Media Center

Exotica Cottage Resort Joins World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism

New York, NY, (November 28, 2007) —

Leading partnership created by Expedia, Inc. and United Nations Foundation promotes sustainable tourism to World Heritage sites

Exotica Cottage Resort announced today that it has joined the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (WHA) as a full member. The WHA is an industry-leading initiative; it was founded by Expedia, Inc. and the United Nations Foundation, to support UNESCO's goal of promoting and protecting the 851 World Heritage sites around the world.

In the words of Managing Director/Co-Owner, Fae Martin: "The essence of Exotica has been the preservation of our island's natural and cultural heritage and sharing this with residents and visitors alike as the centerpiece of their travel experience. We are delighted to be a part of the WHA Family which is dedicated to maintaining the authenticity of this experience."

Director/Co-owner, Athie Martin reminds us of, "the recent establishment of a Community Gardens and Culinary Tour engages local community groups directly with Exotica in developing the links between outdoor activities, sustainable gardening methods, healthy eating and the protection of a World Heritage Site which itself provides the quality water, soil conservation and wildlife components of a special visitor experience."

"We're pleased to have Exotica Cottage Resort joining the partnership," said Erika Harms, executive director of the World Heritage Alliance. "Together we have the power to reach millions of people around the world and help both preserve and protect some of the world's most beautiful and significant sites."

By the end of 2007, there will be 50 members and partners of the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism – up from 15 in 2006 including, Expedia Inc. and the UN Foundation. These members and partners will be working in 7 countries to aid in the conservation of at least 20 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

All WHA members were recognized this week at a series of events in New York, including a dinner and symposium discussing important issues related to World Heritage and sustainable tourism.

The WHA offers two levels of partnership, each being committed to advancing the WHA mission: WHA members and WHA associate partners. WHA members consist of travel industry companies, such as hotels, tour operators, travel agents, airlines and cruises, among others. WHA associate partners are NGOs, civil society groups, government bodies, industry associations and other organizations that may not exclusively be devoted to tourism.

Each WHA member is committed to:

· Implementing the World Heritage Alliance principles, a set of guidelines developed in consultation between the UN Foundation, Expedia, UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic that foster greater attention to social, cultural and environmental sustainability within their business.

· Participating in staff training programs by enrolling staff in occasional in-person or online training courses organized by the WHA that educate about the key issues related to World Heritage and sustainable tourism.

· Educating the traveling public about World Heritage by providing informational materials, exclusive packages to World Heritage destinations, volunteer opportunities with local communities, and the ability for customers to purchase goods and services that are rooted in local cultures and environments.

· Supporting community development around World Heritage sites by working with local communities to build and enhance sustainable tourism opportunities for travelers and to provide markets for locally produced sustainable goods and services.

· Engaging employees to support the local community through WHA volunteer programs and other opportunities that allow employees to work side-by-side with community-based initiatives.

· Supporting the United Nations in its efforts to encourage sustainable tourism and the protection of World Heritage sites through the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.

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Exotica is a remote, private cluster of beautiful wood and stone cottages nestled four hundred meters up the western slopes of the Morne Trois Piton National Park, just on the fringe of Dominica's first World Heritage Site named after the Park. The property consists of a 4-acre garden where organically grown fruits and vegetables find their way to the tables of hotel guests and visitors. Some 38 species of tropical flowers and aromatic plants are cultivated on site attracting over 20 species of local birds as regular visitors. Attention to the sustainable management of water, waste and energy alongside involvement with local community activities reveals the commitment of owners and workers at Exotica to maintaining the synergy between the tradition of sustainable farming and the culture of conservation represented by the World Heritage Site that is our neighbor.

The World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism

The World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (WHA) works to support World Heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, and local economic development for communities in and around World Heritage sites. The WHA for sustainable tourism was founded by the UN Foundation and Expedia in the fall of 2005 to support UNESCO's goal of promoting and protecting World Heritage sites. For more information, visit: www.worldheritagealliance.org.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. Expedia, Inc. also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents and in-destination concierge service and activity desks for travelers. The Expedia, Inc. portfolio of brands includes: Expedia.com®, hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Expedia® Corporate Travel, TripAdvisor®, Expedia Local Expert™, Classic Vacations® and eLong™. Expedia, Inc.'s companies operate more than 50 global points of sale with sites in North America, South America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Expedia, Inc. was recently added to the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ (NASDAQ: EXPE).

About the UN Foundation

The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and also works to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. The UN Foundation is a public charity. www.unfoundation.org

About the World Heritage Centre

The World Heritage Centre is the focal point and coordinator within the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for all matters related to World Heritage. It acts as the Secretariat of the World Heritage Committee, organizing its statutory meetings, developing and proposing policy on its behalf and actively ensuring the implementation of activities in accordance with its decisions and in co-operation with the States Parties and the Advisory Bodies (ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN). It provides advice to States Parties on the preparation of Tentative Lists and nominations to the World Heritage List and assures their receipt, registration, archiving and transmission to ICOMOS and/or IUCN. It also coordinates studies and activities in support of the Global Strategy for a balanced, representative and credible World Heritage List. The Centre organizes International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund, coordinates the Periodic Reporting exercise and reactive monitoring on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties as well as the emergency action undertaken when a property is threatened. It organizes technical seminars and workshops, and updates the World Heritage List and database, and promotes the World Heritage Convention to the general public.

The World Heritage Centre coordinates its activities with those of other multilateral cultural and environmental agreements, UNESCO cultural and natural heritage conventions and recommendations, to ensure complementarity and synergy. The Centre also identifies and implements regional and thematic programmes, and mobilizes additional financial and technical resources to ensure the conservation and management of World Heritage properties in partnership with other UN agencies, development banks, conservation NGOs, research institutions, foundations and the corporate sector.

Expedia and Expedia.com are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Classic Vacations is either a trademark or registered trademark of Classic Vacations, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. hotels.com is either a trademark or registered trademark of hotels.com, L.P., a subsidiary of hotels.com in the U.S. and/or other countries. Hotwire is either a trademark or registered trademark of Hotwire, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. TripAdvisor is either a trademark or registered trademark 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.

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