Black Tomato and Travel + Leisure to offer ‘editorially crafted’ holidays

Luxury OTA Black Tomato has partnered with American lifestyle magazine Travel + Leisure (T+L) to offer “editorially crafted” holidays.

Luxury OTA Black Tomato has partnered with American lifestyle magazine Travel + Leisure (T+L) to offer “editorially crafted” holidays.

Travel + Leisure Journeys will comprise a set of 20 editorially-crafted trips, which from September will feature across print and online and will be bookable through Black Tomato’s worldwide network.

The move follows similar initiatives by other travel firms to place their product in their own “lifestyle” coverage.

Home sharing start-up Onefinestay produces a lifestyle magazine called Guestbook, along with a blog, Hilton launched a biannual magazine last year. Rather than taking the traditional brochure format, the publications are designed to subtly inspire their readers.

Outside of the industry the move towards producing in-house editorial content is apparent too – fashion brands ASOS and Net-a-Porter have invested in the marketing technique in recent years.

The deal with Black Tomato is the first of its kind for T+L, offering its eight million plus audience the ability to go on trips that the editors of the franchise have designed.

The holidays range in length and cover close-to-home and far-flung destinations including Croatia, Cuba, Iceland, India, Japan, Morocco, Myanmar, Oman, Spain, Tennessee and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

T+L vice president and publisher, Jay Meyer, said: “We see tremendous potential in experiential travel and Black Tomato brings exceptional client service, deep knowledge, and a strong digital presence to Travel + Leisure Journeys, making them an ideal partner.”

T+L editor, Nathan Lump, added: “What sets Travel + Leisure Journeys apart is that all the itineraries are truly custom to us – this is not a white labelled product.”

Black Tomato co-founder, Tom Marchant, said: “We’ve been skilfully crafting bespoke vacations for our globally based clients for over a decade, and it’s these years of experience that have helped us to understand and perfect the formula for creating enriching and memorable travel experiences that inspire and challenge.

“Throughout this collaboration we’ve enjoyed sharing and working on ideas with the T+L team, and we’re greatly looking forward to this collective vision and relationship developing furthermore.”