Jasons Travel Media bought by Bennetts

Fewer tourists has helped push Jasons Travel Media into the black. Photo / Thinkstock

Jasons Travel Media has been bought from its receivers by the family-owned bookstore chain, Bennetts Group.

NZAX-listed tourism media company Jasons was suspended from trading last month after receivers PPB Advisory were appointed.

Bennetts' acquisition means that Jasons will continue to trade as a going concern, Bennetts said in a statement.

The deal includes 62 magazine publications, the Jasons websites, and more than 4,000 distribution points across New Zealand.

Bennetts said it planned to focus on restoring the Jasons brand and operation, which it said faced challenged since the global economic crisis and meeting the requirements of being a listed company.

Geoff Spong, managing director of Bennetts Group, said Jasons was New Zealand's leading tourism distribution and specialist media company.

"Jasons is an important part of New Zealand's tourism industry and delivers a high-quality range of publications," he said in a statement.

"With tourism numbers now recovering following the global financial crisis, including strong growth from emerging markets, I'm confident Jasons has a bright future in New Zealand and the South Pacific," he said.

The new owner is offering all Jasons' existing 70 staff members employment on existing terms and conditions.

Bennetts will be assessing the requirements of the business over the coming months and talking with customers and suppliers.

Jasons is the largest tourism brochure distributor in New Zealand. As well as producing and distributing its own printed guides, Jasons services over 1,000 other tourism companies, distributing over 10 million brochures each years across 2,000 brochure display units.

The company established its online presence in 1996 and more than three million visitors access the Jasons websites every year.

Bennetts owns and operates academic textbook and associated student products stores at eight campuses across New Zealand. Bennetts Bookstores purchased the Bennetts bookshops from the voluntary administrators of Whitcoulls Group Limited in 2011.