The results are in - and not just for the presidential election, but for TripAdvisor's "More than Footprints(TM)" philanthropic initiative. TripAdvisor(R) (www.tripadvisor.com), the world's largest travel community, believes in the power of the collective voice, so the company recently asked the public to decide how to allocate its $1 million donation to five travel-related nonprofits.

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To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/tripadvisor/36004/

Placing the power in the people's hands, between September 15 and November 9 more than one million votes were cast at www.tripadvisor.com/Causes, allowing TripAdvisor travelers to weigh in on how the donation should be distributed. Based on the percentage of total votes each organization received, the final results are:

  --  Conservation International - $70,000 based on 7% of the vote
  --  Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - $392,000
      based on 39.2% of the vote
  --  National Geographic Society - $54,000 based on 5.4% of the vote
  --  The Nature Conservancy - $137,000 based on 13.7% of the vote
  --  Save the Children - $347,000 based on 34.7% of the vote

TripAdvisor has experienced tremendous growth over the past eight years, putting the company in a position to support some outstanding nonprofits that are making a positive difference in people's lives and the natural environment. Some of the ways these organizations could potentially use the TripAdvisor donation to improve the world are below.

  --  Conservation International - Support from TripAdvisor will help
      Conservation International's efforts around the world, such as
      protecting and restoring tropical rainforests in Brazil, promoting
      eco-tourism in Madagascar, addressing climate change and saving
      irreplaceable species. It will also help scientists carry out work in
      more than 45 countries across the planet.
  --  Doctors Without Borders - TripAdvisor's donation could help Doctors
      Without Borders' medical teams reach thousands of people uprooted by
      violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, provide assistance to
      people displaced by floods in Haiti, and treat thousands of
      malnourished children in southern Ethiopia. Donations are also used to
      purchase supplies - $15 can buy seven measles vaccinations, $75 can
      provide 1,330 people with 20 gallons of clean water a day for one
      week.
  --  National Geographic Society - The donation from TripAdvisor could help
      support National Geographic's annual Geotourism Challenge, a
      competition in partnership with Ashoka's Changemakers, which
      identifies and showcases innovators in local tourism development and
      management. The competition is a program of the National Geographic
      Center for Sustainable Destinations, which works to protect the
      world's distinctive places through wisely managed tourism and
      enlightened destination stewardship.
  --  The Nature Conservancy - The TripAdvisor donation could contribute to
      the Nature Conservancy's Campaign for a Sustainable Planet, which
      supports the Conservancy's ambitious goal of doubling the protected
      area of all the world's major habitat types by 2015, including
      forests, oceans, rivers and lakes, grasslands, and deserts and dry
      lands.
  --  Save the Children - According to Save the Children, the TripAdvisor
      donation will help "make profound changes for children in need in the
      U.S. and around the world." Some of the ways Save the Children helps
      families and children include providing mothers with prenatal care and
      newborn training, supplying life-saving immunizations for children,
      and building schools and training teachers.

"In the midst of the United States' historic presidential election, it was great to see such strong voter turnout to help nonprofit organizations," said Steve Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor. "Thanks to the guidance of people around the world who participated in this 'democratic philanthropy' initiative, each of these nonprofits is a winner."

The inspiration for the initiative name "More than Footprints" comes from the popular travel mantra, "Take only pictures, leave only footprints." TripAdvisor believes people can leave more than footprints behind when traveling - by making a difference in the places they visit.

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor(R) Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts more than 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 more than 25 million monthly visitors*, nine million registered members and 20 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/), (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/), India (http://www.tripadvisor.in/) and Japan (http://www.tripadvisor.jp/). 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 and More than Footprints are trademarks or registered trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

(C) 2008 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, July 2008

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SOURCE: TripAdvisor, Inc.