Successful Meetings' parent company, Northstar Travel Media, today announced the acquisition of PhoCusWright Inc. PhoCusWright provides research on the travel and hospitality industries to assist with strategic thinking and decision-making, and its core offerings include the annual PhoCusWright Conference, which brings together travel industry leaders from around the world to meet with out-of-the-box thinkers in an engaging, spirited environment. PhoCusWright research is available via subscriptions and custom research on market segments, trends, and geographies.
“The addition of PhoCusWright provides Northstar with leadership in the fastest-growing segment of travel, tourism, and hospitality: the convergence of digital technology and the travel industry,” says Thomas Kemp, chairman and CEO of Northstar Travel Media. “We’re very pleased that Philip [Wolf, founder of PhoCusWright] and his talented team will be working in partnership with us to grow PhoCusWright’s event and research business through marketing and content synergies with Northstar.”
“After 17 years at the helm,” says Wolf, “joining Northstar represents an ideal next step. Integrated smart marketing, targeted investments, and more manpower will help us achieve significant new things for our clients.”
Wolf, a frequent speaker on the impact of technology on the travel industry, will continue as chairman of PhoCusWright Inc. The company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Northstar Travel Media LLC; terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
“We are actively investing in our business through organic initiatives and acquisitions that strengthen our position in core markets,” says Kemp. “PhoCusWright is strategically important to Northstar, particularly in growing proprietary paid information and face-to-face events.”
In addition to Successful Meetings, Northstar Travel Media owns Travel Weekly, Business Travel News, Incentive,Meetings & Conventions, MeetingNews, Procurement.travel, and TravelAge West. The company’s electronic directories include Travel Weekly’s Hotel & Travel Index, OfficialCruiseGuide.com, and M&C Facilities Search; online subscription resources include The Beat, Travel42, Weissmann Reports, STAR Service Online, Intelliguide Corporate and BTP24; and face-to-face events include Successful Meetings Universities, CruiseWorld2011, Home-Based Travel Agents Shows, LeisureWorld2011, M&C InterAct, TAW ExecConnect, The Beat Live, and the Travel Weekly Leadership Forums. Northstar Travel Media is based in Secaucus, NJ.
This is Northstar’s fifth acquisition in the last 18 months. Last year the company acquired the Nielsen Travel Group, the Home-Based Travel Agent trade shows, and ProMedia.Travel; earlier this year, it acquired travel marketing information site LuxuryTravel 360.