Expedia.com Explore the New Adventure Travel Section at Expedia.com
BELLEVUE, WA, July 18, 2000 – Whether you're ready for a three-week trek in Nepal, or a scenic 2-hour float down the Snake River in the Tetons, Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), operator of the award-winning Expedia.com® online travel service, can now provide the right adventure with the right outfitter. Expedia® has unveiled a new Adventure Travel section that offers trip-planning features and content to help everyone—from those ready to rough the wilds, to those looking for comfortable eco-lodges or cultural exchanges.
By partnering with Away.com, the leading adventure travel services provider on the Web, Expedia now offers its customers a complete resource of adventure travel information and the ability to book adventure vacations with nearly 1,000 tour operators offering 10,000 adventure travel products.
As the only full-service online travel Web site with a dedicated Adventure Travel section, Expedia.com offers an easy way to research and book an adventure travel vacation.
“Americans have become very active in their leisure time, whether it's hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon or climbing to the top of Mount Rainier,” said Richard Bangs, an adventure travel pioneer and Editor-at-Large of Expedia.com. “Adventure travel is considered the hottest trend in the specialty travel market today, and Expedia has taken the lead to provide an Adventure Travel section with a broad range of vacation options. Partnering with Away.com allows us to provide the best combination of rich information and high-quality customer guidance for planning and purchasing adventure travel trips.”
Features of the Expedia.com Adventure Travel Section
The Adventure Travel section is the newest addition to Expedia's comprehensive travel services, which also include specialty sections on Golf, Cruise, Family, and Business travel. In addition to a worldwide network of nearly 1,000 tour operators and more than 10,000 tour products, the Adventure Travel section also offers travelers diverse editorial content and state-of-the-art planning tools. To ensure the best customer service possible when booking an adventure, Expedia.com customers will have access to Away.com's unique customer service center, staffed by representatives with specialized knowledge about adventure travel outfitters and their trips. Several features are available in the Adventure Travel section, such as:
Trip Finder: A search engine that allows the user to navigate Away.com's adventure travel database. A quick search sorts by destination and activity, and an advanced search permits further limitation by price, duration, and who's traveling.
Photo Galleries: Photographic products that pop-up when the user clicks on the photo gallery icon, and present additional links that lead users to trips or travel advice.
Featured Destination Guides: Guidebook information and articles from Away.com's database of guidebook content on selected destinations.
Activity Guides: The starting point for both the novice and advanced adventure traveler that promotes participation in an activity in safe ways, and offers information about related activities and trips.
City Escapes: Recommendations of quick getaways where consumers can do something active—all amidst the hectic schedule of today's workaday world. Searchable by city, these articles provide ideas that range from a two-hour break for a busy executive, to an extended weekend adventure.
Great Adventures: Hundreds of short articles by noted experts designed to paint a picture of accessible adventure travel experiences, and encourage innovative adventure travel.
Collaborative Trip Planner: Planning tools that allow consumers to coordinate all aspects of their vacation in conjunction with friends and travel partners. Current features include private threaded discussion boards, recommended articles, community discussions, trips based on user interests, personal bookmarks and much more.
Travelogues: Member-contributed stories and photo essays that cover a wide range of adventures.
About Away.com (http://www.away.com/)
Away.com brings together world travelers, experts, and tour operators to create a vibrant online community where users can find and book extraordinary trips, use personalized travel planners, get expert advice and buy gear. The site was ranked the No. 1 outdoors site by PC Data Online and hosts the largest network of tour operators and trips on the Web. Investors such as Gannett Co. Inc., Chicago-based New World Ventures and Potomac Ventures of Washington, D.C., back the privately held firm. Away.com maintains its travel service division and call center in Portland, Maine, which is staffed with expert travel consultants to answer questions and provide advice to its more than 1,000,000 members.
About Expedia
Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE) operates Expedia.com, a leading online Web site in the United States with localized versions for travelers in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. To help customers travel right, Expedia.com® provides the best combination of air, car and hotel booking, vacation package and cruise offers, destination information, and point-to-point mapping. Industry experts agree. Expedia's quality and leadership was recognized through several awards, including Yahoo! Internet Life's “Best Overall Travel Site,” Gomez Advisors' “Number One Travel Site for Spring 2000” and PC World's “2000 World Class Award for Best Travel Site.”
Expedia.com customers are supported by a credit card guarantee (U.S. site only), privacy policy, and live agents via e-mail and an 800-number available 24 hours a day/seven days a week. Expedia.com is also available under Travel on the MSN® network of Internet services.
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