MUMBAI: Travel and business specialist, Ink Publishing and CNN International, are to expand the internationally successful CNN Traveller magazine with a dedicated Asia Pacific edition.

Ink is to launch the first edition of CNN Traveller Asia Pacific in January, 2006, just months after it was appointed by CNN as publisher of its magazine for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The new Asian edition will focus on issues of interest and relevance to Asian readers and will be made more widely available across the region.

Ink Group's editorial director, Michael Keating ,says that the EMEA edition of CNN Traveller had been an enormous success, reaching 850,000 readers worldwide. “We are delighted to be working with CNN to grow its family of incisive and intelligent travel magazines . CNN Traveller Asia Pacific has all the appeal of the EMEA edition with an exciting, honed approach to issues of particular interest to Asian readers, with many more of them able to access the magazine.

It's a tremendously exciting development which reflects both the popularity of CNN Traveller and the increasing importance of the magazine's growing Asian readership. The magazine will also be of an uniquely high quality medium for advertisers aiming to reach a premium intra-Asian audience in a direct and targetted way."

He adds, that Ink would draw upon its global capabilities and expertise as an international publisher to increase distribution across Asia , including making CNN Traveller Asia Pacific available in all major airports, on leading airlines and with CNN's hotel partners, as well as on newsstands.

CNN Asia Pacific VP marketing, broadcast sales and affiliate relations ,Eslinda Hamzah, said, “CNN International is the channel of choice amongst air global travellers. We are excited about the prospect of building on this success by launching CNN Traveller Asia Pacific to deliver a magazine of high standard to a unique, upmarket Asian audience."

Published six times a year, CNN Traveller claims to marry the best in travel journalism and photography with the news values of CNN. Its issue-led travel features are designed to appeal to the business and high-end leisure traveller, providing insightful and thought-provoking coverage of the stories behind the headlines in some of the most compelling and unusual destinations around the world.

Many of CNN Traveller 's correspondents are based in the countries about which they write, giving them unparalleled knowledge and experience of their subjects. CNN Traveller Asia is an addition to Ink's portfolio which includes more in-flight magazines than any other company in the world and its own titles, European Business and Bradmans Business Travel Guides.

Ink Publishing is an international publishing company which produces more inflight magazines for more airlines than any other publisher in the world. Ink's titles include AirTran Airways , Bangkok Airways Fah Thai , BMED's Impressions, easyJet Inflight , Jet2.com Jetaway, MyTravel Recline , Siem Reap International Airways Sarika , SN Brussels SNspirit, Tiger Airways Tiger Tales , Virgin Express Red Hot , VLM Airlines Velocity and Wizz Air's WizzIt magazine as well as Summit Hotels & Resorts The Summit . Ink also publishes Bradmans Business Travel Guides to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America .