Ex-OK! editor in travel launch with EMAP Elan

EMAP Elan and former editor of OK! magazine Sharon Ring are launching a travel business brand called Escape Routes, which will include a magazine, Website and holiday booking service.

The new product, which launches in September, is aimed at women, and will feature destination guides, travel advice, beauty and fashion. It will be edited by Ring, who left OK! magazine last year.

Readers will be able to book their holidays by phone or on the Website, which will be created in partnership with EMAP online.

EMAP is planning to turn Escape Routes into a perfect-bound monthly from April next year, and is aiming for a settledown circulation of between 50,000 and 70,000. It will launch two pilot issues in September and January to capitalise on the peak holiday season.

Escape Routes publisher Jo McCarthy says: “There has been a shift in attitude towards travel and leisure. Never before has travel been so affordable.”

The new brand is one of the most adventurous forays yet by a magazine company into e-commerce. Hearst Corporation, which owns Cosmopolitan, is also gearing up for greater online activity. It launched a similar venture in the US – brandwise.com – earlier this year.