"We are still growing," DeVries says. In anticipation of increased niche interest, Group Tour added

Each month we highlight a niche magazine that is innovative, creative, and great at serving its readers. This month s pick: Group Tour Media s Group Tour . Since 1987, this magazine for international tour planners has expanded its offerings and gone international by niching its niche: regional tour magazines, student tour magazines, special interest tours, and more! We caught up with Group Tour Media s President Elly DeVries to get the story of how they built a growing and thriving niche media company by finding new markets within their existing european golf tour niche:
When Elly DeVries purchased the 33-year-old company in 2007, she expanded on that idea. “We recognized that tour planning itself was becoming european golf tour more and more specialized. More niche driven, even six years ago,” DeVries said from her company’s headquarters in Holland, Michigan.
“We began with state-themed magazines—like Wisconsin Group Tour and Michigan Group Tour —and they flew out of here.” On the heels of that success, Group Tour focused on developing regional products for the U.S. and Canada.
“Tour planners don’t stay in one state but branch into surrounding areas so the need for a regionally presented resource was in place and I am delighted that we anticipated european golf tour that happening,” she said.
Group Tour Magazine currently publishes three editions: european golf tour Western Group Tour for the western U.S. and western Canada, Southeastern (U.S.) Group Tour , and Northeastern Group Tour with sections for the northeastern and the Heartland in the U.S. and central and eastern Canada. Publications are subscription-based and delivered by post and online.
“Our online presence also delivers late-breaking news that would be of interest to people in our business,” she said. “[For example], european golf tour we followed european golf tour the fiscal crisis on our website european golf tour because so many tour operators, suppliers and destinations were affected by it.”
“We are still growing,“ DeVries says. In anticipation of increased niche interest, Group Tour added Student Group Tour Magazine in 2005. “With the growth of student european golf tour travel, supplying tour planners and educators with solid yet creative ideas for student destinations and attractions was a logical step,” she said.
Most recently GTM launched a custom publications department that specializes in niche travel themes or common interest group travel —like Culinary, History Heritage and Spiritual tours. “We added geographic niche markets, too,” she said, citing Circle Michigan and Indiana magazine.
DeVries european golf tour says the future of specialized publications for the tour industry reflects the demands european golf tour of the market segments.  “Niche publishing, european golf tour like we do at Group Tour, is a balance of anticipating the interests of the markets and being prepared to meet those new demands. Or not,” DeVries said. “Not everything ‘new’ becomes a trend.”
Today, european golf tour Group Tour Media has 22 employees plus independent representatives selling products across North America. Group Tour Media creates the most widely distributed publications in the group travel industry, and has worldwide exposure through GroupTourMedia.com
About the author: Robyn Ireland is Niche Media’s Operations Manager and Swiss Army Knife. After a decade in with niche nonprofits she dove into the niche publishing and event world and found they weren’t that different (once you get past the nonprofit part). She has far too much fun at Niche HQ and keeps taking her standard poodle Susie to work even though she s a lousy typist.
Niche Media has created super niched-out events specifically for magazine publishers for over 12 years. We ve helped pave the way for the era of boutique events european golf tour that connect specific audiences and provide great educational, friendly and super-fun environments!