JP Mangalindan writes for The Juggernaut about how travel industry publication Skift thrived during the pandemic.
Mangalindan writes, “The once-bustling global tourism industry, as the world once understood it, had irrevocably changed, hemorrhaging as much as $1.2 trillion in 2020 — and its effects were widespread. Travel industry news and information outlets were hit particularly hard, as companies scaled back their travel ad budgets.
“Skift, a travel industry publication geared towards industry professionals, was among the collateral damage. Founded and funded initially by seasoned media operator Rafat Ali in 2012, the business-to-business (B2B) media site — a prolific purveyor of industry news and reports, and hosts podcasts and events — had become an unlikely success story, buoyed by major advertisers like Accenture, Oracle and Accor, and the site’s insistence in 2013 on charging a wide swath of clients like Marriott, Hilton, Expedia, Delta and United juicy subscription fees for its research reports at a time when others were giving content away for free on the web.
“Skift was on track to hit $18 million in revenues in 2020, and had tailwinds behind it to continue expanding its staff and ancillary businesses.”
Read more here.
