As Euro Weakens Americans Rush for Outstanding Travel Deals to Europe

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Jun 08, 2010, 11:36 ET

NEW YORK, June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Travelzoo (Nasdaq: TZOO), a global internet media company, reported today that it has seen strong demand and the best deals in years for European travel from the United States. A combination of the weakening euro (1 euro = 1.19 USD), outstanding travel deals and restored American consumer confidence, have all contributed to a surge in interest for European travel.

"Travelzoo's U.S. Subscriber Survey revealed that 30% of respondents are planning a European vacation in 2010," said Jaime Samuels, publisher of the Top 20® in the U.S., which now has 11 million subscribers. "This is a significant increase from the 20% who traveled to Europe in 2009, which we believe is a direct result of the currency fluctuations, strong deals to Europe, and increasing consumer confidence."

Travel deals to Europe featured in the U.S. edition of the Travelzoo Top 20 so far this year, include:

$139 -- Paris Hotel w/Breakfast & Seine Cruise by Concorde Lafayette
$399 -- Europe from NYC in June (Roundtrip incl. Tax) by Iceland Express
$799 -- Germany 6-Night Vacation incl. Air (Regularly $1199) by go-today.com
$88 -- Italy: Upgrade at Rome Hotel incl. Breakfast, 50% OFF by Sheraton Roma Hotel and Conference Centre
$599 -- Paris & London 6-Night Vacation w/Air by Europe Vacations
$499 -- Ireland Vacation incl. 5-Star Villa Stay & Flights by Aer Lingus Vacation Store
$119 -- Madrid 5-Star Hotel incl. Upgraded Room, 50% OFF by Derby Hotels Collection
$710 -- Business Class in Summer: Paris from D.C. by Openskies
$899 -- Tuscany: Luxury Vineyard Estate Vacation w/Car by Sceptre Tours & Il Borro Estate

As a result of the demand for travel deals to Europe, Travelzoo is playing an active role in helping travel companies partner up to create better deals. Recently, Travelzoo introduced the Il Borro Estate, part of Ferragamo Collection in Tuscany, Italy, to Sceptre Tours based in the New York area. The pair published a luxurious Tuscany vacation that resulted in 100 package bookings, or 638 room nights, for Sceptre Tours and the Il Borro Estate. Together the two companies generated over $300,000 in incremental travel sales from Americans traveling to Europe.

"We were happy with the response generated from publishing our deal in the Top 20," said Salvatore Ferragamo, owner of the Il Borro Estate. "Not only did we book hundreds of room nights during slow season at our property, but to our knowledge, every single American guest who booked after reading about us in Travelzoo's Top 20 was new to our hotel. The introduction to Sceptre Tours was a very thoughtful way for Travelzoo to introduce us to their publications. We are now looking at ways we can appeal to Travelzoo's European subscriber base."

Other European hotels have also turned west to Americans in recent months and achieved record successes from featuring their offers in the Top 20. Results include The Hesperia Tower, a 5-star hotel in Barcelona with 2,000 room nights booked and Le Meridien Etoile hotel in Paris with 784 room nights booked.

Airlines have also been capitalizing on the weak euro and increased American confidence. At the end of May Travelzoo published a $399 per person including all taxes flight deal from Iceland Express in its New York edition of the Newsflash™ alert service. Fares were valid for travel to Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Poland, England, Norway or Luxembourg. Iceland Express said that they booked over 1,500 incremental seats in the days after Travelzoo picked up the deal.

Source: Travelzoo Inc. subscriber survey, December 2009, n=1,000. The survey was sent to random subscribers, completed online and no incentives were offered. Currency translation conducted on http://www.xe.com on June 8, 2010.

About Travelzoo

Travelzoo Inc. is a global Internet media company. With more than 20 million subscribers in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific and 20 offices worldwide, Travelzoo® publishes deals from more than 2,000 travel and entertainment companies. Travelzoo's deal experts review offers to find the best deals and confirm their true value. In Asia Pacific, Travelzoo is independently owned and operated by Travelzoo (Asia) Ltd. and Travelzoo Japan K.K. under a license agreement with Travelzoo Inc.

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