TripAdvisor.com Shows 50% Drop in Mexico Hotel Search but 30% Increase in Caribbean Hotel Search this Week Compared to Last

Site Poll Says Nearly One in Four Consider Safeguarding with Mask

NEWTON, Mass., May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's most popular and largest travel community, today announced a significant shift in search activity for Mexico hotels and Caribbean hotels, presumably in light of the recent swine flu scare.

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Hotels in Mexico on TripAdvisor have seen an average 50 percent drop in page views from Monday, April 27 through Thursday, April 30, compared to the Monday through Thursday period of the prior week, while hotels in the Caribbean have experienced an average 30 percent jump in page views during the same time period.

TripAdvisor Mask Site Poll

This week, TripAdvisor.com conducted a site poll of 2,259 respondents to determine if travelers are considering wearing masks as a safety measure, revealing that nearly one quarter are:

• Are you thinking of wearing a mask when traveling to protect yourself from swine flu?
  • Yes: 23%
  • No: 64%
  • No travel plans: 13%

Mexico Forums Posts See "Swine" Spike

TripAdvisor Mexico forums saw a significant increase in activity this week. The number of posts containing the word "swine" grew from three for the week of April 7 through April 14 to 1,043 for the week of April 21 through April 28.

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts more than 32 million monthly visitors* across 14 popular travel brands: TripAdvisor®, www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.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 and www.virtualtourist.com. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million monthly visitors*, 10 million registered members and 23 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), and The Netherlands (http://nl.tripadvisor.com). 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. .

TripAdvisor and the TripAdvisor logo are 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.

©2009 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, July 2008

SOURCE: TripAdvisor

Web site: http://www.TripAdvisor.com/