NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced the winners of its inaugural Travelers' Choice^® Awards for Travel Favorites. The awards honor the essential items travelers insist on having with them wherever they go, from luggage and cameras to e-readers and sunscreen.

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The Travelers' Choice Awards for Travel Favorites are based on the votes of thousands of travelers from the U.S. and around the world, covering 15 categories with winning travel brands and products in the U.S., U.K., France, Italy and Spain.

"We asked the world's largest travel community to tell us what they simply can't travel without, and so our Travelers' Choice Awards for Travel Favorites were born. The valuable feedback from our vast community has enabled us to recognize these favorite brands and we're delighted to award the winners with the prestigious TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice seal of approval," said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor.

US Travelers' Choice Awards for Travel Favorites

"We are thrilled that Lonely Planet was recognized in the Travelers' Choice Awards. Lonely Planet is the number one travel publisher in the world and we are honored to have such loyal fans passionate about our brand," said Lainey Franks, VP of marketing at Lonely Planet Americas.

For the complete list of 2012 winners of the Travelers' Choice Awards for Travel Favorites, go to www.tripadvisor.wordpress.com.

Award methodology:

Surveys were conducted in each country using a total panel of more than 7,000 TripAdvisor travelers to select a shortlist of brands/products in each category. A total of 23,706 travelers (including 10,157 Americans) then selected their favorites from the shortlists.

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 60 million unique monthly visitors*, and over 75 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 millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 74 million unique monthly visitors.** TripAdvisor, Inc.'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.tingo.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, Worldwide, July 2012

**Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Worldwide, July 2012

©2012 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved. 

SOURCE TripAdvisor

SOURCE TripAdvisor