Natalia Thomson takes hot seat on travel trade magazine, Southern African Tourism Update

Natalia Thomson, previous deputy editor for travel trade publication Southern African Tourism Update (SATU) - which caters to mainly to overseas operators bringing tourists into Southern Africa - has been promoted to managing editor of the monthly publication with immediate effect.

She was furthermore promoted as deputy divisional head for Now Media's travel publishing division which includes SATU, Travel News Weekly, Business Travel Now, Travel News Now and Now Media Webcasting.

"Thomson, who is currently studying for her MBA in publishing with journalism through Aberdeen University in the UK, made her mark by putting great deal of effort into improving the circulation among overseas tour operators and running focus groups to understand the needs of clients," says Now Media managing director and publisher, David Marsh. According to him, she has immersed herself in the subject of tourism and is already regarded as "somewhat of an authority".

Responsible for driving the effectiveness and financial success of SATU, Thomson's short-term plans for the publication include extending its coverage to include tourism opportunities in neighbouring countries and to focus on increasing its authoritativeness. "We're going to use every opportunity to fulfill the publication's vision, to make a difference to the way in which our target audience thinks and acts and to provide our advertisers with a platform through which to increase tourist numbers and spend," she says.

Having started with the Now Media group as a journalist on SATU and the daily online news service, Travel News Now, in June 2003, Thomson was promoted to deputy editor in January 2004, after she completed her honours degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Wits (University of the Witwatersrand). She has been responsible for the production and editorial content of the publication for the past 18 months.

Southern African Tourism Update currently holds the Magazine Publishers Association (MPASA) PICA award for the Tourism, Travel and Hospitality sector in the Business to Business magazine award category for the second consecutive year (having won the award in 2003 and 2004).