Destination (magazine)

Destination Magazine is a city guide/lifestyle magazine that is published in Saudi Arabia by Rumman Media and Publishing House.^[1] Founded in 2008, the magazine has two editions catering to the cities of Jeddah, and Riyadh. In 2016 Sharqiya was added to the list of cities that Destination Magazine writes about.

The magazine's subsections include: Business, special features, arts and entertainment, style and shopping, dining around town, healthy living, spirituality, travel trends, and explore Saudi Arabia.^[2]

Destination Jeddah (DJ) is 112 pages while Destination Riyadh (DR) is 96 pages. DJ and DR had a total distribution of 60,000 magazines monthly as of July 2015.^[3] DJ, DR and DS has 80,000 copies distributed in over 2,500 points in Saudi Arabia.^[4]

Founding[]

Maria Mahdaly, the magazine's co founder, is the managing editor. She also co-founded Rumman Company, alongside Enas Hashani (editor-in-chief), and Bayan Abuzinadah.^[5]

Brand history[]

The original Destination magazine was first published in 2008 with Enas Hashani as editor-in-chief.^[6] In 2010, following Destination's quick success, Rumman Company, the parent company, was ranked as Saudi Arabia's fastest growing start-up by the All World Network.^[7] To further expand its reach, Destination launched a new edition of its magazine catering to the city of Riyadh in 2013. Since then, Rumman Company has also ventured in LUB Creative, a boutique-style agency.^[8]

Content and style[]

The magazines follow a yearly plan based on certain monthly themes including:^[9]

• Home Issue
• Arts Issue
• Wedding Issue
• Travel Issue
• Ramadan Issue
• Education Issue
• Fashion Issue
• Food Issue
• Health Issue
• Others depending on Editorial Strategy

Going digital[]

In addition to the print versions of DJ and DR, the websites of both editions exist. Serving the same purpose as the print forms, the websites aim at being a guide to sights and attractions, restaurants, shopping, housing, and businesses in both cities.^[10][11]

Distribution[]

The magazine (DJ and DR) is distributed free of charge in certain locations which include: embassies, clinics, housing compounds, hotels, malls, cafe's, restaurants, gyms, and spas. It is also available at certain point-of-sale counters in supermarkets and delivered to its subscribers.^[9]

Audience[]

Nationwide monthly readership of Destination stands at over 120,000.^[9] Destination's audience consists of English speaking locals, visitors, and tourists, mainly falling in the age group of 20-45.^[12] According to the magazine, its readers are described as "socially outgoing, and eager to participate in the community's leisurely activities".^[9] The readers "use the magazine to plan their activities for the entire month and to entertain friends and guests".^[9]

More ventures[]

The magazine, in June 2015, launched DestinationListing.com, a directory for all places, businesses and services in major cities in Saudi Arabia. Users are allowed to add places which are then checked, reviewed, and confirmed by the website administrators for accuracy. Listing places in Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah, and Dammam, the categories covered include: Travel, transportation, shopping, services, religion, logistics, library and books, health, government, food, entertainment, embassies, education, compounds, beauty, and banks.^[13]

References[]