Gemini Media acquires Group Tour Media

Jun 16, 2022

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan ⁠— Gemini Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hour Media, announced today that it has acquired Group Tour Media, publisher of Group Tour Magazine, Youth Travel Planner Magazine, Heritage & History, Urban St. Magazine, and Pike Magazine. The portfolio includes a quarterly publication serving a national audience of group tour planners, as well as related custom publications, most notably Circle Michigan. 

“We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to acquire another leading brand in the tourism space along with their regional consumer titles,” John Balardo, president of Hour Media, said. “With our recent acquisition of Meetings + Events publications and our significant presence in West Michigan, this acquisition is very synergistic.”

“I am so pleased to have partnered with Gemini as our two companies are so beautifully aligned,” Elly DeVries, publisher of Group Tour Media, said. “It is with great confidence that Gemini Media will be able to nurture the brands that our team has worked so hard to build as they continue to strive for excellence in the industry. Moving into the next chapter of my life, I leave with bittersweet emotions as I have loved this industry and the many friends I have made while here.” 

Gemini Media and Hour Media will focus their considerable resources to enhance client service, reader experience, and product distribution of these brands. Advisory services for Group Tour Media were exclusively provided by Jeff Gruenhut of Grimes, McGovern & Associates.

Hour Media and its related entities are multi-media companies that publish and produce more than 150 magazines and custom titles, 40 consumer websites, and 70 shows and events throughout the United States. Hour Media Group is the largest publisher of city and regional magazines in the country. The company has offices in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio, with more than 300 employees across the country.