Expedia Reports Growth in Online Bookings to Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia, Inc., the world's largest online travel company, today released data on the growth in travel bookings to Mexico made on the more than 100 Expedia®- and Hotels.com® branded sites the company operates around the world.

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"Mexico remains a favorite destination for our travelers worldwide, with over 1.5 million people booking travel to Mexico using Expedia websites in the last year," said Marco Tagliatti, vice president of lodging supply, Latin America and Caribbean, Expedia. "Bookings made on Expedia to Mexico grew more than 30 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2011, and Expedia's commitment to Mexico has also grown as we continue to work closely with the Mexican tourism industry to promote travel to the country by travelers from around the world."

One particular success story for Expedia in Mexico has been the extraordinary growth of bookings to the country's capital, Mexico City.  "This year, bookings to Mexico City have grown over 50 percent compared to 2010.  This reflects the positive business dynamics of the largest city in Mexico, and also the fact that Expedia offers more hotels in Mexico City than any other online travel company in the world," said Pablo Castro, director of market management for Mexico & Central America, Expedia.

Expedia executives are in Mexico City this week for the 2011 International Tourism Fair of the Americas (FITA) in Mexico City, where Expedia executives will meet with Mexico tourism authorities and hotel partners to discuss strategies for promoting travel to Mexico to Expedia's global audience of travelers.

Key recommendations include:

• Incorporate a mobile booking channel into your property's ongoing distribution strategy.  Expedia data shows strong continued growth in bookings made via its mobile channel, especially in metropolitan areas as more consumers around the world are using mobile devices to book their hotel stays.
• Look beyond traditional source markets to identify opportunities for new international demand.  According to Expedia, some of the strongest demand for travel into Mexico is coming from Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Canada, with each region growing between 50 and 125 percent over the past year.  
• Take advantage of the many marketing and distribution tools a channel like Expedia can provide to hotels, including the opportunity to participate in targeted marketing campaigns and promotions, as well as offering package bookings and value adds to drive demand for their property throughout the year.  

Mexican hotels continue to see value in working with Expedia. In fact, over the past year more than 250 new hotels have joined the roster of over 1,800 hotels in Mexico already promoting themselves through Expedia's online marketplace. In addition, the Mexico Tourism Board and some of the country's top destinations including Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan already work closely with Expedia to help promote Mexico as one of the world's leading travel destinations to nearly 60 million unique monthly visitors each month.

Pablo Castro, director of market management for Mexico & Central America, will represent Expedia on an expert panel titled "Llevando el Ritmo, Marketing Interactivo" (Leading the way: Interactive Marketing), scheduled for Sept. 23, 2011 at 10 A.M. at the Expo Bancomer, Santa Fe. Expedia is the only online travel company on the panel, which also features other key industry experts in the digital marketing and technology realms. Castro will discuss travel trends and strategies in online marketing and travel distribution.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is the largest online travel company in the world, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes more than 100 localized Expedia.com®- and Hotels.com®-branded sites; leading U.S. discount travel site Hotwire®; leading agency hotel company Venere.com™; Egencia®, the world's fifth largest corporate travel management company; the world's largest travel community TripAdvisor® Media Group; destination activities provider ExpediaLocalExpert®; luxury travel specialist Classic Vacations®; and China's second largest booking site eLong™. The company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives incremental demand and direct bookings to travel suppliers, and provides advertisers vast opportunity to reach the most valuable audience of in-market travel consumers anywhere through TripAdvisor Media Group and Expedia Media Solutions. Expedia also powers bookings for some of the world's leading airlines and hotels, top consumer brands, high traffic websites, and thousands of active affiliates through Expedia® Affiliate Network.  (NASDAQ: EXPE)  For corporate and industry news and views, visit us at www.expediainc.com or follow us on Twitter @expediainc.

Expedia and the Airplane logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.  © 2011 Expedia, Inc.  All rights reserved.  CST: 2029030-50

SOURCE Expedia, Inc.