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Published on July 9, 2007

Increasing interest in environmental issues globally has become a big market oppor-tunity for 119-year-old non-profit organisation NGTI, the operator of multimedia outlets National Geographic magazine and the National Geographic Channel.

NGTI's vice president of international publishing, Declan Moore, said green issues had now become the stuff of daily conversation. Ordinary working people as well as the most educated parts of society are increasingly interested in conservation and the state of the natural world around them.

Young people in particular are concerned, and governments of many countries are paying strong attention. Many businesses are also considering the issue as a social responsibility.

"People are more interested in finding the truth about how the global environment has changed and the impact of the change on human life," Moore said.

Established to publish various documentaries of global interest, with environmental issues as one of the main concerns, Moore said NGTI would certainly gain more readers for its National Geographic magazine.

NGTI has a number of freelance photo-reporters worldwide, spending their lives close to certain areas and following certain issues for long periods.

They contribute articles on current issues, such as malaria and global warming as well as other relevant topics.

The magazine has 36.5 million readers worldwide who read both its original English version and local editions published in 29 languages.

Of the total readers, 31.6 million are in the US, 3.2 million are European, 1.4 million are Asian and 91,044 readers are people in Latin America.

The magazine witnessed a 10-per-cent increase in readers last year in Asia, contributed by sales from new-stands and subscribers.

In Thailand, Moore didn't have the exact figure for total readers - who read both English and Thai versions - but said circulation of the English version in Thailand is 3,539 copies. Amarin Printing and Publishing publishes National Geographic's Thai version.

Moore said he still had an optimistic view of the potential of the Thai market, although the country's political uncertainty and economic slowdown tended to be people's priorities.

"Many countries are having political and economic problems, including the US and the UK. and I understand that people would have more concern for issues that affect their immediate lives. However, we notice the Thai market is opening and expanding," he said.

NGTI, has only National Geographic magazine available in Thailand from its stable of five main magazines. The other four are National Geographic Kids, National Geographic Little Kids, National Geographic Adventure and Traveler. Moore said the company didn't have any plan to bring those magazines to the Thai market yet.

Apart from the magazine busi-ness, it also has television programmes to serve National Geographic Channel, which is a joint venture between NGTI, News Corp and other channels. National Geographic Channel reaches over 260 million households in 29 languages in 160 countries.

NGTI is also a producer or supplier of websites, films, radio, books, videos, maps, DVDs, interactive media and merchandise.

The company will have another new business - retailing - in November this year in London. The National Geographic Store will have three floors, occupying 15,000 square metres.

The shop will stock products for children, clothing, products such as tents and camera equipment for travellers as well as books, DVDs and films. It will also have an area

to exhibit photos by its photogra-phers and another area for people to enjoy discussing various topics. The shop is expecting 47,000 visitors a week.

The company is considering opening a branch in Washington, where NTGI's headquarters are located.

Moore said 80 per cent of the magazine's revenue came from subscriptions with the rest from advertising.

Marketing strategies include joining with companies such as IBM to arrange various activities and direct-mail marketing. It also expects the coming retail shop to give the brand more exposure.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation