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Travelzoo?s European Subscribers Plan to Spend 4.5 Billion on Leisure Travel in 1st Half of 2009

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^{Published in Science and Technology on Monday, January 5th 2009 at 8:21 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-01-05 08:24:02 by Market Wire}  

LONDON--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--[ Travelzoo ] (NASDAQ:TZOO), a global Internet media company, today announced the results of a pan-European subscriber survey conducted simultaneously in 22 regions across the UK, Germany, France and Spain from 21 November, 2008 to 5 December, 2008*. Despite credit crunch concerns, the survey reveals that 95% of Travelzoo's 2,200,000 European subscribers plan to travel for leisure at least once in the first half of 2009, no more and no less than in the same period of 2008. [ Travelzoo's ] European subscribers will spend as much as £4.5 billion (€5.27 billion**) on leisure travel in the first half of the year, with German subscribers planning to spend the most per person, per trip - an average of €656 (£560), while British, Spanish and French will spend an average of £478 (€559), €549 and €537 per person, per trip respectively. In all regions across Europe, more than 35% of subscribers say they plan to take two or more leisure trips in the next six months.

Travelzoo Subscriber Survey Results by Region

German and British subscribers indicated that they will book almost three months in advance of departure, while French subscribers will book two months in advance and Spanish subscribers will book just over one month ahead. Subscribers in Berlin and Hamburg will book the furthest in advance, while subscribers in Madrid plan to book an average of 35 days before departure.

[ Travelzoo ] subscribers are becoming increasingly reliant on Travelzoo's publications to help them find the very best travel offers. On average, 39% of UK subscribers booked an offer featured in a Travelzoo publication in the last 12 months, up from 17% in 2006^†. Similarly, 24% of all German subscribers said they booked an offer featured in the Travelzoo Top 20 in the last 12 months, up from 18% in 2007. 28% of French subscribers and 18% of Spanish subscribers said they booked an offer featured in the Top 20 in the last 12 months.

The survey also reveals that Travelzoo's subscribers are highly flexible when it comes to travel plans - of those subscribers who did book an offer seen on Travelzoo in 2008, 37% said they had no plans to travel to the specific destination or with the specific travel company before seeing an offer published by Travelzoo. Subscribers in London & the South East of England are the most flexible in Europe, with 41.5% saying they booked an offer in 2008 that they were not planning to.

Chris Loughlin, managing director of Travelzoo in Europe commented, ‘The survey results bring some much needed good news for travel companies across Europe. Travelzoo's European subscribers plan to spend as much as £4.5 billion on leisure travel in the first half of 2009, despite the credit crunch. A high percentage of subscribers are open to new ideas and will book offers they were not planning to if Travelzoo recommends them. We are very proud of the fact that so many travellers across Europe trust our recommendations.'

During 2008, Travelzoo's European subscriber base grew from 1,380,000 to 2,200,000, an increase of 820,000 subscribers. In the same period, Travelzoo published approximately 62,000 travel offers across its European publications and subscribers clicked in excess of 30 million times on offers published in Travelzoo's European Top 20 newsletters.

*The Travelzoo Subscriber Survey was fielded via email to 200,000 subscribers in the UK, Germany, France and Spain. Subscribers were segmented into 22 major metropolitan regions. A total of 6,146 subscribers responded. There were no incentives. Total spend of £4.5 billion calculated as follows: Total trips planned 4,377,844 * Average spend per person per trip £482 * 2.2 Average passengers per trip = Total spend £4,645,393,187.

**Exchange rate at time of survey was £1 = €1.17 according to [ www.oanda.net ]

^†2006, 2007, 2008 Travelzoo Subscriber Survey "Have you ever booked a trip seen on Travelzoo, even though you had no plans to do so prior to seeing the offer?"

About Travelzoo

[ Travelzoo ] is a global Internet media company. Travelzoo's media properties, which reach more than 14 million travel enthusiasts in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, Taiwan and the U.K., include the Travelzoo® Web site ([ http://www.travelzoo.com ]), the Top 20® e-mail newsletter, the Newsflash™ e-mail alert service, the Travelzoo Network™ and SuperSearch™, a travel search engine. Travelzoo publishes offers from more than 900 advertisers. Travelzoo's deal experts review offers to find the best travel deals and confirm their true value. Travelzoo's global headquarters is in New York City.

About Travelzoo in Europe

Travelzoo has operated in Europe since 2005. Travelzoo's European media properties, which reach more than 2.2 million travel enthusiasts in the UK, Germany, France and Spain, through its newsletters, include the Travelzoo Top 20™ e-mail newsletter, the Newsflash™ e-mail alert service, and the Travelzoo® websites ([ http://www.travelzoo.co.uk ], [ http://www.travelzoo.de ], [ http://www.travelzoo.fr ], [ www.travelzoo.es ]).

Certain statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions, markets in which we participate and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts. When used in this press release, the words "expect", "predict", "project", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "seek" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward looking statements. Because these forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements, including changes in our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions and other factors discussed in our filings with the SEC. We cannot guarantee any future levels of activity, performance or achievements. Travelzoo undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release. Travelzoo and Top 20 are registered trademarks of Travelzoo. All other company and product names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.

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