TripAdvisor, the World's Largest Travel Site, Launches Game-Changing 'TripAdvisor Trip Friends' Enabling Travelers to Tap Into the Wisdom of Friends

Social Feature Identifies Travel-sphere of Friends Providing Even More Personalized Travel Information and Advice

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Jun 14, 2010, 05:00 ET

NEWTON, Mass., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced the launch of its groundbreaking "TripAdvisor® Trip Friends" feature, allowing travelers to get advice from their Facebook® friends on TripAdvisor to plan their next vacation. Supplementing the site's more than 35 million reviews and opinions from real travelers around the world, the wisdom of crowds on TripAdvisor is now enhanced by the wisdom of friends, delivering personalized recommendations.

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"As the world's largest travel site, we're thrilled to continue revolutionizing the travel industry by providing our community with exciting new access to their friends' valuable advice about travel," said Steve Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor. "With TripAdvisor Trip Friends, our 34 million monthly visitors can tap into their friends' wealth of travel knowledge with just a few clicks, making vacation planning more fun, social and personal."

How TripAdvisor Trip Friends Works

When researching a destination, hotel, attraction or restaurant on TripAdvisor, users who have logged in using Facebook will now see a list of their friends who have been to that location, as identified via the TripAdvisor Cities I've Visited™ (CIV) application on Facebook Platform. Travelers can tap into their network of friends for more details, by directly messaging their friends, or by posting a message to a group of friends, to gain the unique travel insights from those who know them best. CIV has been one of the most popular travel applications on Facebook Platform for nearly three years, with more than five million monthly active users, and highlights over one billion destinations that CIV travelers have visited.

"Travelers using TripAdvisor Trip Friends will be amazed to see all the places about which their friends can offer highly relevant, personal travel advice -- from that extra tip about the best place for croissants in Paris (your friends know how much you love croissants), to insights on the best scuba spot in Belize (through TripAdvisor Trip Friends, you discovered that two of your friends recently returned from an awesome scuba trip in Belize). This feature will turn great trips into fantastic ones, with convenient, personal input from people you know best and trust most," said Kaufer.

"Facebook has always provided people with an easy way to connect with friends around the world, whether from Internet cafes or through sharing photos," said Ethan Beard, director of Facebook Developer Network. "By integrating with Facebook, TripAdvisor is enhancing the exchange of trusted referrals, travel do's and don'ts, and good stories from abroad, and making the travel experience more relevant and social to each person who interacts with the site."

Ten Years of Travel Planning: An Evolution of Exploration

Before TripAdvisor was founded in 2000, travelers relied on travel agents and print guide books to determine their vacation plans. Since the first opinion was posted on TripAdvisor in 2001, travelers have looked to user-generated content for trusted advice to help with all facets of travel planning. By March 2010, TripAdvisor was the world's largest travel website, featuring a community of more than 34 million monthly visitors*, and more than 35 million reviews and opinions. Travelers depend on the wisdom of the crowds to determine the best plans for their personal travel needs. As of today, TripAdvisor Trip Friends enables travelers to research even deeper by tapping into the wisdom of their friends, making vacation planning more fun, social and personal.

TripAdvisor Trip Friends will be available on TripAdvisor.com on June 14 and TripAdvisor sites worldwide in July.

For more information on TripAdvisor Trip Friends, go to: www.tripadvisor.com/tripfriends.

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts 46 million monthly visitors* across 16 popular travel brands: TripAdvisor®, www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.frequentflier.com, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com and www.kuxun.cn. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 34 million monthly visitors*, 15 million registered members and 35 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover more than one million destinations, hotels, restaurants and attractions and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com), the U.K. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk), Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie), France (http://www.tripadvisor.fr), Germany (http://www.tripadvisor.de), Italy (http://www.tripadvisor.it), Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es), India (http://www.tripadvisor.in), Japan (http://www.tripadvisor.jp), Portugal and Brazil (http://www.tripadvisor.com.br), Sweden (http://www.tripadvisor.se), The Netherlands (http://nl.tripadvisor.com), Canada (http://www.tripadvisor.ca), Denmark (http://www.tripadvisor.dk), Turkey (http://www.tripadvisor.com.tr), Mexico (http://www.tripadvisor.com.mx), Norway (http://no.tripadvisor.com), Poland (http://pl.tripadvisor.com) and Australia (http://www.tripadvisor.com.au). TripAdvisor also operates in China under the brand daodao.com (http://www.daodao.com). TripAdvisor® Media Network provides travel suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry worldwide. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

TripAdvisor, Cities I've Visited and the TripAdvisor logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, March 2010

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

SOURCE TripAdvisor