576 Destinations Honored Based on Opinions of Millions of Travelers Top Spots Highlighted for Categories Including Top Destinations in the U.S. and World, Best for Families, Romance, Beach, Culture, Nightlife, and Top Emerging Destinations

NEWTON, Mass., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's most popular and largest travel community, today announced the winners of its 2010 Travelers' Choice® Destinations Awards. The second year of the awards honors 576 of the best travel spots worldwide.

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TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards are based on the millions of real and unbiased reviews and opinions from travelers on TripAdvisor.com®.  The winners were determined by a combination of travelers' destination comments, favorite places, and overall destination popularity on TripAdvisor.

Destinations were awarded in the following categories: Top Destinations in the U.S. and World, Best for Families, Romance, Beach & Sun, Culture & Sightseeing, Food & Wine, Nightlife, Outdoor & Adventure, Relaxation & Spa, and Top Emerging Destinations.

"Millions of travelers rely on TripAdvisor for travel inspiration and have helped identify the world's most outstanding destinations," said Christine Petersen, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor. "From stunningly beautiful locales to hot spots with amazing attractions, the 2010 Travelers' Choice Destinations Award winners are truly incredible places that travelers love."

Select 2010 Winners:

Best Destination in the World – Monte-Carlo, Monaco

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Monte-Carlo-Monaco

Best Destination in the U.S. – San Francisco, California

http://www.tripadvisor.com/San-Francisco-California

Best Destination in the World for Beach & Sun – Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Providenciales-Turks-and-Caicos

Best Destination in the U.S. for Beach & Sun – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Best Destination in the World for Culture & Sightseeing – Florence, Italy

Best Destination in the U.S. for Culture & Sightseeing – Washington, D.C.

Best Destination in the World for Families – Marne-la-Vallee, France

Best Destination in the U.S. for Families – Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Best Destination in the U.S. and World for Food & Wine – Napa, California

Best Destination in the U.S. and World for Nightlife – New Orleans, Louisiana

Best Destination in the World for Outdoor & Adventure – Queenstown, New Zealand

Best Destination in the U.S. for Outdoor & Adventure – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Best Destination in the U.S. and World for Relaxation & Spa – Sedona, Arizona

Best Destination in the World for Romance – Oia, Greece

Best Destination in the U.S. for Romance – Napa, California

Best Emerging Destination in the World – Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

For the complete 2010 Travelers' Choice list, visit www.tripadvisor.com/TCDestinations.

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts 46 million monthly visitors* across 15 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 and www.virtualtourist.com. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 34 million monthly visitors*, 15 million registered members and 30 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) and Kuxun.cn (http://www.kuxun.cn). 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, TripAdvisor.com, Traverlers' Choice 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.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, March 2010

SOURCE TripAdvisor