geográfica
Española was meant to be an ‘art, history and travel magazine’” (2013, p. 85-98).
Before than Revista Geográfica Española, Belenguer (2002, p. 90) suggests than at the end of
the 19th
century, travel stories and their diffusion through the press became habitual. The most
interesting fact is that magazines specialised in travelling were found: Alrededor del Mundo;
Por esos Mundos; El Viajero Universal; and El Viajero Ilustrado Hispanoamericano.
Moreover, a notable amount of linked to travel magazines came into view, such as:
Maravillas y Progresos del Siglo; Revista de Geografía Comercial; or the Revista Geográfica
y Estadística. The Spanish case was sufficiently representative to reflect a reality that could be
considered as widespread in all Europe at the end of the 19th
century. All these magazines
cannot be considered as travelling ones says Obregón (1991, p. 22-38) because, although
tourism starts with Thomas Cook’s first travel agency in 1845, they will not become a big
industry until the second half of the 20th
century.

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(Front cover of Revista Geografica Española Nº8 (1940), next to its 125th page from the same edition)
Still, Bernal (1997, p. 105) highlighted that all these magazines were doomed to die at the end
of the 70s. It was after World War II together with the end of the era of Franco in the 1975,
when first STM will start flourishing. Moreover, Díaz Curros (1991) agreed with this and
added “the pioneer magazines in Spain were Atlas, concession from an Italian magazine under
the exact name; and the specifically Spanish Viajar, which appeared in March 1978, run by
the well-known writer and journalist Luis Carandell” (1991, p. 17-19). He is considered as the
first director and founder of the first STM.
From then on, combinations of magazines with the same topic will start appearing with
dynamism, especially in the decade of the 90s when they started increasing in numbers.
Names that should be noted are Manuel Leguineche (president of Cartographica), Jesús
Torbado (contributor of Viajar, Geo and Siete Leguas) and Miguel de la Cuadra Salcedo
(contributor of Periplo, Los aventureros and Tiempo de Aventura). Such names transformed,

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from the professional sphere in Spain, the travel journalism into the journalism of the first
class. More and more status is being given to those privileged that can work this specialisation.
In the end, they were those who promoted the travel spirit. Luis Carandell as director of the
first STM Viajar stated clearly on the editorial page “our objective is to promote the spirit of
adventure and travel, contributing to the ignored knowledge in this country for all of us,
because it reserves lots of positive surprises” (Belenguer, 2002, p. 112-113).
Another approach that requires a revision is the perspective to consider travel journalism texts
within a particular style. According to Borrat (1993, p. 79-84) an analysis of such STM texts
induces the reader to believe that “travel features” are no longer a generic terminology to
classify texts related to travelling. In specialised magazines, travel monographs are presented
from all journalistic styles. Thus, it is possible to read news or information about travelling,
reports, articles, travellers’ interviews, ethnographers and adventurers, editorials, columns of
opinion, et cetera. This means that travelling has converted into a journalistic area of interest
from different points of view, and as such, it enjoys great prestige from the strong reader’s
demand.
As mentioned above, it was after the 70s with the arrival of the democracy, when in fact the
real travel magazines started to spring (Belenguer, 2002, p. 119). Two periods of time can be
established: the first of them from 1978 until 1990, and the second from 1991 until the present
days.
The first epoch is characterised for emerging estimations within the project travel magazine
market, where some definite publications strengthen. In the second period, those publications
consolidated even more meaning the vitality of such journalism and the reader’s interest
(Quesada, 1998). In accordance with Silva (2000), in 1973 there was a magazine with the
vocation of travelling: Caza Fotográfica, which in the next year will change its name to

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Periplo. The magazine, with the time, changed its content and now is specialised in nature.
Therefore, the Spaniards had to wait until 1978 to see the apparition of the first specific travel
magazine “Viajar”, with the subtitle Revista de rutas, viajes y aventuras (Routes, trips and
adventures). At the same time, a foreign publication invades the Spanish market through an
agreement with the publishing house Coypresa. Its name is Atlas and the Instituto Geográfico
Agostini edited it from Italy (Belenguer, 2002, p. 120). This edition has had previous editions
in other countries apart from its country of origin (France, Switzerland and Belgium), and
José María Pomar will direct the Spanish edition (Moreno, 2007).
At the beginning of the 80s, there were four leading STM. In 1981, Paisajes y Gentes appears
as the new magazine edited by Capítulo S.A. This publication combined Spanish with
international reporters, translating their texts and focusing on international trips in exotic
places. Two years later, in 1983, the first adventure and travel magazine was born: Aventura.
In two years time its name will change into Aventura sin fronteras, surviving for several years.
In 1984, two more adventure magazines will come up: Mundo Aventura and Tiempo de
Aventura. Belenguer (2000, p. 104-111) claims that all of these magazines, excluding Viajar,
will disappear before 1991. He says that some magazines merged into one while others
reopened, but the important fact was that the STM start began to detect. Theoretically, all of
them were struggling between the 80s and beginning of the 90s.
In 1986, Aire Libre reopened again and closed immediately after several months. In 1993,
another company took control of it and it is still in existence today. In 1987, the Spanish
edition of Geo made its start followed by Gente y Viajes in 1988 and Rutas del Mundo in
1989. All of them coexisted with the publication of the previous period, as it did Viajar,
which was already acquired by the Grupo Z a few years ago (Sahagún, 1998). Also, it should
be noted that in the same period several magazines linked to the business sector of tourism
started growing in appearance. This is relevant because they started in the tourism sphere, but

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now they are travel publications for the public. Important names to highlight here are Guía de
Viajes y Vacaciones (1988) or Viajeros: por tierra, mar y aire (1991).
The decade of the 90s represented a key improvement for the travel journalism in Spain
suggested Belenguer (2002, p. 122) considering that it was the end of one era and the
beginning of the contemporary period. The leaders back then were Tiempo de Viajar; Gente y
Viajes 16; Rutas del Mundo and Geo. All the rest of the adventure magazines merged into
only one: Tiempo de Aventura. In addition to this, and on top of any noteworthy fact, a new
travel magazine appeared with a specific personality and different models from the earlier
mags: Altair. This particular magazine will be analysed in great detail later in this paper and it
will be explained why is different from the rest of travel magazines.
The 1992-1993 economical crisis arrived in Spain (Comín & Hernández, 2013) and no
magazines were published. After the fast resolution by the government, the country stabilized
the traditional devaluation of the Spanish peseta. Straight afterwards, Aire Libre, Turismo
Aventura, Lejos, Rutas and España Desconocida were created. The huge demand of travel
texts by the country could not continue unperceived and in 1997, the National Geographic
edits the first editions of its magazine in Spanish thanks to RBA editors (Poole, 2004). This is
the first place in Europe where the American magazine bets continue growing, and its second
in the world after Japan (1995). Michela English, Senior Vice President at National
Geographic, stated in an interview (El Mundo, 1997): “According to our statistics, in Spain
there are 35,000 subscribers in the English version of the magazine and that shows that there
is a huge interest by National Geographic in Spain” (Cabello, 2005, p. 96).

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(First edition of National Geographic magazine in Spain, October 1997)
In the last years of the 20th
century, in Spain will appear Cartográphica in 1997, and
Península; Pirineos; and Siete Leguas in 1998. After 2000, the most recent magazines are
Deviajes; MAS viajes; Condé Nast Traveller (the Spanish version); and Nómadas among
others. This list, incomplete because of the market’s variability, shows the significance of this
specialisation. Since the last years of the 90s, around twenty STM still coexist. But this area
of interest is now presented in other media ways, argues Belenguer (2002, p. 125). Since the
last decade, it has been frequent to watch travel documentaries in all TV channels. Moreover,
specific travel channels were established (Canal Viajar, Madrileños por el mundo, ViajarTV
or Españoles en el mundo). Jarvis (2015) supports this and adds that video magazines became

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a threat after the digital revolution due to the fact that watching is easier than reading for the
last generations. In addition, Parra Pérez (1998) pointed out that this kind of technology and
mass media is turning all the magazine industry upside down. He concluded “broadcasting
entities such as radio have also incorporated in their programming a space dedicated to
travelling like the case of Cadena Ser with ‘Ser Aventureros’ and ‘Ser Viajeros’ (Parra Pérez,
1998, p. 68-93).
On the other hand, Pérez Pérez (2014) expounds interesting ideas in his dissertation about
Travel 2.0. He maintains that 87% of people under the age of 34 uses Social Media as a tool
to get ideas and make use of them in their voyage, according to Digital Index:
Travel&Tourism study. What is more, there are already travel guides for users interested in
digital travel magazines (Ibid, 2014, p. 32). For the magazine industry, social media represent
the relationship with the client, and now both travel together in order to get the best
experiences and recommendations. Furthermore, Canalis (2013) claims that through
multimedia platforms, advertisements can be achieved in a visual, easy and unique way.
Holidaytruths, Gogobot or Tripadvisor are advice platforms for travellers. Taking Tripadvisor
as an example, it has 340 million users and more than 350 million reviews and opinions
(Digital Company Statistics, 2016). With such platforms, Buhalis & Law (2008, p. 609-623)
maintain that any reader could find more information about accommodations, destinations,
flights, recommendations or even debate forums.
Equally, magazines have another rivals: blogs and bloggers. Filgueira (2008, 135-152) states
that blogs are very rich because they narrate subjective experiences of others. Mariné (2010)
defines a travel blog as “an expanding virtual space of the recent apparition with rich
information (written and visual) from first hand information about the perceptions in
particular destinations. The fact that the user directly generates its content during or after the
trip becomes a beautiful source of information to comprehend how tourists or adventurers

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perceive a place associating it with different elements” (Mariné, 2010, p. 1). On account of
this, companies choose blogs because they are a cheap marketing tool, daily updates and fast
feedback. What can be deduced from this is that digital travel guides have an advantage in the
face of print magazines: the information is continuously up to date (Llantada, 2013).
Moreover, Filgueira concludes that on top of this, there are blogs focused on a specific
multimedia content such as Video blogs, photo blogs or audio blogs, where the reader can surf
with simplicity and go into detail in any topic (2008, p. 150).
Thus, Travel 2.0 transforms STM into a new model based on the interaction between travel
users, companies and institutions of the sector. In this way, Pérez Pérez (2014, p. 44-45)
concludes that travel magazines will soon be in a big trouble as companies achieve better
profits from multimedia tools, which are cheaper and more accessible than ever before. But
are digital platforms killing print travel magazines?
The clash and the pressures between print and digital are more than evident, particularly given
the rapid improvement in the quality of digital publications, and the demand for them to do
more than merely replicate the content of print titles online (Canalis 2013). Travel magazines
are rethinking their marketing strategies so that they could remain viable digitally. From a
business perspective, the cost of printing, circulating and delivering print media exceeds that
of a digital version online (Llantada, 2013). Thanks to technology advances, digitized media
is much more practical for purchase and download. The digital medium is much more
dynamic because it has the potential of embedded videos, ads and links on the same page.
Thanks to the rise of Kindle, iPad or other tables, the accessibility to the average reader is
huge. In fact, travel magazines have been widely predicted as a consequence of the boom in
apps, blogs and the top 10 online lists. In the last decade, a lot of people have discovered their
opinions writing blogs or sharing in social networks. For online brands, print is a brilliant way

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of gaining extra marketing attention and boosting their community (Canalis, 2013). Digital
platforms allow to instantaneously sharing with a larger audience. But online travel magazines
need to perform different strategies. Hence, magazine publishers started adding news feeds to
their apps, which is a clear reason to return on a daily basis. In this way they provide more
value, keeping readers coming back for more and more (Pérez Pérez, 2014).
But print STM are not dead, although plenty experts have predicted their death (Belenguer,
2016). Their numbers might drop, but they will never die. However, surviving without
advertising is tough. STM derive half of their income from advertising. The other half
remaining belongs to 35% subscriptions and 15% to single copy sales (Belenguer, 2016). On
the other hand, a typical breakdown of a STM expenses is: manufacturing and distribution
including paper and postage (40%); circulation costs (40%); advertising expenses (10%);
administration (5%) and editorial costs (5%). Therefore, it should be noted that the expenses
for generating the magazine’s content represent only 10 per cent of the total expenses
(Belenguer, 2016).
Print STM are able to succeed in a digital world at present because digital technologies are
not universally available and printed materials are much easier to be found accidentally.
Moreover, digital technologies are not stable enough to become viable alternatives to print
(Llantada, 2013). Therefore, in order to survive, STM need to set itself apart from the web.
Physical forms of the written word need to offer a clear and different experience, and all
technological opportunities that can be used to support and interact with print are definitely a
bonus and not a threat (Canalis, 2013).

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Mariano Belenguer Jané was the last professional willing to understand and develop the STM
industry with his magnificent book “Travel Journalism: Analysis of a journalistic
specialisation”. But that was in 2002, before the digital revolution, the 2007-2008 global
financial crisis and the clash and pressure between print and digital. They all have negatively
affected the print STM industry in Spain. Thus, it is right to affirm that the literature covering
the topic of this dissertation is currently undeveloped and requires further investigation in
depth. Therefore, it is clear that there is a real need to undertake a research in this area
because it will be beneficial to discover the latest news associated with the STM.
There are several areas open for further research. These include questions about the current
number of existing STM with their differences in terms of structure, model and content
statistics; the consumer behaviour of the Spanish population with the latest trends; interviews
with experts in the field; the impact digitalisation had on travel magazines and photographers.
In addition, the dissertation also needs a research on the migration of readers from print to
digital in specialist magazines. In brief, this study paper will disclose what has happened to
magazines worldwide, focusing more on the move from print to digital and why there is a
struggle with falling sales and a drop in advertising.

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Methodology
“I was just at the beach with my family and everyone that I saw there had a print magazine. I
mean, you just don’t read on an iPad when you’re at the beach.”
Ryan Waterfield
The goal of this dissertation is to uncover whether there is a future for the STM. It should be
pointed out that various universities, magazine libraries and houses of experts were visited for
the purpose of analysing old and new STM. As one of the main focuses of this dissertation is
to analyse all existing STM, first and foremost, the 39 print magazines (created between 1978
and 2008) will be disclosed. Then, the 21 that still currently exist will be described with short
individual description so that each one of them could be distinguished.
Several methods of research are needed to address the questions that are raised in the
literature review. These questions are concerned with the effects that the digital revolution,
the 2007-2008 global financial crisis and the clash and pressures between print and digital had
on the market. As there is no subsequent information after 2002 about the STM field,
questions about the current travel magazine world should be asked. How much have mags
changed and what is now the difference between them? In order to gain such information,
there were chosen different professionals from the sphere to answer such queries. One of the
primary research methods used to answer the questions included interviews with the
following ten individuals:
• César Lucas Abreu (Photographer for more than 25 years at Viajar, the first STM)
• Mariano Belenguer Jané (Travel journalist, expert, writer and professor at Seville U.)
• Ramón Villeró (travel writer and owner of viajesmagazine.com)
• Pere Ortín (Director/Editor in Chief of Altair magazine)
• Clara Laguna (Journalist from the Editorial Department at Condé Nast Traveller)

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• Tino Soriano (Travel photographer at National Geographic Society)
• Enrique López-Tapia (travel photographer and contributor in more than 20 mags)
• Gonzalo Martínez Azurmendi (Travel photographer for more than 15 years)
• Samir Husni (expert in magazines publishing, also known as “Mr. Magazine”)
• Bryan Christy (investigative reporter at National Geographic Society)
The method of interviewing was chosen because, according to Wisker, “interviews give you
the opportunity to meet the subjects of your research. They can provide both the detailed
information you set out to collect some fascinating contextual information” (2008, p. 192).
Berger (2000, p. 111) adds that interviewing gathers primary data on thoughts, attitudes,
opinions and motivations that cannot be obtained otherwise. Thus, the individuals stated
earlier are a potential source of information because each of them is related to the industry in
a dissimilar way. They all were interviewed in different ways, because although each of them
is within the travel magazine industry, their profession varies one from another.
From the ten interviews, three were face to face (César Lucas Abreu, Mariano Belenguer Jané
and Ramón Villeró), two on the telephone (Pere Ortín and Clara Laguna), two via email
(Gonzalo Martínez Azurmendi and Bryan Christy), and three through the social media (Tino
Soriano and Enrique López-Tapia through Facebook and Samir Husni via Twitter).
The interview with César Lucas Abreu was face to face. César was chosen because he is the
only photographer that has been working for more than 25 years in the first STM Viajar.
Viajar was created in 1978 and César is a vital source of gaining a view of how the magazine
has changed throughout the years. This is important because it will disclose how one of the
first STM has adapted to the market. Also, he has a rich knowledge of travel photography and

23. 23
therefore, it will be interesting to analyse in more depth all pictures used by a travel magazine
through the eyes of an expert.
Mariano Belenguer Jané was also interviewed face to face at the University of Seville where
he lectures on travel journalism and science and environmental journalism. He was a
profitable choice for this dissertation because of all the background information about STM
shown in his book “Travel Journalism: Analysis of a journalistic specialisation”. Also, I
wanted to discuss some facts from his book. Moreover, I wanted to compare the STM from
2002 with 2015 in terms of their topic’s predominance and their average space.
The last face to face interview was with Ramón Villeró. He is a travel writer and currently
writes for viajesmagazine, which is his property, and it is only available digitally. Villeró is a
vital source to understand how a digital magazine works within the industry nowadays. He
will also uncover some of the techniques, visions and future of his digital magazine.
On the other hand, two people were interviewed on the telephone. Pere Ortín was the first one.
Ortín is an essential source because of the fact that he has been working for three years as a
director and editor in chief at Altair magazine. Ortín was chosen because of the situation of
Altair, as the magazine started existing in 1991 and stopped publishing in May 2013.
Therefore, it was interesting to unmask the reasons and causes of such decision.
The other interview on the phone was with Clara Laguna, writer and editor at Condé Nast
Traveller. The magazine was launched in November 2007 in Spain. This interview is
important because Clara has the chance to work for one of the luxury travel magazines. The
aim of this is to see what is Condé Nast Traveller’s niche target, key factors related to the
magazine and an overall overview.

24. 24
Apart from the three face to face interviews and the other two made on the telephone, I have
also interviewed four other professionals via email and social media.
Tino Soriano was interviewed on Facebook. He is a travel photographer at National
Geographic Society. The main purpose of my interview with him was to disclose the future of
photography within the STM. He is considered as one of the best Spanish photographers up to
now.
Enrique López-Tapia de Inés was interviewed with the same purpose on Facebook. Enrique
has been collaborating with Geo, Viajar, Lonely Planet, Viajes National Geographic, Altair,
Siete Leguas, Rutas del Mundo, Condé Nast Travel and a long et cetera. He also collaborated
with travel guides and high volume books, as it was the case with Planeta, Espasa or
Lunwerg. He is the perfect choice to describe the STM market because of his wider vision
gained throughout his professional career. Because he has been working in almost all STM,
López-Tapia has been selected to uncover the differences between those magazines and the
requests made by each magazine’s director.
Tino Soriano suggested speaking with Gonzalo Martínez Azurmendi. He is another travel
photographer who has been working for more than 15 years as a freelancer. I interviewed him
by email he has been struggling all over his career, and therefore I wanted to know his current
status and the future of the STM.
Samir Husni, leading expert in magazine publishing, was interviewed on Twitter. He is
director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi, School of
Journalism. He is also known as “Mr. Magazine”. He was chosen because I wanted to ask a
foreign expert in regard with the STM situation and future. In this way, Husni could
distinguish STM’s market with the one in the United States.

25. 25
The last person interviewed via email was Bryan Christy. Bryan is an investigative reporter
and director of special investigations for National Geographic magazine. He was chosen with
the same purpose as Samir Husni: to present his idea about the STM future from a foreign
point of view. Furthermore, he will be asked for some statistics regarding the evolution of
National Geographic in the Spanish version in the last few years.
From another perspective, however, the second of the primary research methods used to
answer the questions included street intercept surveys with people from Madrid. Driscoll
(2011) states that this kind of survey tends to be exploratory and specific, and it gains a fast
overview. Hence, as I wanted to gain faster results, I questioned random people in Puerta del
Sol, Madrid. The place is central and it is, surely, where the most people pass through.
Three different days were required to build the three charts further in the study. The days were
the 5th
, 6th
and 7th
of August 2016. On each day, the survey respondents had to answer only
one question in person. In this way the surveys will get more randomness and efficacy and the
number of the survey respondents will vary one day from another. Thus, on the 5th
of August
there were 245 survey respondents, followed by 313 and 226 in the second and third day
respectively.
The questions conducted on each day were as it follows:
• Day one: Do you read travel magazines?
• Day two: What is the principal cause you would not buy a travel magazine?
• Day three: What is your main reason to buy and read a travel magazine?
The previous questions were chosen after researching about the “Daily average minutes
destined to read travel magazines in Spain between 2000 and 2015” performed by INE
(Spanish National Institute of Statistics) and the “Daily average time dedicated to consuming

26. 26
different types of media in Spain, in 2015” performed by AIMC. The three survey questions
above were destined to develop the image of the STM readers. Thanks to this, it could be
established the consumer behaviour in the same way as the market niche travel magazines
should focus on in greater degree.
The objectives of the researches were to gain a clearer picture of the entire STM industry as
seen through the eyes of the experts and the readers. Indeed, the intention of this paper was to
update the body of literature exposed earlier and the best way to achieve that aim was by
choosing the primary research methods stated above.

27. 27
Presentation of data and discussion
“I always carry a pair of scissors around with me to cut things out of magazines.”
Sally Phillips
This section of the dissertation concentrates on the explanation and discussion of all data
obtained. This includes ten interviews with industry experts as well as the street interception
survey that was conducted in Madrid. As the dissertation aims to analyse all existing STM, all
of those stated in the literature review are presented first. Hence, a table chart (see appendix
one) was built from Belenguer’s book (2002) and it shows all print travel magazines created
in Spain since the first Viajar until the last Descubrir Catalunya, Condé Nast Traveller,
Lonely Planet and QTravel:
All of these STM have certain characteristics in common. Interviewing Mariano Belenguer
Jané at the University of Seville, it was found that all magazines are very careful with the
aesthetic, which means that they all use a couché paper (art paper) with high weight and
excellent impression in four-colour printing method. “They worry about the design and the
typography. Graphic elements have such an importance that it could be affirmed that travel
magazines are visual magazines, in which the iconographic language contains even more
value than the text” (Belenguer, 2016). Moreover, he showed some data regarding the body
area of six print travel magazines (this was something performed on his own accord). The
statistics are illustrated in the following table (see appendix two).
According to the table, four out of the six magazines have more graphic space than text.
Photography therefore becomes a fundamental element and in all of the six publications the
number of pictures exceeds 100, which clearly means that there are 1,5 photos per page. Such
numbers could be considered as high because pictures have bigger size in most of the cases.
“It is common to find one picture in a whole page, or in a double page in order to start a

28. 28
feature. And apart from the pictures, there are also maps, plans, drawings, pictograms, et
cetera” (Belenguer, 2016).
Once known the data from 2000, it will be interesting to disclose and compare what STM had
in 2000 to what they have nowadays. However, as Altair, Gente y Viajes 16, Tiempo de
Aventura and Tiempo de Viajar have stopped existing in the print world, only Geo and Rutas
del Mundo were analysed together with Belenguer (2016). What should be noted from the
results (see appendix nine) is that the total space remains the same. The main differences
compared with the table from 2000 are that both magazines have increased their graphic space.
In addition, Geo’s advertising space has decreased from 20,8% in 2000 to 7,8% in 2015, in
the same way as Rutas del Mundo, from 16% to 13,4%. Moreover, Geo has more text and
blank space compared with 2000, and in the case of Rutas del Mundo it has decreased from
37,7% to 16,7%. Thus, it is right to say that there are fewer advertisements and an increase of
graphic space in both STM.
On the other hand, the advertisement’s distribution was: 60% not related to tourism and 40%
related with traveling and tourism. Most of STM are affected by commercial requirements
and they only cover subjects where they can get advertising in. Hence, there was an
advertisement insinuation through advertising features such as cars in Viajar or deViajes;
hotels and restaurants in Turismo y Ocio; recommendation of guides in Altair or Traveller
(National Geographic); features about pubs and restaurants in Rutas del Mundo or Condé
Nast Traveller; practical guides about establishments in MuchoViaje or deViaje; or cameras in
QTravel (Belenguer, 2016).
Concurrently, 332 features from different STM were analysed together with Belenguer in
order to discover the topic’s predominance in 2002 compared with STM from 2015. A total of
86 features was analysed from 2002, and therefore 246 features from 2015. The percentage

29. 29
was calculated keeping in mind the main thematic model, which in this case was the
predominant topic (or central axis) that connects one story with another.
The results from 2002 were: Geography (45,78%); Society (13,55%); Ethnography (7,53%);
Nature (6,62%); History (6,62%); Sports (6,62%); Economy (3,01%); Arts (2,71%); and
Politics (0,90%). This means that in 2002, the main topic in STM was Geography with
45,78% (Belenguer, 2016).
On the other hand, the results from 2015 were as it follows: Geography (63,61%); Nature
(10,94%); Gastronomy (7,19%); Sports (6,94%); History (6,32%); and Society (5%). As a
consequence, it should be pointed out that STM are no longer interested in writing features
about economy, ethnography, arts and politics. Moreover, the features include now more
percentage about geography (63,61%), followed by nature (10,94%) and gastronomy (7,19%).
In answer to how much have mags changed and what is now the difference between them, it
has to be pointed out that the change was developed due to series of events. Those include the
development and promotion of the free time and leisure; bigger sensibility in terms of native
and cultural globalisation; and the editorial expansion in both digital and print regarding
specialised travel magazines. Thus, there are a couple of changes with 2002. First, STM have
now a reduction of workforce, therefore the labour costs are now relatively low. In the six
main STM from 1992, the number of editors fluctuated between two and four (Belenguer,
2016). The number now fluctuates between one and two. The number of graphic designers
was between one and three, except Geo, which had five. This number has currently decreased
to one, and in the case of Geo there are now two graphic designers (López-Tapia, 2016). On
average, STM had between four and six freelance writers and photographers who were
collaborating regularly to each travel magazine. This number has now reduced to one
photographer and two writers (López-Tapia, 2016).

30. 30
Secondly, STM in the 20th
century were all following the same model structure.
Notwithstanding, there are several model groups that differ from other STM presently. Given
that publishing houses have been searching for their niche product in the market during the
last decade, there are now four different groups. Magazines such as Geo, Rutas del Mundo,
Siete Leguas, Traveller and Condé Nast Traveller represent the first group. This first group
has at the same time two subgroups: Geo and Traveller are considered as science and
geographical travel magazines, whilst Rutas del Mundo, Siete Leguas, Condé Nast Traveller
are defined as sociocultural travel magazines. The key element that represents these
publications is the long interpretative feature. Short sections including news information and
tools do not exist any longer. The content pretends to have a rigorous image with seriousness
in such a way that travel stories remain justified with informational examples in a cultural,
historical, scientific and ecological way. The graphic element of this group is carefully
performed with big quality pictures, graphics and maps (Belenguer, 2016).
Tiempo de Viajar, deViajes and Más Viajes & Españoles En El Mundo determine the second
group. The text in these STM is directed towards tourism and leisure, pretending to be useful
as a guide and orientation for the reader. Thus, the content insists on underlining the most
favourable, positive and touristic aspects from the visited places (Belenguer, 2016). With a
fresh and agile writing style, these publications alternate short features with numerous
sections characterised by their overloaded data (guides, suggestions, excursions, diaries),
accompanied with pictures and a huge proliferation of graphic resources.
The third group corresponds to those STM that have the topic of ‘adventure travelling’ as a
vital element. This group chooses simple diagramming, correct pictures and informal texts.
The key element it is the feature and next to each feature there are opinion pieces or
interviews with adventurers. The publications are very personal where the adventurer-
protagonist is always present and plays an important role. The most representative STM

31. 31
included in this group are Tiempo de Aventura, Desnivel, Aire Libre, Oxígeno and Turismo y
Aventura (Belenguer, 2016).
The fourth group is composed by those STM that are concerned for the human factor and the
ethnographic dissemination. Travelling therefore is not considered as a touristic entertainment
but as a knowledge tool of other cultures, their natural surroundings and survival. These
publications respect the environment and the cultural diversity. In addition, there are
argumentative sections with opinion texts. The magazines that create this group are Orizon
and Altair (only on its digital platform).
As a continuation from all the travel magazines stated earlier in the table between 1978 and
2008 (see appendix one), the next step is to present each of those that still exist. Therefore,
each one from the 21 STM will be mentioned with short individual description. The list is as
it follows:
• Aire Libre (Adventure, sports, travelling, culture and nature) – since 1992
A monthly magazine focused on different content and topics such as adventure trips,
cycling routes or on foot, gastronomy and photographic reports.
• QTravel – since 2008
QTravel is published quarterly. It covers topics such as gastronomy, nature and style
hotels with monographs. It is directed towards modern and contemporary travellers.
• Más Viajes & Españoles En El Mundo – since May 2006
This monthly magazine shows the patterns to escape into national or international
places through cultural offers and helpful promotions for the organisation of the trips.
• Lonely Planet (the magazine of the travellers) - since September 2007
This is one of the most famous magazines in the world. Monthly edited, it is well
known for its monographs as well as its rich travel guides.

32. 32
• La magia de viajar (through Aragon) – since June 2005
This is the first magazine published bimonthly. ‘The magic of travel’ is about nature
and ethnography through Aragon. The magazine should be outlined for great quality
pictures and rich diversification of topics.
• deViajes (To travel throughout Spain and the world) – since May 1999
This monthly magazine searches for the most recondite places on the planet to create
unique features and original points of view. An interesting fact of this magazine is that
all the text is written directly towards the reader.
• National Geographic since October 1997
National Geographic is the travel magazine with the most print runs all over the world.
On its Spanish version contains between seven and eight features in every issue
published monthly. International journalists write all the features and then they are
translated into Spanish.
• Orizon (Discover your place in the world) – since September 2012
This bimonthly magazine defines itself as a different travel magazine because it
explores the readers’ reconnaissance and pleasure. It suggests an alternative way to
understand the world, based on a nomadic, adventurous and bold lifestyle.
• España Desconocida (Trips and gastronomy) – since September 1995
Another monthly magazine characterised for its exclusive approach on features about
Spain. Some sections are distinguished with example topics such as “museums and
exhibitions”, “gastronomy” or “stops and inns”.
• Oxígeno (Sport and nature) – since 2008
Oxígeno is a monthly practical magazine about outdoor trips, sports and activities. It
reveals in more detail the best ideas to enjoy hiking, mountain bikes and trail running.

33. 33
• Rutas del Mundo – since 1989
This monthly magazine is devoted towards trips and tourism with special features
accompanied by pictures that invite you to dream. It also includes practical guides,
weekend breaks, gastronomy and nature.
• Siete Leguas (trips from the XXI century) – since 1998
This is the first biannual travel magazine in Spain. It combines the trips with literature.
It also offers narrations made by travellers, short stories from the authors’ experience
and people who enjoy travelling as a way of life.
• Geo (A new vision of the world) – since February 1987
Geo is a monthly magazine edited by the German group Gruner+Jahr AG in different
European countries. It is one of the most consolidated travel magazines with a clear
line devoted to the science divulgation. It publishes large in depth features.
• Grandes Espacios (Active tourism) – since 1995
This monthly magazine includes four or five features on each issue. It also contains
informative sections and tools executed from the editorial department. It is perfect for
features about routes and large tours.
• Condé Nast Traveller – since 2007
Another biannual magazine, which has lost the single subject essence and it is now
more focused on travel guides with some tool sections.
• Desnivel (A magazine about travelling between mountains) – since 1981
This is a monthly magazine, which has become the perfect example of the mountain
loyal followers. It stands out for its design, serious publications and trustworthy
information. Moreover, it counts with the international collaboration of the most
prestigious mountaineers and experts.

34. 34
• Turismo Rural (Other ways to travel and enjoy) since November 1997
Turismo rural is a monthly magazine. It is centred in Spanish countryside tourism with
great details regarding the history, architecture, landscapes, traditions and ways of life.
It offers routes for all ages and tastes.
• Viajar (The first Spanish travel magazine) – since March 1978
The first STM is edited monthly. It has changed its aspects and lines in various
occasions. It has a glorious balance between its feature sections. Moreover, Viajar
contains opinion articles.
• Viajeros (Por tierra, mar y aire) – since March 1991
Every month, Viajeros magazine gives us the opportunity to read special mono
graphics, long features and wide tools sections.
• Viajes (National Geographic Traveller) – since October 1999
Viajes or Traveller magazine is published monthly and it has a well organised
distribution. It contains four or five features along with short stories about close
destinations (weekends or short breaks).
• Descubrir Catalunya – since 1997
This magazine is characterised for its quality pictures and its features about the
Catalonian geography. It is issued monthly in Catalan in the autonomous communities
of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic islands.
In accordance with this list, from the 39 print magazines (created between 1978 and 2008)
that were listed in the table at the beginning of this section, 21 still currently exist. It should
be noted that the last print travel magazine created was the bimonthly Orizon in September
2012. On the other hand, the last magazine that stopped publishing was Altair in May 2013.

35. 35
Altair was widely considered as something more than a travel magazine. In the magazine’s
last print issue, the company left the following message to their readers and subscribers:
“Sometimes it is necessary to make one step back to advance three forward. We open brackets.
For 14 years, since 1999, we have been sharing this editorial adventure with you, the readers.
(…) It hurts to accept that the economic crisis defeated our capacity to resist. (…) We tried to
help our readers: we have not increased our print price since November 2004. We know we
cannot ask for more. But we are now unable to hold this by our own because it is exceeding
our limits. This does not mean that Altair will disappear. We only open a period to reflect,
seeking for a different perspective that will allow the company to continue ahead. Even if
Altair distances from the kiosks and postboxes, we hope to see you soon.”
After this message, Nadal (2013) immediately published at El País that it has been just
another magazine that vanishes because of the crisis and the Internet. He wrote: “Print is dead.
Contemporary travellers search for their information in other ways, other tools. This means
that a new era has come.” One year later, Baiges (2014) added that the director of Altair, Pere
Ortín, believed that within a few months the magazine would be back with its print versions.
With this in mind, it seems only right to continue with one of the primary research methods:
the interviews with the nine experts chosen in this dissertation. Due to the fact that Altair
closed in May 2013, it is more than intriguing to unmask why this has happened and whether
the magazine will return to the print market as stated from Baiges (2014). In order to uncover
that, Pere Ortín (director and editor in chief of Altair magazine) was interviewed.
In answer to my question “Why the magazine disappeared in 2013?” he said that in the past,
lots more travel magazines were sold compared with the present days. Print has suffered in
the last 10 years and Altair closed mainly because of the crisis (Ortín, 2016). Also, he pointed
out that Altair’s travel competitors belonged to huge multinational companies and Altair did

36. 36
not. “We are different. But unfortunately, we had to ‘fall back’, gather the troops, go out again
and ‘attack’. And this is what is happening now, we first returned digitally in 2014 and now
we will come back into print, after a deep analysis about why we have lost, what we can do
and what others are doing” (Ortín, 2016). Straight after this answer, Ortín was asked what
Altair’s strategic objective would be? He said:
“The magazine will be heterogeneous because the readers are very exigent. We will publish
weekly in the digital platform and now with print, we are trying to complete the circle. The
new print issues will be published quarterly and they will have an international focus. As an
example, the next one will be about Senegal followed by Uruguay and Faroe Islands. Our
model will be without advertisements and only based on the readers interests. Altair has bet
on this prototype and if one day our readers do not want us to be here, we will disappear.
They make us stay alive and this paradigm is relevant because if the readers discover that we
work for the brands and not for them, we will be in a big trouble. Therefore, we will now only
sell our magazine in specialised bookshops. If a reader is looking for quality I do not believe
it will be sold in kiosks. Thus, we narrowed the concepts and now the magazine is a mixture
between a book and a magazine. Our small company will write for a solvent niche that knows
our brand. Nowadays STM are suffering because humans are curious and eventually, what is
considered as a ‘cheap product’ and it is published in the digital world, triggers tiredness for
the readers” (Ortín, 2016).
In regard with the future of the STM, Ortín concluded that the future is intriguing because it is
linked with the economy, the European development and other matters that escape from
society limits (Ortín, 2016). He believes that audio-visuals are vital and without them it is will
not be possible to build any media. His final words were, “I guess that only a few STM will
survive, and I hope that Altair will be one of them.”

37. 37
Once known Altair’s case, it is important to emphasise that the magazine started first digitally
and now, in 2016 the magazine will return into print.
From this perspective, it is probably right to affirm that digital platforms are not so profitable,
especially if they are not part of a big multinational. This might be the main reason Altair will
return to print, as stated earlier by Pere Ortín.
But digital platforms not only offer online travel magazines, but also travel blogs. Those
travel blogs come and disappear all the time. According to Statista (2016) there are more than
175 million blogs on the Internet. But what do blogs offer than magazines do not have?
Pérez Pérez (2014) states that blogs have more room to include informal writing when giving
opinions. This means that a reader will have higher expectations for a publication in an online
magazine than in a blog. On the other hand, Canalis (2013) maintains that travel blogs
emphasize the engagement between the writer and the reader more than online travel
magazines. Also, it should be noted that some travel blogs contain affiliate advertising
whereas online travel magazines have more ads. In addition to this, interactive magazines
could be downloaded and customers can access them even offline. But blogs live on the web
and are difficult to read when a reader is offline. However, the freedom of travel bloggers
encourages readers to be more sensitive to the motivations of the blogger, and this makes their
relationship stronger. Readers therefore expect honesty about dealings with brands, which
affects the effectiveness of advertising. This is because the relationship between a blogger and
a brand will have a bigger impact on the publicity with blog readers, compared to readers of
online travel magazines. Hence, the effectiveness of advertising is better on blogs than on
magazines because readers consider bloggers as friends and any recommendation is a positive
attitude towards the reader and the brand (Llantada, 2013).

38. 38
To understand such premise, Ramón Villeró, owner of viajesmagazine, was interviewed. His
magazine started digitally in 2008 and is not using any techniques to survive as a magazine
because it did not receive any financial help. Nowadays it has only 500 visitors per month. In
answer to the question ‘Do you believe that bloggers and social media are prejudicial for
STM?’ he replied: “Yes, especially those that are terribly directed as Viajesmagazine.es. They
take advantage of an existing magazine name (like his case) and to make matters worse, they
start filling it with advertisements and rubbish. I try to maintain my magazine clean and with
certain qualities, but I am now more pessimistic than ever before in regard to the future”
(Villeró, 2016).
Considering the circumstances, Villeró concluded negatively in answer to the question about
the future of STM. He said that the best four STM are the ones that will outlast in print. The
same will happen to the digital magazines linked with strong business groups. Travel
journalists are in a dead-end street without a future, except if a press group or an editorial
umbrella covers them (Villeró, 2016).
What could be deduced from Villeró’s words is that there is plenty of competition in the
STM’s market and magazines that are not linked with press groups or editorials are on the
verge of collapse. They are losing money because other STM are supported by more
profitable parts of the business. In order to approve this statement, it was necessary to ask a
big multinational about their situation.
Clara Laguna, writer and editor in Condé Nast Traveller, responded in the interview that the
key factors to bear in mind are the international situation and the price of the materials
(Laguna, 2016). She said that her company does not feel comfortable after the Internet
revolution and the financial crisis. Condé Nast Traveller is perhaps one of the most important
multinational publishers of the sector, but it has also suffered. The company’s high quality

39. 39
content is targeted towards the Spaniards with high purchasing power together with an
increased cultural level. “Our niche of readers varies between 27-55 years and the
advertisements are only about luxury brands. What prevails over all is our editorial quality
and international power. Nowadays, our online’s diffusion is infinitely bigger than the number
of print issues, because there are fewer and fewer readers on paper” (Laguna, 2016).
Therefore, it seems that big multinationals are also having difficulties and most of them are
more devoted to digital media. Bryan Christy (investigative reporter at National Geographic
Society) was asked whether he knew what the situation in Spain was in regard with the print
publications of National Geographic. He said that digital magazines are eating the ones in
print essentially because they are more useful to advertise (Christy, 2016).
“This happens all over the world and not only in Spain. In the USA there are more than 7.000
magazines, but the subscription model is killing print”. He stated that those subscriptions
started gradually guaranteeing more and more income for the online industry since it first
started in 1994. “It is true that magazines entertain, inspire and inform connecting with their
readers. But the current readers are the last generations. Perhaps, the only time someone from
the generation Y or Z will read a travel magazine is inside the aircraft before the takeoff”
(Christy, 2016).
Christy did not promise, but he said that if there was any chance to look at some statistics in
regard with the number of print magazines sold by National Geographic in Spain, he was
going to send them to me. Luckily, Christy replied to me with the following details shown in
the table (see appendix three). The table shows that in 2015, National Geographic reduced the
number of print copies sold by half in relation to 1998. This data is very interesting because
even the best travel magazine in the world is showing decreasing figures. It should be noted
that there is a constant drop since the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

40. 40
Tino Soriano (Travel photographer at National Geographic Society) said in regard with this
scenario that travel magazine’s future does not look good (Soriano, 2016). His position was
that nowadays people travel in such a way that the supply is big and most of them cede their
material for free so that it can be published somewhere. Moreover, readers have changed print
magazines for digital alternatives. Years ago, travel magazines’ staff lived exclusively from
travel assignments. Unfortunately, this is something that cannot happen any longer in Spain
(Soriano, 2016).
Gonzalo Martínez Azurmendi also gave his point of view, claiming that the industry is
especially tough for travel photographers. This is important because earlier it was stated that
images cover plenty of space within travel magazines, standing out more than texts in most of
the cases. Azurmendi said that he barely has stopped fighting with this industry and he had
always had to do lots of work (Azurmendi, 2016).
“My main project at the moment is how to generate work in order to survive. At present,
every single picture ‘flies’. It could be shared innumerable times, but at the end it is unpaid,
and sometimes it is not even signed. It is a constant freelance fight” (Azurmendi, 2016).
Another photographer, who has been working for more than 25 years at the first STM Viajar,
is César Lucas Abreu. When he started working for the magazine in 1988, he was paid 25,000
pesetas (€150) every month. He said that in 2008 he started noticing the effect of the crisis
within the company. The manager started calling him less and less, until he left Viajar in 2014
because of the salary. These days, he does not like the methodology of the magazine.
“All has gone into digital. Today, you start looking for hotels somewhere on the Internet and
you have got the result of ’77 hotels in this destination and that destination’ with terrible
pictures. Currently, travel magazines like Viajar can call the tourist office of any place and
ask them to send some pictures regarding a particular interest. And they will send the photos

41. 41
to the magazine. Thus, managers pay less for pictures, whereas some astonishing pictures lose
significance and become meaningless because of the digital abundance. This is a shame,
because not everyone can take a beautiful picture” (Lucas Abreu, 2016).
(Lucas Abreu’s picture used for a feature about Puerto Rico, Viajar magazine, 2012)
(Lucas Abreu’s photograph used for a feature about Valencia, Viajar magazine, 2013)

42. 42
He stated that the cost of the magazine nowadays is €2,95. In 2010 it was €4,50. “I do not
believe people will spend €2,95 to buy something bad as what Viajar magazine is in today’s
days. They would not buy something that has as bad pictures as what you can find anywhere
on the Internet. Photojournalists that understand with a great extent the travel photography’s
industry cannot buy this nonsense. For sure, print travel magazines have to be selling less
print copies than ever before” (Lucas Abreu, 2016).
Viajar did not use computers to improve some pictures until the beginning of the 90s, when
Adobe Photoshop was created. Their number of photography freelancers has reduced at the
minimum, now that the pictures could be obtained via Internet from any association. This
distorts the image of the magazine and it is no longer considered as ‘unusual’. At present, the
magazine has 227.000 print readers daily, 322.800 online visitors and 1.437.314 friends on
Facebook (Grupo Zeta, 2016). Lucas Abreu has left the travel industry and he is now into
other industries such as gastronomy, working for Madrid’s city council.
(The evolution of Viajar magazine’s cover between 1988 until 2014; Abreu’s collection)

43. 43
But does this mean that almost all travel photographers are leaving the industry by virtue of
the provisions? Is this fact contributing to the deterioration of the print travel magazines in
Spain? Enrique López-Tapia (travel photographer and contributor to more than 20 main travel
magazines in Spain, including Geo, Viajar, Lonely Planet, Viajes National Geographic, Altair,
Siete Leguas, Rutas del Mundo, Descubrir, Condé Nast Traveller, et cetera) said that with the
crisis all publishing houses and magazines took advantage and lowered the prices between 25
and 35%, and in some of them, they reduced it in half (López-Tapia, 2016). “This means that
companies started paying €600 when before was from €1500 or €1000 for a feature or report.
Some ‘normal’ magazines established €300 or less for a feature. And this profit becomes even
more pathetic if we take out the Income tax” (López-Tapia, 2016).
For a travel photographer this system does not make sense because they have to buy their
equipment and travel expenses. At present it is not a good idea to be in the travel photography
business because even travel agencies made it more difficult. With their cutbacks, and in
order to afford a promotional press trip, travel agencies request a publication agreement from
the magazine, which is tough because advertisements come into play. “I can truly say that
now, in Spain, travel photographers are on the path to extinction – you can count them with
your fingers” (López-Tapia, 2016). The main reasons he stopped collaborating with STM was
because travel magazines were alternating national with international photographers, like
Sebastiao Salgado or Steve McCurry, but plenty of the advertisers stopped doing that because
of the crisis’ consequences (López-Tapia, 2016). Geo or Lonely Planet ended buying features
with the crisis and started publishing the same topics published in their international editions.
Other magazines as Viajar or Viajes National Geographic, where he used to work regularly,
decided to impose abusive clauses when billing. You had to relinquish the photos’ copyright
published in the magazine and it was then when he stopped collaborating with them. There
still remain some travel magazines such as Viajeros, Mucho Viajes, Rutas del Mundo or

44. 44
MásViajes, but their price is that poor that it is not even worthy taking your time to publish
(López-Tapia, 2016).
In regard to the future of STM, it is evident that far fewer travel magazines are being sold than
years ago. They receive less advertisement income. Therefore, STM reduced the paper’s price
together with the collaborations. With less trip assignments for photographers, writers and
editors, magazines end up publishing pictures transferred by travel agencies and tourism,
which influences the magazines’ quality (López-Tapia, 2016). Eventually, only magazines
with big editorial boards end up resisting. Magazines with good ideas, design and features
‘succumb’ because they are not able to confront the expenses. Apart from National
Geographic and Geo, as of today, all magazines offer exactly the same. The graphic editor’s
figure has disappeared, and that is noticeable (López-Tapia, 2016).
Samir Husni (expert in magazines publishing) explained this with the conclusion that “texting
is becoming the new typing, reading is becoming the new listening, and nobody is willing to
engage in a conversation any more because everybody is with their digital device” (Husni,
2016). In addition, Mr. Magazine stated that, as an example, the United States have seen new
travel magazines being launched at an average of one per day in the last 10 years. However,
his last words were “We are in the midst of some of the biggest changes in magazines.”
Thus, will print die in the face of digital? All professionals that work in the industry believe in
the same. In the not-so-distant future print travel magazines will disappear. They will
transform into digital and some of them have already done it (López-Tapia, 2016).
Once known the opinion of the experts, the next step is to ask the population, performing the
other primary research method: the survey.

45. 45
Caño (2005) stated that the importance of the travel magazine industry in Spain is
significantly smaller than other countries around the country’s perimeter. On account of this,
the following three charts show why this has happened in Spain and what do population think
about STM.
In answer to the question “Do you read travel magazines?” the results were disclosed in a
chart (see appendix four) that represents the distribution of STM readers in Spain in
accordance with their age in 2016. The readers more interested in such publications are those
between the age of 35 and 44 with 21,5%, followed by those between 45 and 54 with 17,9%
together with those with more than 65 years with 17,6%. The graphic also shows the
disinterest in STM between the age range of 14 and 25. The total amount of the respondents
was 313. Comparing the results above with 1992, it should be noted that today’s readers are
between 35 and 45 years old, whereas in 1992 they were between 20 and 50.
The next question required to request was “What is the principal cause you would not buy a
travel magazine?” and the answers (see appendix five) were used to build a chart that
illustrates the main reasons why people living in Spain are reading fewer print travel
magazines. It should be noted that the cost is the main reason followed by the fact that digital
magazines are cheaper. This survey was performed in Madrid in August 2016. The total
amount of the respondents was 245.
Once knowing the reasons, the next step is to ask people “What is your main reason to buy
and read a travel magazine?” The next pie chart highlights the main reasons to read travel
magazines in Spain (see appendix six). From the chart, it is deduced that the Spanish
population reads magazines, especially to get entertained and learn and get informed. On the
other hand, six per cent of the readers choose magazines as their favourite media. This survey
was performed in August 2016 and the total number of respondents was 226.

46. 46
The previous three charts were arisen after researching about the “Daily average minutes
destined to read travel magazines in Spain between 2000 and 2015” performed by INE
(Spanish National Institute of Statistics) and the “Daily average time dedicated to consuming
different types of media in Spain, in 2015” performed by AIMC. The first graph (see
appendix seven), which demonstrates the evolution of the average time destined daily to read
travel magazines in Spain since 2000 until 2015, shows that between the periods selected, the
average minutes used to read magazines every day in Spain were almost two minutes (1,94
minutes). This study was performed by INE (Spanish National Institute of Statistics) in June
2016 and the total amount of respondents was 12,437.
The second chart (see appendix eight) makes clear which media the Spanish population in
their daily time selected in 2015. It should be pointed out that people living in Spain stay four
hours per day in front of the television; one hour and 45 minutes listening to the radio; less
than 11 minutes reading newspapers and less than three minutes reading a magazine. The
survey was performed by AIMC, 2016. The total amount of respondents was 32,325.
Thanks to this, it was established the consumer behaviour in the same way as the market niche
travel magazines should focus on in greater degree.

47. 47
Conclusion
“This was like being in one of those National Geographic magazines.
We were among the natives now.”
Brandi Salazar
This dissertation looked at the history of travel magazines in Spain in order to predict the
industry’s future. The topic in which this study is dedicated remained unexplored and intact
up to now, and it was beneficial to perform it because there were factors like the clash
between print and digital that have had a frightening impact within the print industry.
There is plenty of free online travel information nowadays that STM have to search for a new
niche. And it is not a secret that print travel magazines in Spain are consistently the fastest
falling types of publication, since publishing houses started searching for digital traffic. Print
is no longer the primary medium. The expense of producing a magazine is related to paper,
circulation costs and the postage, and those are the reasons why publishers are changing their
distribution methods towards the Internet. In addition, publishers save costs by electronic
publishing, delivering a much greater quantity of content.
Furthermore, such increase of the competition forces magazines to create a brand in the new
emerging platforms. The move of advertising revenue to digital is the main trouble faced by
travel magazines currently. Online publishing models substitute print STM. On account of
this, mobile phones and tablets are becoming the dominant platforms of the future with a
flourishing number of consumers. These platforms are now taking advantage of readers’
location, social graphs and other features. Thanks to magazine apps those platforms provide
wider offer and more interactive experience.
In some aspects, travel magazines are becoming insignificant as readers can access similar
content through online blogs, where they have the ability to share their own opinions. Perhaps

48. 48
STM are not well transferred to the Internet because porting the print product directly has
never been successful. Travel magazines use digital platforms to get more circulation, but
unfortunately they offer replica-versions of what they already have in print. However, online
Spanish users are not in the habit of paying for content. In this way, if STM are loosing more
and more readers while attempting to port them to digital, does this mean that there is still a
light for print?
Maybe production values of print such as paper quality and types of content have to be unique
in order to attract readers, especially in an age where the news content is consumed on
websites and social media. Thus, if the STM are struggling, unique niche print products might
find their audience. The secret for travel magazines therefore should be moving with the
generations. In this way, if readers become more digitalised this means that travel magazines
have to start using the same toys generations are using at present. Hence, if applications like
Snapchat or Instagram attract million views and impressions, STM have to adjust to reality in
order to reach the Generation Z or the Millenials.
In addition, the new STM have to move away from the traditional model of travel journalism.
It is not enough now to send a freelancer overseas to have a new adventure and then report it
back. People travel more and more and readers seek for surprising experiences. It will be
unproductive to being focused on holiday destinations or on what is considered as ‘typical’
through the eyes of the audience. Instead, it could be good idea writing about unpredicted
places or undiscovered cultures from different angles and with different tools.
It was seen that most of the still existing travel magazines in Spain offer nearly the same,
apart from a few of them that are moving in the opposite direction as the case of Altair, which
moved into digital first and it will now return into print. As seen per Ortín (2016), the
independent travel magazine is finding its new way to market, selling only in specialised

49. 49
bookshops for a solvent niche, without advertisements and only based on the readers’ interests.
This might suggest that as long as print and digital embrace one another, a travel magazine in
Spain could succeed in the near future.

50. 50
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55. 55
Appendices
Appendix one:
A table showing all print travel magazines created in Spain between 1978 and 2008 (built
from Mariano Belenguer Jané’s book)
DATE MAGAZINE
1978
Viajar
Atlas
1981
Paisajes
y
Gentes
1983
Aventura
1984
Mundo
Aventura
Los
Aventureros
1986
Aire
Libre
1987
Geo:
Grandes
reportajes
Turismo
Hoy
Gente
y
Viajes
(later
on
Grandes
Viajes)
1988
Guía
de
viajes
y
vacaciones
1989
Rutas
del
Mundo
1991
Viajeros:
por
tierra,
mar
y
aire
Altair
1993
Turismo
Aventura
1994
Lejos:
Viajes
y
arte
de
vivir
1995
Grandes
Espacios
1996
Lo
Mejor
de
las
Autonomías
1997
National
Geographic
(in
Spanish)
Turismo
Rural
Descobrir
Catalunya
Cartográfica
1998
Península
Siete
Leguas
1999
deViajes
Viajes
(Traveler
by
National
Geographic)
2002
Viajes
por
Excelencia
El
mundo
de
los
Pirineos

56. 56
2003
Lunas
de
Miel
y
otros
viajes
para
2
2004
Caminar,
viajes,
senderismo
y
naturaleza
2005
NT
Grandes
Viajes
Mucho
Viaje
y
Masnatura
2006
Conocer
Navarra
España
Desconocida
Viajes
Insólitos
2007
Condé
Nast
Traveler
Lonely
Planet
2008
Qtravel

57. 57
Appendix two:
A table showing the average magazine’s space in 2000 by Mariano Belenguer Jané at the
University of Seville)
Altair
Gente
y
Viajes
16
Geo
Rutas
del
Mundo
Tiempo
de
Aventura
Tiempo
de
Viajar
Average
%
Graphic
space
31,70%
41,60%
51%
46,30%
42.7%
38,60%
41,98
Advertisement
space
11,70%
21,70%
20,80%
16,00%
15,80%
23,60%
18,26
Text
and
blank
56,60%
36,70%
28,20%
37,70%
41,50%
37,80%
39,75
Total
space
73.769cm²
70.322cm²
72.299cm²
58.355cm²
46.032cm²
83.088cm²

58. 58
Appendix three:
Number of print copies sold by the Spanish version of National Geographic in Spain, built
from Bryan Christy’s investigation in National Geographic Society
Year
Print
copies
sold
1998
3.506.952
1999
3.219.396
2000
2.794.740
2001
2.498.880
2002
2.452.524
2003
2.285.112
2004
2.333.904
2005
2.270.100
2006
2.354.940
2007
2.357.736
2008
2.143.984
2009
2.098.236
2010
2.074.635
2011
2.025.354
2012
1.899.431
2013
1.857.727
2014
1.759.138
2015
1.718.592

59. 59
Appendix four:
Distribution of travel magazine readers in Spain by their age, personal survey made in August
2016
6,9
6,5
16,5
21,5
17,9
13,2
17,6
0
5
10
15
20
25
14-­‐19
20-­‐24
25-­‐34
35-­‐44
45-­‐54
55-­‐64
65+
Percentage
313
respondents
in
all
Spain
Distribution
of
travel
magazine
readers
in
Spain
by
their
age
(2016)

60. 60
Appendix five:
Reasons for reading fewer print travel magazines in Spain, personal survey made in August
2016
73
64
44
31
27
6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Cost
Digital
magazines
are
cheaper
Blogs
are
more
interesting
Irrelevant
issue
Prefer
another
media
Magazines
are
not
environmentally
friendly
Number
of
respondents
245
respondents
from
Madrid,
Spain
Reasons
for
reading
fewer
print
travel
magazines
in
Spain
as
of
August
2016

61. 61
Appendix six:
Main reasons to read travel magazines in Spain, personal survey made in August 2016
29%
29%
23%
13%
6%
Main
reasons
to
read
travel
magazines
in
Spain,
2016
Entertain
Learn
and
get
informed
Find
something
unique
Fantasize
and
dream
Favourite
media

62. 62
Appendix seven:
Daily average minutes destined to read travel magazines in Spain between 2000 and 2015
(a survey made by INE, 2016)
2,8
2,7
2,4
2,2
2,4
2
1,9
1,7
2
1,9
1,8
1,8
1,6
1,4
1,3
1,2
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Minutes
12,437
respondents
from
Spain
(study
made
by
INE,
2016)
Daily
average
minutes
destined
to
read
travel
magazines
in
Spain
between
2000
and
2015

63. 63
Appendix eight:
Average daily time dedicated to consuming different types of media in Spain in 2015
(a survey made by AIMC in 2016)
237,7
105,1
10,5
2,4
1,4
1
0
50
100
150
200
250
TV
Radio
Newspapers
Magazines
Weekly
mags
Monthly
mags
Minutes
32,325
respondents
from
Spain
(study
made
by
AIMC,
2016
Average
daily
time
dedicated
to
consuming
different
types
of
media
in
Spain,
in
2015

64. 64
Appendix nine:
A table showing the average magazine’s space in 2015 by Dianov, G. and Belenguer, Mariano
at the University of Seville
Altair
Gente
y
Viajes
16
Geo
Rutas
del
Mundo
Tiempo
de
Aventura
Tiempo
de
Viajar
Average
%
Graphic
space
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
56,10%
69,90%
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
63
Advertisement
space
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
7,80%
13,40%
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
10,6
Text
and
blank
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
36,10%
16,70%
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
26,4
Total
space
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
72.299cm²
58.355cm²
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐
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