Signature Travel Network and Bon Appétit magazine announced a new partnership to create a culinary travel program for epicurean enthusiasts. The program includes the launch of a series of exclusive cruise and land vacations available for purchase only through Signature's Travel Specialists.
Beginning in 2010, Signature and Bon Appétit will provide a collection of culinary immersion itineraries. The first scheduled holiday will be on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner departing on July 18, 2010 for a seven-day cruise, which will visit the Tuscan region of Italy and the south of France.
Travelers will now be able to familiarize themselves with a destination through culinary experiences such as: hands-on cooking classes, select tastings, wine and food pairing dinners, and much more. "We're thrilled about this partnership. It's a win-win situation," said Michelle Morgan, president of Signature Travel Network.
This joint program with Bon Appétit will work under Signature Travel Network's popular Personal Enrichment Series. The branded travel experiences will provide benefits to Bon Appétit and Signature clients through a variety of special offers, exclusive amenities and in-room/in-stateroom gifts.
Some destinations the new program will feature will be Barcelona and Tuscany where guests will have the option to enjoy a private car and driver to guide them along a tailored culinary visit throughout the region crafted by Bon Appétit.
"Food is such a wonderful and vivid way to enjoy the individuality of a particular region of the world. The Bon Appétit branded departures will surely heighten the traveler's overall vacation experience. Traveling and tasting local cuisines go hand-in hand. By sharing the history and origins of each region's food, we will be providing a very different approach to discovering the spectacular destinations we will be visiting," said Michael von Wittenau, vice president of strategic business development at Signature.
The partnership with Bon Appétit and Signature will bring success to both organizations. "With a world class hotel and resort program, seasoned travel professionals well-versed in destinations around the world, and one of the industry's most robust amenity programs, we feel that Signature Travel Network will deliver the experience and authority that our readers have come to expect from us," says Paul Jowdy, vice president and publisher of Bon Appétit. The magazine has 8 million readers.