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Orbitz Study Finds Eco-friendly Travel Important to American Travelers

April 13, 2007

CHICAGO, April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- With over two-thirds* (67%) of Americans placing importance on the eco-friendliness of a destination, this market segment has a growing future ahead of it. Orbitz.com (http://www.orbitz.com) is taking time out of this spring to review just how much Americans consider the environment in their travels.

Travelers are reassessing how they travel, where they stay and the impact they leave behind when on vacation, according to the Orbitz survey.

Conducted by MarketTool's Zoomerang's polling service, the Orbitz survey highlights that:

-- More than half (65%) state it would somewhat impact their decision to stay at a hotel if they knew the hotel was using solar or wind energy to supplement the powering of the building. -- A strong majority (63%) state they would pay a little more to rent a hybrid vehicle or stay at a "green" hotel. -- More than half (52%) of Americans state they would be willing to donate a small portion of their vacation budget to help save the environment when booking a trip.

Although great strides have been made regarding eco-travel awareness, it is clear that many Americans feel that destinations in the United States could be doing a better job when it comes to working to preserve Mother Nature. More than half (51%) of Americans surveyed feel the tourism industry in the United States is not environmentally friendly.

"As a responsible global business within the tourism industry, Orbitz is working to provide its customers with more eco-friendly travel information and choices," said Heather Leisman, senior director of merchandising for Orbitz. "Orbitz encourages our customers increase their awareness and consideration of the planet -- whether sea kayaking in Alaska or cleaning up a beach in Key West."

*MarketTool's Zommerang Methodology

The Orbitz poll was conducted online using MarketTool's Zommerang panel of 320 adults ages 19-65, who are regular travelers. Zommerang is a market research service, owned by MarketTool, that directly manages a nationally-representative online panel of more than 2.5 million individuals, with a global network extending to more than 8 million consumers worldwide.

About Orbitz:

Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com) is a leading online travel company that enables travelers to search for and purchase a broad array of travel products, including airline tickets, lodging, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Since launching its website http://www.orbitz.com to the general public in June 2001, Orbitz has become the third largest online travel site based on gross travel bookings. On Orbitz, consumers can search more than 400 airlines, more than 65,000 lodging properties worldwide and 13 car rental companies. Orbitz is a Travelport brand. Travelport (http://www.travelport.com) is one of the largest and most geographically diverse travel companies, dedicated to creating the exceptional travel experiences the world demands.
Orbitz

CONTACT: Jeanenne Diefendorf of Orbitz, 312-894-4986,
jdiefendorf@orbitz.com; or Bryan Olender of Brodeur, 617-587-2044,
bolender@brodeur.com, for Orbitz