Expedia,
Inc. and United Nations Foundation Announce
World Heritage Partnership
Agreement Focuses on Sustainable Tourism,
Economic Development, and Promotion of
World Heritage Sites and Communities
BELLEVUE, Wash., and WASHINGTON,
D.C. – (August 23, 2005) Expedia,
Inc., one of the world’s leading
travel service companies, and the United
Nations Foundation (UN Foundation), an
innovative public charity created by Ted
Turner to increase support for the United
Nations, today announced a joint initiative
to promote sustainable tourism and awareness
of World Heritage sites and communities
around the world. The partnership will
benefit these places of cultural and natural
interest by offering travel opportunities,
consumer education, matching donations,
and local site economic development projects.
With this exclusive agreement, Expedia,
Inc. also becomes the first travel industry
partner to promote the UN Foundation’s
initiative to promote and preserve World
Heritage sites.
There are 812 World Heritage sites around
the world, including 19 in the United
States, which have been internationally
recognized for their outstanding value
as natural, cultural, and historical treasures.
The sites include Yellowstone National
Park, Independence Hall, the Grand Canyon,
Stonehenge, the Galapagos Islands, and
the Historic Centre of Prague, and are
protected by the 1972 World Heritage Convention,
signed by 180 countries and administered
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“Expedia, Inc. and the United Nations
Foundation are launching this initiative
because of our shared passion for conserving
World Heritage sites and our mutual support
for the work of UNESCO,” said Timothy
E. Wirth, President, UN Foundation. “By
promoting sustainable tourism, we will
help safeguard World Heritage sites for
generations to come, and provide economic
development opportunities for local communities.”
“Expedia is in the business of inspiring
and empowering our customers in their
travel choices, and UNESCO and the UN
Foundation are actively working to preserve
some of the most interesting travel destinations
around the world,” said Dara Khosrowshahi,
CEO of Expedia, Inc. “In our partnership,
we will support local communities at World
Heritage sites in their efforts to develop
tourism businesses based on World Heritage
values. In doing so, we will help to preserve
important cultural and natural sites,
and give something back to the communities
and people who provide our travelers with
hospitality at these special places.”
Expedia, Inc.’s support of this
initiative goes beyond just financial
assistance. More information will be forthcoming
in the next few months, however, planned
activities include:
o Supplying World Heritage Destination
Education: The initiative will promote
information on key World Heritage sites
to customers though several of the Expedia,
Inc. brand sites.
o Offering World Heritage
Trips: Expedia, Inc. will launch specially
created trips to World Heritage destinations
that will be available through Expedia,
Inc.’s network of travel sites;
net proceeds from these trips will be
donated to the UN Foundation in support
of World Heritage activities.
o Providing Matching Donations:
Expedia, Inc. and the UN Foundation will
match Expedia customers' donations to
the initiative -- up to a total of $50,000
-- in support of developing locally owned
tourism enterprises at World Heritage
sites.
o Donating Employee Time
and Talent: Expedia, Inc. employees will
help develop sustainable, locally owned
and managed tourism businesses at selected
World Heritage sites -- helping to create
local jobs and build support for the sites’
continued protection.
“We are looking forward
to leveraging the global travel-industry
expertise of Expedia, Inc. and its employees
and are excited about their intention
to rally their partners in the industry
around this cause,” said Senator
Wirth. “True charitable partnerships
are not just about writing checks. They
are about sharing a passion and a vision
as we do, and working together for positive
change.”
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®, Hotels.com™,
Hotwire®, Expedia® Corporate Travel,
Trip Advisor™ and Classic Custom
Vacations®. Expedia, Inc.’s
companies also operate internationally
with sites in Canada, the United Kingdom,
Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and
China, through its investment in eLong™.
For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com.
(NASDAQ: EXPE)
About the United Nations
Foundation
The UN Foundation was created in 1998
with businessman and philanthropist Ted
Turner’s historic $1 billion gift
to support United Nations’ causes.
The UN Foundation promotes a more peaceful,
prosperous, and just world through the
support of the United Nations. Through
grant-making and building new and innovative
public-private partnerships, the UN Foundation
acts to meet the most pressing health,
humanitarian, socioeconomic, and environmental
challenges of the 21st century. For more
information, please visit http://www.unfoundation.org.
For more information, press
only:
Expedia, Inc.: Kari Swartz, (425) 679-4291
or press@expedia.com
UN Foundation: Amy DiElsi, (202) 419-3230
or adielsi@unfoundation.org
Expedia, Expedia.com, and
the airplane logo are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc.
in the United States, Canada and/or other
countries. Other product and company names
mentioned herein may be trademarks of
their respective owners
