Expedia, Inc. Promotes Mexican Caribbean Recovery Post Hurricane Wilma by Launching $500,000 Marketing Program and Participating in Local Area Economic Development Projects

CANCUN, Mexico, March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) announced a $500,000 USD marketing program designed to educate travelers that the Mexican Caribbean featuring destinations like Cancun, Cozumel and Riviera Maya is once again ready for business. The campaign will debut in the coming weeks on Expedia.com and will also inform travelers of the property-by-property recovery status of key hotels throughout the Yucatan Peninsula in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma.

"As the world's leading travel service provider, Expedia, Inc. has the unique privilege of being able to quickly support our travel industry partners in the Yucatan Peninsula during times of need by sharing timely information and education that helps to rebuild international traveler confidence," said Paul Brown, President, Expedia, Inc. Partner Services Group. "We look forward to continuing to work closely with our travel partners to provide the latest information, updates and trip ideas to our travelers -- reassuring them that one of their most beloved destinations is indeed open for business."

Expedia hosted a reception in Cancun on Friday attended by representatives from the United Nations Foundation, the State of Quintana Roo, and local-area travel industry partners to celebrate the marketing program kick off and to introduce the World Heritage Alliance in the region. The World Heritage Alliance is an innovative joint initiative between the UN Foundation and Expedia, Inc. to promote sustainable tourism and awareness of World Heritage sites and communities around the world. Expedia, Inc. and the UN Foundation, a public charity founded by Ted Turner, first launched the World Heritage Alliance just four months ago and will be actively working to help promote responsible travel to and education of the irreplaceable World Heritage sites found on the Yucatan Peninsula and throughout Mexico.

"Our commitment to the Mexican Caribbean starts on the ground with our local Expedia, Inc. office," said Pablo Castro, Senior Market Manager for Expedia, Inc. "Expedia has a personal connection to the region with employees and partners alike calling the area home and with the area being one of our customers' most popular vacation destinations. We are excited to be part of the return of this beloved place."

"We applaud Expedia, Inc.'s efforts to help revitalize travel to the Yucatan Peninsula after Hurricane Wilma," said Erika Harms, Director of Sustainable Development for the United Nations Foundation, the world's largest private supporter of World Heritage. "The process of rebuilding the tourism market in the region opens a window to introducing the concept of sustainable tourism development, an important first step to ensure the preservation of the region's five outstanding World Heritage sites."

Through the World Heritage Alliance with the UN Foundation, Expedia, Inc. will work closely with travel industry partners in the Mexican Caribbean to create more awareness and responsible visitation to the region's World Heritage sites and to set up smart business practices that will keep more money in the local communities around the sites. In the region alone, there are five World Heritage sites, including:

   *    Historic Fortified Town of Campeche
   *    Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen Itza
   *    Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal
   *    Ancient Maya City of Calakmul
   *    Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve

An example of the World Heritage Alliance's local economic development work underway can be found at the Sian Ka'an Biosphere, which is located in the state of Quintana Roo a few hours south of Cancun and is widely considered to be one of the premier natural gems of Mexico. Through the World Heritage Alliance's community-based sustainable tourism efforts, Expedia, Inc. and the UN Foundation will be working closely with local tourism businesses around Sian Ka'an to help provide tools and resources to help them better prepare for increased tourism. Expedia, Inc. intends to send employees to Sian Ka'an later this spring as part of a knowledge sharing program to aid with tourism planning. All of these efforts are designed to help these Sian Ka'an communities further establish successful and sustainable tourism businesses.

"We commend Expedia, Inc. for helping to renew tourism to the beloved Mexican Caribbean," said Lic. Gabriela M. Rodriguez, Secretary of Tourism for the State of Quintana Roo in Mexico. "Expedia and the UN Foundation's upcoming local development efforts in Sian Ka'an are just one example of the remarkable impact that other travel industry partners could make in the area as part of the World Heritage Alliance."

About the World Heritage Alliance

The UN Foundation and Expedia, Inc. created the World Heritage Alliance in Fall 2005. The World Heritage Alliances aims to:

Inspire Travelers to Explore and Experience More

New trips to World Heritage sites are currently available through Expedia.com(R), as well as the Expedia.co.uk, Expedia.fr, Expedia.it, and Expedia.de websites. The profits from the designated World Heritage trips booked on the Expedia(R) websites will be donated to the Friends of World Heritage -- an initiative with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre -- for investment in local community projects at World Heritage sites in need, like Sian Ka'an. Expedia.com is currently offering eleven trips -- accessible by visiting http://www.expedia.com/worldheritage .

Promote Economic Development

Expedia and the UN Foundation will donate combined resources, as well as Expedia employee time and talent to support locally-owned tourism enterprises in Sian Ka'an, Mexico, a large, natural World Heritage site on the eastern coast of the Yucatan peninsula. These tourism enterprises will contribute to local community development and help conserve the site's natural environment. Sian Ka'an is the first to benefit from the World Heritage Alliance's economic development efforts -- with other sites to follow.

Encourage Public Awareness and Involvement

Through the Friends of World Heritage initiative and website, individuals have the opportunity to learn more about and support World Heritage conservation, sustainable tourism and local development. To encourage individual donations, Expedia and the UN Foundation will match donations, up to $50,000 from each partner, made through the Friends of World Heritage website, http://www.friendsofworldheritage.org/. These resources will be directed, along with the designated World Heritage trip profits, into local economic development projects at key World Heritage sites.

Engage the Travel Industry

Together, Expedia and the UN Foundation want to engage the international travel industry to join the World Heritage Alliance. Broad industry participation is vital because new partners bring expertise, financial resources and other assets that can further the program's goals. More information on how the travel industry can get involved with the World Heritage Alliance is now available at http://www.worldheritagealliance.org/.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is one of the world's leading travel services companies. With its portfolio of leading travel brands, Expedia, Inc. empowers business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. The company also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents. Expedia, Inc.'s main businesses and brands include: Expedia.com(R), Hotels.com(TM), Hotwire(R), Expedia(R) Corporate Travel, TripAdvisor(TM) and Classic Vacations(R). Expedia, Inc.'s companies also operate internationally with sites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and China, through its investment in eLong(TM). For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ .

NOTE: Expedia, Expedia.com, the airplane logo and Classic Vacations are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Hotels.com is a trademark of Hotels.com, L.P. in the United States and other countries. Hotwire is either a registered trademark or trademark of Hotwire, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. TripAdvisor is a trademark of TripAdvisor, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.