Travel in print - Edition 01
Take a look at three travel publications that are making waves in the print world.
Behind the global airport newsstands lie a range of creative, researched and passionate projects in print focused on the subject of travel. With popular titles such as ‘Condé Nast Traveller’ and ‘Travel + Leisure’ bringing travel to the mainstream, we also have independent creators making their own marks in this space. I wanted to highlight a few this month that could be your next read as you board your next flight. All of the three publications listed have one shared material feature in common, they’re all in newspaper format.
Buckle in, let’s get started.
Direction of Travel
‘Direction of Travel’ is all about air travel and if you’re an avid traveller, interested in airline ephemera or just want to explore historic points in the airline industry, this one is for you.
The magazine is produced in glorious newsprint and continues to break new ground. Their sixth volume focuses on Africa and showcases “a new size with new maps and new stories,” the website notes. “Direction of Travel is a project that explores the culture of flying in print and online, in all its forms, from the simplicity of a child throwing a paper airplane in a park to the ways airports shape the cities we call home. Told through in-depth articles, photography, graphic design, and an obsession with airline maps. We are a love letter to flying.”
Created by Christian Nolle, the project continues to expand into sub-projects with recent additions including ‘Tickets to Everywhere’, an interactive exploration into airline travel agencies and the global networks they served, plus many others. You can see Christian’s latest projects here.
You can see all the volumes available for purchase on their website here.
Directions magazine by Design Hotels
“After more than 20 years of publication, Directions magazine is taking a new direction—Designed to Discover.” This new re-design by Design Hotels, a website that offers over 300 independent hotels available across the world, is a step into a more decisive offering.
“This light new format is our invitation for you to make the magazine yours,” they write on LinkedIn. “Read it, fold it, toss it in your bag, and carry it with you. Circle the galleries you hope to hit in Medellín, dog-ear the vintage shopping guide, and return to these pages as you plan your next adventure. With this new format comes a new cadence: The magazine will now arrive biannually, bringing you more destinations, voices, and discoveries than ever before.”
To coincide with the change in print, Design Hotels are also adapting their online blog. “This marks a change to our digital landscape as well. To bring our editorial worlds closer together, we’re renaming our much-loved online Journal as Directions.”
The new magazine ‘Directions’ can be found in the lobbies and guest rooms of their hotels around the world.
Hotels Above Par
Hotels Above Par (HAP) is a digital and print magazine featuring above-par boutique hotels. Founded by Brandon Berkson in 2020, the HAP brand has written over 600 hotel reviews across over 45 team members. HAP is “Your stylish, well-traveled friend in the world of boutique hotels”, as they note on their website.
“A magazine takes up space in your life in a way a tab never does,” Brandon writes on his Substack. This quote coincides with the news that the Hotels Above Par Newsstand has opened up this month at LA’s Palihouse West Hollywood. Open until May 29th, the newsstand is “built around our love for independent media and the joy of analog,” the company notes on LinkedIn. “The pop-up brings together our own newspaper and magazine alongside a hand-picked selection of titles we admire–Monocle, Yolo Journal, Italy Segreta, and Dossier, among them. Stop by, grab a coffee, take your time.”
The HAP quarterly newspaper is now available, as noted on Instagram, in “members clubs, bookstores, hotels, and other great locations across the USA. You can also purchase an individual copy—or subscribe to it yearly or quarterly—online through our website store.”
I’m looking to make the travel magazine round-up a regular edition to the Overleaf newsletter. If you run a travel or hospitality publication please drop me a line or drop a comment and let’s get you into the next one.
Happy reading!
Stuart :)