Nicaraguan Tourism Board Partners With TACA To Drive Nicaragua Travel Bookings On Expedia

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nicaraguan Tourism Board has launched a partnership with TACA, a leading airline in Latin America, to drive travel bookings to Nicaragua on Expedia.com, the world's leading online travel company.

Visitors who go to Expedia.com can save up to 33% on flight and hotel packages, book hotel deals at popular Nicaraguan beach resorts such as Pelican Eyes, Morgan's Rock and Punta Teonoste, and book tours that explore the country's beautiful colonial cities, lakes, volcanoes and pristine natural reserves. In addition, they can book discounted flights to Nicaragua on TACA, which provides convenient and reasonably priced service from major North American cities, including daily non-stop service from Miami.

In 2011, Nicaragua welcomed one million tourists, many more than in previous years.  During 2012's first semester, the number of tourists increased an 11.5% over the same period in 2011. With this fall campaign on Expedia.com, both the Nicaraguan Tourism Board and TACA aim to increase those numbers even further.

"The Nicaraguan Tourism Board's partnership with TACA is a critical piece in our strategy to increase tourism to Nicaragua," said Mario Salinas, Minister of Tourism in Nicaragua.  "We would like to position Nicaragua as a major tourism destination in Central America, promoting it as a unique destination with a wide appeal for U.S. tourists."

"We are delighted to partner with the Nicaraguan Tourism Board at this crucial moment in their development as a popular vacation destination," said Estuardo Ortiz, COO of AviancaTaca. "We believe that North American passengers will enjoy the nature, culture and rich historical background found in Nicaragua, as well as the world-class service TACA offers. We are always looking for the best possible way to suit the needs of our passengers and the markets we serve in order to provide better flight options through our route network."

"This new campaign on Expedia.com from the Nicaraguan Tourism Board and TACA is an exciting development for the destination," said Noah Tratt, Vice President of Expedia Media Solutions.  "We look forward to working with these two entities and to promoting Nicaragua to our users."

Expedia.com 
www.visitnicaragua.us

About Nicaragua
Central America's new travel destination, Nicaragua offers visitors an authentic experience that puts them in touch with the country's natural beauty and warmth of its people. Travelers enjoy ecotourism, adventure tourism or simply relax against the backdrop of dazzling colonial architecture; spectacular volcanoes, lakes and rainforest; and pristine beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Central America's largest country and the safest, Nicaragua beckons with a wide variety of travel options at affordable prices. www.visitnicaragua.us 

About Avianca and TACA
Avianca and TACA – along with other airline subsidiaries and business units – form the AviancaTaca Holding. With a modern fleet of more than 140 short, medium, and long haul airplanes and an exceptional human team made up of over 17,000 collaborators, Avianca and TACA directly serve over 100 destinations in 25 countries throughout the Americas and Europe, which connect to over 750 destinations worldwide served through interline and codeshare agreements with other airlines. With more than four million members registered to its loyalty program, LifeMiles, the airline group recorded combined annual sales revenues of almost four billion dollars. Its multi-hub business model offers diverse and convenient passenger flight options in Latin America, through Bogota, Colombia; San Salvador, El Salvador; Lima, Peru; and San Jose, Costa Rica. The organization also offers a broad portfolio of air products and services, which include: air cargo services, mail, courier, specialized aeronautical assistance and vacation packages. This year, Avianca and TACA joined Star Alliance, the most important global alliance in terms of daily flights, destinations, and passenger benefits. With its incorporation to this network, all of Avianca and TACA's passengers gain access to more than 20,000 daily flights to more than 1,100 airports in the world, offered by the 28 Star Alliance member airlines. For more information visit taca.com, avianca.com, and staralliance.com.

SOURCE Nicaragua Tourism Board