NEEDHAM, Mass., January 13, 2016 – TripAdvisor^®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced the winners of its first annual TripAdvisor Community Awards, dubbed “The Ollies” after the TripAdvisor mascot Ollie the Owl. The Ollies recognize the individual TripAdvisor members who made the most contributions to the site in 2015 across eight different award categories, with awards given to travelers at a world, continent and country level.

A total of 82 travelers received awards, drawn from a community of more than 90 million TripAdvisor members. Globally, Hugo Schierling from Argentina was named as the world’s Review Contributor of the Year, having submitted more than 1,500 reviews in 2015, while Simon-Pierre Vullierme from France earns the World Traveler of the Year accolade, given to the one TripAdvisor member worldwide who reviewed experiences in the most countries over the past year.

“Consumers can book their trips confidently on TripAdvisor thanks to the advice millions of travelers have shared on our site,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor, “We have launched the Ollies to give a deserved spotlight to those individuals who made the most contributions in 2015, and to celebrate their efforts to improve the travel experience for others around the world.”

U.S. TripAdvisor Community Award Winners for 2015

The TripAdvisor Community Awards honored four members from the U.S., winning across seven award categories. Susan Kaiser from the San Francisco Bay area was recognized as the U.S. Review Contributor of the Year.

Meet Some of the TripAdvisor Community Award Winners

Susan Kaiser (profile name: mini) – U.S. and North America Review Contributor of the Year, U.S. and North America Attractions Reviewer of the Year and U.S. and North America Photographer of the Year:

Kaiser began using TripAdvisor in 2005 to satisfy her wanderlust. Since then she has contributed a tremendous amount of content to the site to give back to her fellow travelers. Her efforts have earned her recognition for the U.S. member with the most review submissions for two years running. When she’s not writing reviews or posting photos, she also serves as a Destination Expert for San Francisco on the TripAdvisor Forums. “I contribute to give back to the site for all of the advice I’ve received over the years,” said Kaiser. “There are so many great people in the TripAdvisor community that have made our travels so much more memorable.”

Bernardo Famorca (profile name: 811BernardF) – U.S., North America and World New Contributor of the Year and U.S. and North America Accommodation Reviewer of the Year:

Famorca began writing reviews to help other travelers find good bargains and avoid travel mishaps. Once he got started sharing his experiences on TripAdvisor in 2015, it became a passion, especially after he saw how many people were reading his reviews. “When I write a review, I try to provide a realistic, detailed account of the property, including what it looks like, any obvious pros and cons and the services it offers,” said Famorca. “Being objective is key, as I want people to know what overall experiences they can expect."

2015: The Year in Reviews

2015 saw a huge increase in the number of reviews and opinions posted on TripAdvisor, with a community of more than 90 million members worldwide contributing content to the site. TripAdvisor now features more than 290 million reviews and opinions, spanning 5.3 million businesses and properties in more than 126,000 destinations.

10 Most-Reviewed Cities in 2015:

With so much content contributed to the site, there were several interesting review trends that emerged in 2015. Thelongest TripAdvisor review of the year was 13,047 words long, and here are five more surprising facts:

1.6,124 reviews were posted of the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino – making it the most reviewed hotel in the world last year.

2.The most reviewed attraction in the world was the Eiffel Tower – with over 23,000 reviews.

3.Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans received the most reviews of any eatery in the world – 4,984 in total.

4.On average, Japanese travelers posted at least 9 reviews each on TripAdvisor in 2015 – proportionally more than any other nationality.

5.South Korea saw the biggest growth in TripAdvisor reviews of any country in the world.

Note to Editors:

Data based on traveler contributions submitted to TripAdvisor from January 1 – November 16, 2015.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 350 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 290 million reviews and opinions covering 5.3 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 47 countries worldwide.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 23 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com,www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com(including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl, www.besttables.com and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com,www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com,www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com,www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, and www.virtualtourist.com.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, July 2015

**Source: TripAdvisor log files, average monthly unique users, Q3 2015