How the New York Times Travel Section Makes its ‘Places to Go’ List
Photo Credit: A selection from The New York Times' 'Places to Go 2014' package. New York Times
Skift Take
The Times' list is a bellwether for consumer behavior for the coming year. And as other travel publications are pulling back on big, ambitious features, the Times is placing bigger bets on its editorial expertise.
Even if the New York Times' Sunday travel section wasn't one of the few remaining dedicated travel sections left in U.S. newspapers, what it chooses to write about would still draw attention. From the paper's physical distribution network to its digital might, a mention in the Times can put a destination, hotel, tour, or travel app on the map.
It's annual 'Places to Go' has become the bucket list of bucket lists. Last year's list of 46 Places to Go in 2013 was one of the Times most popular interactive features in a year when the Times splashed out big on multimedia features. Other publications do top destinations packages (we look at the trends driving this year's lists here), but few have resources to call on that can compete with the Times.
The 2014 "Places to Go" package of 52 destinations will be published online later today (Ed's Note: it is live now) and appear in the Sunday edition of the paper, where it will take over the entire travel section. Like the average Am
