Tripology Trend Report: Consumer Travel Spending on the Rise -- Looking for Travel Deals, Yet Willing To Spend More

Tripology, the leading online travel referral service, today announced that recent research finds a steady increase in the average budget per trip submitted by consumers this spring and summer, compared to the end of 2008. In fact, the average minimum budget per trip was higher in June 2009, than in any other month since July 2008. Additionally, the average trip budget nearly doubled in amount from May to June 2009 - from approximately $3,100 to just under $6,000 per trip.

This trip budget increase is revealed in Tripology's newly published July 2009 Trend Report. Some other findings of the report include the following:

-- The top five requested cities are Las Vegas, Orlando, Cancun, Honolulu and London.
-- Cancun shows no slowdowns in demand despite the swine flu scare.
-- Rome now appears prominently as the 8th most requested city, after not being ranked in the "top 10 cities" in both 2008 and 2009.
-- Of Tripology's top destinations, the Caribbean has shown a considerable increase in demand from the end of March 2009 to the end of June 2009.
-- All four of Tripology's top requested regions - Western Europe, Caribbean, Asia and Africa - show increased demand in June 2009 vs. previous months.

"While we were surprised to see that travelers' budgets have been increasing since the end of 2008 through summer 2009, there is no doubt they are certainly looking for travel deals," said John T. Peters, President and CEO of Tripology. "Our trend report indicates that consumers are still looking to travel and even willing to spend a little more on their trips and vacations, but they are also seeking the help of live experts and knowledgeable travel specialists to help plan their trips and to weed through all the added value offerings and the incredible travel deals currently available."

Additionally, the Tripology Trend Report reveals the following Tripology.com stats:
-- A significant positive trend continues at Tripology.com for online consumers looking to be connected with offline travel specialists, even through the recession.
-- While demand for Orlando increased in June 2009, the demand for Disney World decreased slightly for the same period.
-- Roughly 70 pecent of traveler's requests are for trips with a duration of fewer than 8 days.

To receive the complete findings of the Tripology Trend Report, please send a request via email to press@tripology.com or direct message @Tripology on Twitter. New Tripology Trend reports are published bi-monthly.

For additional information about Tripology, visit Tripology.com. Travel Specialists can access the company's dedicated agent website at Tripology.com/agent for information on how to become a registered Tripologist.

About Tripology:
Tripology is an interactive travel referral service focused on connecting travelers with qualified and customer-rated travel specialists. Available at no cost to consumers, Tripology utilizes proprietary technology to match traveler requests with travel professionals. The company has received and processed more than 100,000 consumer trip requests since Tripology.com launched in June 2007. Based in New York, NY, Tripology offers travelers the best of both worlds, combining a content-rich online experience with access to knowledgeable travel specialists in their desired destination or type of travel for the personal attention and service they seek. Tripology is a privately held corporation based in New York, NY. Its principal investor is Ascend Venture Group. For more information, visit Tripology.com.

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