Anniversary party | The magazine ‘Viajar’ celebrates its 45 years

2023-06-29 00:38:51

“Since its launch in those years of transition, ‘Travel’ has accompanied the Spanish, to Spanish society, which has modernized and opened up to the world. It has served as a guide for those who consider traveling to be a unique and enriching experience, which helps to understand the peoples and their cultures much better,” said Javier Moll, president of the Prensa Ibérica group, when glossing in his speech the 45-year history of the post.

The magazine celebrated its 45th anniversary with an emotional evening outdoors in the elegant Palace of the Dukes of Pastrana, on Madrid’s Paseo de la Habana, sponsored by the Dominican Republic, Jeep, Nautalia and Oliva Nova. The gala was attended by authorities, personalities from the world of travel and culture, managers of brands that collaborate with the publication and a host of stalwarts who have accompanied the magazine during its nearly half-century history. Among them, the actresses Megan Montaner, Cecilia Gessa and Montse Peidro, the comedians Lara Palma and Carlos Latre, the influencers Javier de Miguel and Matías Ferreira, the singer Marilia, from Ella baila sola, or the actor Jorge Torres.

The journalist Pilar García Muñiz welcomed the attendees and introduced the event, which began with the intervention of Javier Moll followed by the director of the magazine ‘Viajar’, Josep María Palau.

The president of the Prensa Ibérica group stressed that “there is a desire to travel”. And he added: “We are probably at the gates of one of the best years for tourism, a vital sector for our economy that has already exceeded the pre-pandemic figures in spending and overnight stays. The recovery of the sector steps on the accelerator”. “Traveling is in fashion and so is reading about travel,” said Javier Moll, who alluded to the more than 425,000 readers he accumulates, according to the EGM made public yesterday, 64% more than in the same period last year; In addition, the latest report from GFK, the digital audience benchmark, attributes more than 600,000 unique users on the Internet to ‘Travel’. Some figures that led Moll to conclude that “the 45th anniversary of ‘Viajar’ attests to its journalistic quality and invites us to think that it has a great future ahead of it”.

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The magazine ‘Travel’ celebrates 45 years.

After his words, attendees were able to enjoy the ‘Viajar’ Universe in a video about the 45 years of the magazine, which preceded the words of its director, Josep María Palau, for whom ‘Viajar’ “is the house of the word, the a place where travelers, experts or amateurs, meet to tell stories brought from all over the world. and this is so for a long time, since that year in which Spain embraced the Constitution; perhaps that is why ‘Travel’ has also contributed so much to democratizing travel from its pages”.

Palau also assured that ‘Viajar’ would not be what it is today without the work that great directors have done over these 45 years, “such as Luis Carandell, Soledad Puértolas or Mariano López”, and without “the team that works in the magazine day by day and always with the support of Prensa Ibérica, which believes in the adventure of traveling, and that is the most important thing for us”.

Next, the attendees enjoyed a cocktail offered by Vilaplana catering and the live performance of El Chelista, by DJ Eloy Bustos, as well as various gastronomic proposals with different flavors from around the world, such as Argentinean empanadillas from Tita from Buenos Aires, Spanish tortillas from La Martinuca, croquettes from Solo de Croquetas, hamburgers from Nugu Burger, bluefin tuna from Fuentes prepared by a sushiman, paellas from Paellitas Tradición and chilaquiles from Malacopa. They were also able to take home a souvenir of the evening thanks to a 360º photo booth by Goodbye, Rita.

The dean of Spanish travel magazines published its first issue 45 years ago now. Her story is linked to a mythical publication of the Transition: ‘Notebooks for Dialogue’. At the end of 1977, ‘Cuadernos para el Diálogo’, which had played a key role in opposing Francoism and promoting the transition, decided to publish what would be the first Spanish travel magazine: ‘Viajar’. The writer and journalist Luis Carandell, together with the manager of the publishing company of ‘Cuadernos para el Diálogo’ Javier Gómez Navarro, who would later become a minister and would have tourism among his responsibilities, were in charge of illuminating the project.

In 1978 the first issue of VIAJAR appeared on newsstands, which has distinguished itself since its origins for the quality of its texts and images, and for the prestige of its regular collaborators. In 1981, the FITUR fair was born, an idea promoted by the ‘Viajar’ staff that crystallized in a project approved by the Secretary of State for Tourism, the National Foreign Tourism Offices in Spain and the newly born Madrid Trade Fair Institution, Ifema. . That same year the header became part of Grupo Zeta, and in 2005 the magazine launched its digital edition. In April 2019, ‘Viajar’ became part of the Prensa Ibérica group, a new house in which it has completed its more than 500 issues. From its new home, ‘Viajar’, the first Spanish travel magazine, continues to bet on adventures, dreams and the magic of discovering new places.

Each month it offers among its pages reports of habitual destinations or secret corners of the world, with precise, updated and complete information. In addition, the publication has the collaboration of several renowned firms related to the world of travel, from unique destinations, luxury hotels, family trips, couples or friends, to opinions or gastronomic routes. ‘Viajar’ is a quality magazine for a demanding public and a reference publication for tourism professionals. In its online version, www.revistaviajar.es It has more than one million unique users, with two million followers on social networks and is the Spanish-language travel magazine with the most followers on Facebook worldwide, 1.7 million.