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on my mind ❖ jeff gayduk<br />
On My Mind<br />
It’s Showtime!<br />
❖ jeff gayduk<br />
Vol. 22, No. 2 April 2012<br />
Editorial & Advertising Office<br />
621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406<br />
Willowbrook, IL 60527<br />
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652<br />
info@ptmgroups.com<br />
Publisher – Jeffrey Gayduk<br />
jeff@ptmgroups.com<br />
Managing Editor – Randy Mink<br />
randy@ptmgroups.com<br />
Welcome to <strong>the</strong> annual <strong>the</strong>ater<br />
issue of <strong>Leisure</strong> <strong>Group</strong> <strong>Travel</strong>, our<br />
showcase of live entertainment across<br />
<strong>the</strong> United States.<br />
You can’t cover <strong>the</strong>ater and not<br />
include New York! As Randy Mink<br />
articulates in “Broadway Boom” (pg. 52),<br />
from Spider-Man to Blue Man, <strong>the</strong>re’s<br />
lots new on <strong>the</strong> Big Apple <strong>the</strong>ater scene.<br />
<strong>Travel</strong>ing west on I-78 opens up a<br />
whole world of <strong>the</strong>atrical possibilities in<br />
Pennsylvania – dinner shows, big-time<br />
concert halls and historical venues.<br />
Newcomer Coley Nelson covers eight<br />
must-see <strong>the</strong>aters in “Curtain Call,”<br />
page 46.<br />
This issue also has a strong international<br />
flair, with two of my favorite destinations<br />
– Costa Rica (Lance Harrell,<br />
pg. 18) and Switzerland (Don Heimburger,<br />
pg. 21). Though separated by 5,800<br />
miles, <strong>the</strong> commonality between <strong>the</strong> two<br />
is <strong>the</strong>ir natural beauty and commitment<br />
to environmental tourism.<br />
We are always trying to make<br />
<strong>Leisure</strong> <strong>Group</strong> <strong>Travel</strong> <strong>the</strong> most readable<br />
publication in <strong>the</strong> group travel market.<br />
We continue to roll out design and<br />
content changes to fur<strong>the</strong>r your reading<br />
enjoyment. Wider columns, bigger<br />
pictures and a more readable font are<br />
just a few recent enhancements. These<br />
are done within <strong>the</strong> context of a trade<br />
magazine as we strive to focus on <strong>the</strong><br />
written word, understanding it’s <strong>the</strong> most<br />
important element of a good magazine.<br />
I have seen o<strong>the</strong>r magazines take redesigns<br />
to excess by removing complete<br />
editorial sections for ginormous photos.<br />
That’s awesome…if you’re Vogue, but<br />
readers tell us that <strong>the</strong>y like this magazine<br />
for <strong>the</strong> great travel ideas our editorial<br />
team digs up, not extra large pictures of<br />
seafood.<br />
onlIne – AlWAyS GroWInG<br />
At press-time we are flipping <strong>the</strong> switch<br />
on <strong>the</strong> latest version of our uber-cool<br />
directory search engine, <strong>Group</strong><strong>Travel</strong>-<br />
Directory.com. Version 5 takes <strong>the</strong> art<br />
of search to a new level where you can<br />
plan a complete group vacation online.<br />
The site is comprehensive without being<br />
daunting. Big maps help you zero in on<br />
geographic regions. Easy search bars<br />
help refine look-ups. Browse videos,<br />
photo galleries and supplier deals in a<br />
new “<strong>Group</strong>s Wanted” section.<br />
Our new TourItineraries.com website<br />
is growing nicely. Already with 250+ fresh<br />
itineraries for your group, by summer’s<br />
publishing of this magazine’s fifth annual<br />
Itinerary Planning Guide we’ll have over<br />
500 posted.<br />
Not to be outdone, our flagship<br />
website, <strong>Leisure</strong><strong>Group</strong><strong>Travel</strong>.com, will<br />
debut a new look in May. It’s <strong>the</strong> most<br />
visited magazine site in group travel<br />
according to Compete.com, driving 2.5<br />
times as many visitors per month as our<br />
nearest competitor.<br />
We’ve been doing online “right” for a<br />
long time. I’m proud of our accomplishments,<br />
and what’s to come.<br />
Enjoy <strong>the</strong> show!<br />
Jeffrey Gayduk, Publisher<br />
jeff@ptmgroups.com<br />
Senior Editor – Dave Bodle<br />
dave@ptmgroups.com<br />
Director, Design & Production – Robert Wyszkowski<br />
rob@ptmgroups.com<br />
Regional Business Development Managers<br />
Illinois – Jim McCurdy<br />
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652<br />
jim@ptmgroups.com<br />
Nor<strong>the</strong>ast &<br />
Eastern Midwest/Canada – Harry Peck<br />
P 330.830.4880 • F 630.794.0652<br />
harry@ptmgroups.com<br />
Mid Atlantic – Ellen Klesta<br />
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652<br />
ellen@ptmgroups.com<br />
Sou<strong>the</strong>ast/West Coast – Cheryl Rash<br />
P 563.613.3068 • F 815.225.5274<br />
cheryl@ptmgroups.com<br />
Sou<strong>the</strong>rn – Dolores Ridout<br />
P/F 281.762.9546<br />
dolores@ptmgroups.com<br />
Florida & Caribbean – Evelyn Stetler<br />
P 321.235.6002 • F 321.235.6094<br />
evelyn@ptmgroups.com<br />
The publisher accepts unsolicited editorial matter, as well as advertising, but assumes no<br />
responsi bility for statements made by advertisers or contributors. Every effort is made to<br />
ensure <strong>the</strong> accuracy of <strong>the</strong> information published, but <strong>the</strong> publisher makes no warranty that<br />
listings are free of error. The publisher is not responsible for <strong>the</strong> return of unsolicited photos,<br />
slides or manuscripts.<br />
<strong>Leisure</strong> <strong>Group</strong> <strong>Travel</strong> (ISSN-1531-1406) is published<br />
bi-monthly by Premier Tourism Marketing, Inc. 621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406,<br />
Willowbrook, IL 60527. The magazine is distributed free of charge to<br />
qualified tour operators, travel agents, group leaders, bank travel clubs and<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r travel organizations. O<strong>the</strong>r travel-related suppliers may sub scribe at <strong>the</strong><br />
reduced rate of $12.00 per year. The regular sub scrip tion price for all o<strong>the</strong>rs is<br />
$18.00 per year. Single copies are $4.95 each.<br />
Send Address Change to:<br />
Premier Tourism Marketing, Inc.<br />
P.O. Box 609, Palos Heights, IL 60463<br />
A<br />
publication<br />
All rights reserved. Materials may not be reproduced in any<br />
form without written permission of <strong>the</strong> publisher.<br />
6 April 2012 <strong>Leisure</strong><strong>Group</strong><strong>Travel</strong>.com
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