Martin B. Deutsch, Founder of TravelAge West Passes Away
by Dori Saltzman
TravelAge West on Wednesday announced the passing of its founder Martin B. Deutsch at the age of 91. He is widely considered one of the founders of the travel trade publishing industry.
A New York City native, Deutsch got his start in publishing in the summers of 1952 and 1953 as the managing editor of The Beachcomber on Long Beach Island, NJ, a seasonal summer resort weekly. In 1955, he started in the travel publishing industry as an associate editor at Caribbean-Latin American Travel Courier. The monthly trade magazine eventually went on to become Travel Weekly in 1958, where he served as managing editor from its start through April 1967.
He moved on to serve as founding managing editor of TravelAge East, before debuting his own regional publication in 1969 – TravelAge West. In 1974, he introduced TravelAge MidAmerica, which shut down in 1998.
Deutsch also launched some of the earliest travel trade shows, starting with regional TravelAge shows.
In 1980, Deutsch moved into consumer publishing with the launch of OAG Frequent Flyer Magazine, where he stayed until 1994. In 2002, he left magazine publishing to become a trade show consultant. Since 2002, he has been a columnist (and co-owner) of Joesentme.com, a niche online publication for American business travelers.
“Marty is one of the true legends of the travel industry and travel trades,” said Doug Gollan, a veteran travel media executive. “Leaders in the industry have always, not only closely read whatever he’s written but have also sought his advice as somebody who had his finger on the pulse of travel agents for 60 years.”
“Marty was a unique entrepreneur in travel and understood how important the agency distribution was to the success of the travel industry,” added Anne Marie Moebes, publisher of Travel Market Report. “He supported and understood the importance of ASTA and was a well-known figure at every World Congress. The industry listened to Marty because he understood and educated many on the supplier-agent relationship. May he rest in peace.”
