Whether it is an airline ticket, car trip or bus fare, the high price of gas continues to stretch travel budgets to their limits. In order to help travelers find outstanding destinations in their own backyard, and cut down on the associated fuel costs, TripAdvisor(R) (www.tripadvisor.com), the world's largest travel community, today announced the release of its Gas Tank Getaways tool (www.tripadvisor.com/tankofgas.) This tool provides travelers with vacation destination options that are a tank of gas or less away from home.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/tripadvisor/34690/

TripAdvisor's Gas Tank Getaways tool allows travelers to insert their starting point and choose how far they want to travel by picking how much gas they want to use. Analyzing this information, TripAdvisor provides up to five destination suggestions within the chosen fuel range, showing the places that are the most highly rated by TripAdvisor travelers. Each destination listed displays its distance from the traveler's starting point, and how much it costs (in gas) to get to that particular place, based on current U.S. fuel prices. Clicking on one of these destinations, a TripAdvisor Quick Guide can also be dynamically generated, providing information about top-rated area attractions, restaurants and hotels.

"With the long Labor Day weekend approaching, this tool can help travelers plan an outstanding trip to a regional destination that is both fun, and fits into their weekend travel budgets," said Christine Petersen, chief marketing officer, TripAdvisor. "It can also assist travelers in learning more about destinations they might have previously overlooked as vacation options."

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor(R) Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts nearly 32 million monthly visitors* across 12 popular travel brands, TripAdvisor(R), www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com and www.virtualtourist.com. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with 24 million monthly visitors*, six million registered members and 15 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 300,000+ hotels and attractions and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/), the U.K. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/), Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie/), France (http://www.tripadvisor.fr/), Germany (http://www.tripadvisor.de/), Italy (http://www.tripadvisor.it/), Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es/), and India (http://www.tripadvisor.in/). TripAdvisor(R) Media Network provides travel suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry worldwide. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. .

TripAdvisor is a registered trademark of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, May 2008

SOURCE: TripAdvisor