The New York Times Drops Travel Section — For Now
It makes practical sense that The New York Times would temporarily stop printing the travel section. But it’s hard not to see the symbolism of the move.
As if the travel industry needed more confirmation of its crisis, The New York Times travel section will temporarily stop appearing in the Sunday print edition, as first reported by Cheddar.
The reason for the pause is obvious: At present, no one can travel. In addition to the travel section, the sports section will be temporarily dropped as a stand-alone print section, and both will be replaced by a new quarantine-focused lifestyle section called At Home. The new section will debut this Sunday and will be edited by Amy Virshup, the Times' travel editor, "at least through the duration of the pandemic," according to a statement from Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet.
Skift reached out to Virshup, who said the Travel section will continue to publish content online, in the form of "news, service and more essayistic or creative pieces, rather than destination coverage." While some of that coverage will be online only, other travel-focused stories will appear in appropriate print sections of the paper. Travel will also continue to have a digital section front, she said.
