TripAdvisor Announces 2012 Travelers' Choice Beach Destinations Awards

Best Beach Spots in the U.S. and World Recognized Based on Opinions from Millions of Travelers

News provided by

Mar 07, 2012, 06:00 ET

NEWTON, Mass., March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced the winners of its annual 2012 Travelers' Choice^® Beach Destinations awards. One hundred eighty-one top beach locations were named around the world, covering 21 regions including lists for Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Middle East, South America, South Pacific, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, U.K. and the U.S.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/49258-tripadvisor-annual-2012-travelers-choice-beach-destinations-award-winners

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120307/MM64783)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080902/TRIPADVISORLOGO)

Award winners were determined based on the most highly rated beach destinations by travelers in TripAdvisor reviews. Unlike any other honors, TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice winners are based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions from travelers around the world.

"Travelers seeking a brief beach respite from the cold or planning their grand summer getaways will quickly warm up to the thought of trips to these award-winning beach destinations, as identified by TripAdvisor's community of millions of travelers," said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor.

Travelers' Choice Award-winning World Beach Destinations:

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
Palm/Eagle Beach, Aruba
Tulum, Mexico
Negril, Jamaica
Saint Pete Beach, Florida
Boracay, Philippines
Cancun, Mexico
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Miami/Miami Beach, Florida
Varadero, Cuba
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Oludeniz, Turkey
Honolulu, Hawaii
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Daytona Beach, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Lahaina, Hawaii
Cayo Coco, Cuba
Marsa Alam, Egypt
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Icmeler, Turkey
Puerto Alcudia, Spain

Travelers' Choice Award-winning U.S. Beach Destinations:

Saint Pete Beach, Florida
Miami/Miami Beach, Florida
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Honolulu, Hawaii
Daytona Beach, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Lahaina, Hawaii
San Diego, California
Key West, Florida

The complete list of 2012 Travelers' Choice Beach Destinations can be found at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Beaches.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors*, and over 60 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 18 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 69 million unique monthly visitors**. TripAdvisor's travel media brands include: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com and www.kuxun.cn.