NEWTON, Mass., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's most popular and largest travel community, today announced the launch of TripAdvisor for Business, a new dedicated division providing the tourism industry unparalleled access to more than 34 million monthly visitors* worldwide. The company has also announced its plans for continued expansion in Asia Pacific.

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"Our new business-to-business division and global expansion in Asia will support segments and geographical areas with the highest growth potential and enable us to further solidify our leading position in the travel industry," said Steve Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor.

TripAdvisor For Business

TripAdvisor for Business incorporates new B2B revenue streams, including Business Listings and Vacation Rentals.  Business Listings, which launched in January 2010, allows hoteliers to connect directly to millions of researching travelers, converting potential customers to paying guests. Hoteliers, innkeepers and B&B owners can sign up for TripAdvisor Business Listings at www.tripadvisor.com/businesslistings.  

Launched in early 2009, Vacation Rentals helps property managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel alternatives on TripAdvisor.  The service currently includes more than 100,000 verified vacation rental properties and accompanying reviews by real travelers in more than 5,000 regions.  

TripAdvisor Business Listings and Vacation Rentals feature a flat-fee subscription service.

Christine Petersen, who joined TripAdvisor in 2004 and served the company as Chief Marketing Officer, has been chosen to lead the new division as President of TripAdvisor for Business.

"The initial response to our Business Listings and Vacation Rental subscription services has been extremely encouraging, " continued Kaufer.  "We believe that focusing more of our energies on these new opportunities will dramatically change the way the tourism industry markets to travelers."

Global Expansion

More than half of the traffic to TripAdvisor branded sites comes from outside the U.S.* Asia Pacific represents a region of enormous potential for travel industry growth.   Marc Charron, Managing Director, APAC, will assume responsibility for expanding existing TripAdvisor businesses in India, Japan and Australia, as well as developing new markets in Southeast Asia and Korea.   Charron, who started TripAdvisor operations in Europe in 2006, will be based in Singapore.

"Our additional presence and focus in Asia Pacific will allow us to expand our global leadership footprint and position the company to lead in these markets poised for exciting growth in the coming years," Kaufer noted.

Over the past five years, TripAdvisor has grown from its original website in the U.S. to a global network of branded sites in 21 countries in 14 different languages. In 2010 alone, TripAdvisor has launched websites in Turkey, Denmark, Mexico, Poland, Norway and Australia.

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, 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.

©2010 TripAdvisor LLC.  All rights reserved.  

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, March 2010

SOURCE TripAdvisor