Penguin Books and Time Out UK commit to New Media

Ninety-five percent of the handy holiday planning guides will be sold all over the world, with the remaining five percent available locally. Cape Town will now form part of the acclaimed Time Out City Guide World Series, which already covers 42 international destinations, including New York, Milan, Sydney and Hong Kong. Cape Town is the first southern African destination to be given a place in the World Series.

"For over 10 years, Time Out and international publishers, Penguin Books have produced the award-winning Time Out City Guide World Series. As visitors continue to flock to Cape Town, we believe there is a distinct call from the international market for a guide to one of the most beautiful and culturally diverse cities in Africa," comments New Media (NMP) managing director, Bridget McCarney

The 288-page guide, with a readership approaching 150 000, will be fully indexed and published in a bound, easy-to-carry book format. According to McCarney, the guide will be marketed through other Time Out publications internationally and distributed by Penguin Books, to bookshops worldwide.

"The Time Out Cape Town Guide will serve as a major source of information for potential overseas visitors, before they even set foot on African soil. At NMP we differentiate between the two Time Out guides by calling the Visitors' Guide our 'Entertainer Guide' – which visitors use mostly as a reference while they are in the Mother City, and the new Cape Town Guide we call the 'Planner Guide' – designed to help tourists plan their trip in advance and ensure they make the most of their visit to the city and surrounds," says McCarney.

Well-respected editor Sam Woulidge – editor of Time Out Cape Town Visitors' Guide, with her substantial knowledge of Cape Town, has also been appointed to head up the new guide. "Readers will be provided with up-to-the-minute information on all aspects of city, to suit everyone's pocket and preference, with the best advice on where to stay, what to see and the not-to-be-missed places to eat and drink.

"The Time Out Cape Town Guide will serve as comprehensive guide to one of the busiest tourist cities in the country, offering information on its tremendous coastline, pavement cafes, vibrant nightlife and thriving shopping areas. With full colour photography throughout, the guide will include an expanded accommodation chapter, additional maps and special sections to enable visitors to meticulously plan and take advantage of trips to the winelands, the flowering West Coast, famous forests of the Garden Route or whale watching in Walker Bay."

Woulidge is extremely proud of the Time Out brand's editorial integrity. "The Time Out Cape Town Guide will be written in the distinguished Time Out style by journalists living in the city and above all be filled with invaluable insider information."

The Time Out Cape Town Guide will be on sale from June 2004 locally and abroad, over a two-year period. Sales are estimated by the publishers to exceed 25 000 copies.