Elite Traveler is now on the iPad
Private jet lifestyle magazine Elite Traveler has been busy in the past few years launching various print publications worldwide, but has recently made its first step into the mobile arena with an iPad and iPhone application.
The Elite Traveler apps allow consumers to download the entire magazine in a digital format for free. In addition, the iPad edition will feature the Elite Traveler City Guides which have been successful on the brand’s Web site since their launch in January.
“Having a global readership of ultra-high net-worth consumers who make 41 trips per year, it means that they are accessing our content from different parts of the world and different devices,” said David Gollan, president and editor in chief of Elite Traveler, New York.
“As we know, they use our content to make buying decisions [and] having an iPad app makes sense as we want our content to be easily available wherever in the world they happen to be and on whatever device,” he said.
Elite Traveler publishes the original magazine six times a year, which reaches more than 630,000 readers who have an average household income of $5.3 million, per the company.
The Elite Traveler mobile app offers consumers a digital subscription to the print magazine.
Each issue of the print magazine is uploaded onto the app, and all of the pages can be digitally flipped through and read on a consumer’s mobile device.
The Elite Traveler consists of articles about luxury travel, such as “Berlin and Munich’s best suites” and “14 days in Turkey by private jet.”
The city guides used to be solely available on http://www.elitetraveler.com and were available to download and print for a person who was traveling in an area of limited Internet access.
By placing these city guides on the app, Elite Traveler has made the guides much more accessible to affluent travelers who generally look at the guides when they are on their way to a destination or at the destination itself.
The guides contain information such as where to stay, dine and be pampered along with what to during the day, night and featured events.
There is also a shopping guide and information for all of the marinas, private jet terminals and other exclusive transportation.
Unique to the Elite Traveler app is contact information along with a general manager’s name for nearly every location, hotel, restaurant or service listed in the city guides.
The app will include up to 150-200 city destinations by the end of next year, according to Mr. Gollan.
The Elite Traveler app is available for free in Apple’s App Store, while each issue of Elite Traveler is $50 when bought separately.
Elite Traveler’s app competes with the Condé Nast Traveler app for affluent travelers. In terms of print, the Elite Traveler competes with The Private Journey magazine for readership in private jet terminals.
“Our goal is that wherever our readers want to access our information, we have it there for them,” Mr. Gollan said.
Elite Traveler has uploaded its archives onto the app
Super segments
Elite Traveler has been busy in the past few years.
The brand, which is currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary, has grown to encompass six print publications along with a Web site and the mobile app.
In the September/October issue, Elite Traveler’s advertisers include Swiss watchmaker Patek Phillippe, lifestyle brand Ralph Lauren, Embraer executive jets and jeweler Cartier.
In addition, the brand produces the Elite Traveler Superyachts, a superyacht lifestyle magazine three times a year.
The company launched the Elite Traveler Asia this past June, which contains more local information in terms of the getaways section and other regional-specific information such as the phone numbers and store locations in the advertisements.
Elite Traveler also produces two biannual regional publications for the Eastern United States, Western United States and Europe that contain weekend getaways plans.
The publisher also creates and distributes an annual hotels, resorts and spas issue along with a yearly printed Elite Traveler Watch Guide.
“The unique point is the content,” Mr. Gollan said. “Nobody else, on the Web or in print, is providing content about top suites, top tour guides, names of store managers and other VIP access information.
“Over 90 percent of the readers of our print magazine say they find content that they can’t find anywhere else,” he said.
“Because we have unique content our readers find useful, our goal is to make it available to them whenever they want it, however they want it.”
Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York