NEWTON, Mass., March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced it is the first travel site to reach 100 million reviews and opinions — a more than 50 percent increase year-over-year.  Covering more than two million tourism businesses in more than 116,000 destinations around the world, the site has candid traveler reviews of hospitality businesses in every country of the world.  Its remarkable scale and freshness of content allows travelers around the globe to make informed choices, based on the experiences of many, whatever their destination or personal preferences.

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Reviews add confidence and result in better trips
According to a recent study by PhoCusWright¹, commissioned by TripAdvisor, nearly nine out of 10 users (87 percent) agree that TripAdvisor hotel reviews "help me feel more confident in my decisions."  Despite travelers' increasing expectations and demands, the study also revealed that eight out of 10 users (80 percent) agree that TripAdvisor hotel reviews "help me have a better trip."

A socially connected world
The benefit of the wisdom of the crowds is increasingly supplemented by the wisdom of friends, as Facebook-connected users currently submit 35 percent of new reviews on TripAdvisor.  With the integration of Facebook on TripAdvisor, this means that travelers are able to see and share valuable perspectives with their own friends and their friends' friends.  

Community spirit
TripAdvisor now has contributions from members living in every country of the world. Travelers cite their top three reasons for writing hotel reviews¹ as follows:

1. I feel good about sharing useful information with other travelers
2. I wanted to share a good experience with other travelers
3. I feel that I'm part of the TripAdvisor social travel community

The average review rating on TripAdvisor in 2012 was 4.1 out of five.

"Travelers the world over want to have the perfect trip, and nothing helps travel planning more than real reviews from real people who have been there before," says Steve Kaufer, co-founder and CEO of TripAdvisor. "Having 100 million reviews and opinions adds remarkable perspective to any travel-planning decision, and we thank our passionate community as their insights continue to increasingly help travelers plan and have the perfect trip."

The coverage and associated usefulness of the site is set to exponentially grow as its user and membership base grow. TripAdvisor currently has more than 200 million unique users a month², more than 47 million marketable members (more than 100 percent growth year-over-year) ³ and collects more than 60 user contributions a minute. 

Content Facts

• For a hotel in the top 500 searched destinations on TripAdvisor the average number of reviews is 139 and the average number of candid photos is 53⁴
• TripAdvisor features reviews on hotels in every country except Vatican City, which has no hotels listed on the site
• TripAdvisor has restaurant reviews in 99 percent of all countries in the world (exceptions: Marshall Islands and Somalia)
• The site features reviews on attractions in 98 percent of all countries in the world (exceptions: South Sudan, Nauru, Equatorial Guinea)
• 16 attractions feature more than 5,000 reviews, with the most reviewed being Central Park in New York with 11,993 reviews⁴
• 26 hotels feature more than 5,000 reviews, with the most reviewed being the Luxor in Las Vegas with 9,904 reviews⁴

¹Source: According to a September 2012 PhoCusWright survey of 2,739 respondents. Participants for the study were solicited at random through a pop-up invitation link on TripAdvisor.com

²Source: Google Analytics, worldwide data, January 2013

³As of March 10, 2013

⁴As of February 28, 2013

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 200 million unique monthly visitors**, and over 100 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn. 

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, January 2013

**Source: Google Analytics, worldwide data, January 2013

©2013 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved. 

SOURCE TripAdvisor