NEEDHAM, Mass., July 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TripAdvisor® (NASDAQ:TRIP), the travel planning and booking site, today announced that Gary Fritz has joined TripAdvisor's management team as the chief growth officer of TripAdvisor and president, Asia Pacific.   

In his capacity as chief growth officer, Mr. Fritz is responsible for driving growth and strategy across the entire family of TripAdvisor brands. In his role as president of APAC, he is responsible for leading TripAdvisor's operations and strategy throughout the Asia Pacific region.  

"I am delighted to announce that Gary has joined TripAdvisor to lead our company's continued development and expansion across the important Asia Pacific region," said Stephen Kaufer, president and CEO, TripAdvisor, Inc. "TripAdvisor is poised to capture both inbound and outbound travel throughout the APAC region and we are committed to developing and expanding our market position throughout APAC. Gary's mandate to drive growth within the region, and corporate strategy within our entire group of TripAdvisor media brands, will help further solidify our leadership position as the world's largest travel site helping travelers plan and book the perfect trip." 

Before joining TripAdvisor, Mr. Fritz founded the advisory and investment group Amanogawa, LLC, where he advised the leadership of several multi-national companies on global strategy and expansion plans, with clients that included Rakuten and TripAdvisor. 

Mr. Fritz's relationship with TripAdvisor spans more than a decade. He held a variety of senior executive roles at Expedia, Inc. from 2003-2012 (when the company was part of Expedia). From 2008 to 2012, Gary served as president, Partner Services Group for Expedia, where he led Expedia's commercial activity and strategy on a global basis. Mr. Fritz oversaw the sales, technology and operations teams on a global basis.

"I'm really excited to take on this challenge and look forward to working with the TripAdvisor team," said Gary Fritz, chief growth officer of TripAdvisor and president, Asia Pacific. "We are uniquely positioned in Asia Pacific to build and strengthen our relationships with domestic, outbound and inbound travelers as we continue to develop and expand our market leadership positions across the region. TripAdvisor and its brands have an incredible platform for growth and it is a beloved brand by consumers and partners alike with a traffic base second to none. I am excited to partner with Steve and the rest of the team to complete our transition into a booking site, as well as being on the hunt for additional business lines. This is a great time to be joining TripAdvisor."

Prior to Expedia, Mr. Fritz worked with the global consultancy McKinsey & Company for 3 years focused on telecom and distressed debt practices.

Mr. Fritz holds a Master's degree from MIT and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 340 million unique monthly visitors**, and 350 million reviews and opinions covering 6.5 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 48 markets worldwide.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP), through its subsidiaries, manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands:
www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl, www.besttables.com and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com,  www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, and www.virtualtourist.com.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, February 2016

**Source: TripAdvisor log files, Q1 2016

CONTACT:
Kevin Carter
(781) 800-5237
kcarter@tripadvisor.com