Toronto Star
Newspapers Ltd. and The Rider
Group have entered into partnership to develop and operate the
Canadian travel site specializing in the planning and booking of leisure
travel and unmanaged business travel.
Bruce Annan, president of electronic media for the Torstar Media Group
commented, “Our proven ability to use all of our media properties to
attract large numbers of people to quality Web sites and our
affiliations with the Canadian travel industry makes this business a
natural for us.”
In the Greater Toronto Area newspaper market, The Toronto Star retains
just over 46 percent of the total travel advertising business.
“The Rider Group has always been an entrepreneurial organization,
particularly in the Canadian travel industry. We have strong
relationships which will allow us to better gather and filter travel
information for consumers,” says Mark Rider, president of The Rider
Group.
When launched in the fourth quarter of this year, the site will offer
consumers advanced tools for planning and booking vacation packages and
flights.
Torstar Corp.’s operations include the Torstar Daily Newspaper
Group, including the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper, the
Hamilton Spectator, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Record; Metroland
Printing, Publishing & Distributing; Harlequin Enterprises, the world’s
largest publisher of series romance fiction; the Interactive Media
Division, which includes Torstar’s approximately 20 Web sites, Toronto
Star Television and a portfolio of Internet-related investments; and
approximately a 41 percent interest in ITI Education, Canada’s leading
postgraduate information technology education institution.