2011.04.14

Media Contact:
José Balido
www.Tripatini.com

TRAVEL SOCIAL NETWORK TRIPATINI.COM LAUNCHES TRAVEL-THEMED EASTER EGG HUNT

Aided by clues, members comb a world of travel fun to unearth a prizewinning treasure

MIAMI – APRIL 13, 2011 – “The egg is in the rabid rhino’s tush.” That’s the first clue on the Great Tripatini Easter Egg Hunt, travel social network Tripatini.com’s first Easter egg-stravaganza designed to engage and lead members through globespanning blog posts, wall posts, photos, and videos, one of which contains a hidden chocolate Easter egg. One key clue per day will be issued to help members in their quest, and those who correctly identify the location of the chocolate egg by the end of the hunt at midnight on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011, will be entered in a random drawing for the following prizes:

• 1st Prize: A four-day/three-night vacation for four at Universal Studios Orlando, including lodging with breakfast, transfers, and passes to Universal’s theme parks, Islands of Adventure (including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter) and the original Universal Studios. 
• 2nd Prize: A $100 Travelocity gift certificate.
• 3rd Prize: A $50 Travelocity gift certificate.

“Plenty of travel sites, and Web sites in general, have held contests up the wazoo,” Tripatini CEO David Paul Appell observed, “but our Easter Egg Hunt is different for two key reasons: we are, as far as our office minions can tell, the first-ever online contest to hide an egg in a rhiney hiney. From a social-media gaming perspective, we may also be the first site ever to use actual site content as the virtual game board. Or at least the first one to make a big deal out of it.”

“We’ve certainly run contests before,” commented Tripatini president José Balido, “but this is by far the most compelling – tricky enough to be a fun challenge for anyone with a pulse, but far from impossible. Our 2011 Great Tripatini Easter Egg Hunt is another step forward in our continuing mission to provide our members stimulating ‘edu-tainment’ in addition to extremely valuable tailored advice from thousands of travel journalists and professionals. Stay tuned for more.”

For the current clue in the Great Tripatini Easter Egg Hunt, click here.

ABOUT TRIPATINI

Launched in August 2009, Tripatini.com differs from other travel social networks in promoting direct access to thousands of travel journalists and industry professionals from nearly 200 countries on every continent, including hotels/resorts, airlines, cruise lines, national and local tourism boards, car rental companies, and more. Forums such as “Ask A Travel Pro” and hundreds of others allow travelers to get specifically tailored advice from experts, and allows the professionals to promote their services, destinations, and reporting directly to the traveling public. For testimonials, backgrounders, and other information, check the Tripatini media room or contact José Balido.

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Editor's Note: Interviews available uponrequest.

Great Tripatini Easter Egg Hunt 2011

Corporate logo

David Paul Appell, Founder and CEO, enjoying a glass of horchata in Valencia, Spain.

"FACEBOOK for travelers. That's the aim of [Tripatini], a social networking site of, for and by travelers - from writers to flight attendants and travel agents - focusing on over 250 global locations."
New York Post / New York, NY

"[Tripatini] connects travelers in need with professionals who can help. (...) I'm simply impressed ̶ enormously impressed ̶ by it."
Arthur Frommer on www.frommers.com / New York, NY

"I love Tripatini better than Trip Advisor!"
Nayaz Noor, CEO, Safirtours.biz / Secunderabad, India

"Much cooler than 90% of new travel sites..."
Max Hartshorne, Editor of GoNomad.com / South Deerfield, MA

"This is probably the best venue for our social networking efforts in the travel biz."
Laurie McKenzie, McKenzies' Trails West / Cline, Alberta, Canada

"Potentially a fantastic backdoor route for scoring expert advice from the people who travel and explore for a living!"
Alistair Wearmouth on Away.com, Travel Editor / Washington, DC

"By the time they reach their first million members, [Tripatini] can become a good promotional vehicle."
Chris Robles, Director of Marketing for the Brunei Tourism Development Department / Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

"Fantastic concept for the travel industry - will be sure to invite all our colleagues in Australia and NZ."
Tess Willcox, Senior Account Manager at World Resorts of Distinction / QLD, Australia

"I love Tripatini and always get great travel ideas from your fabulous site!"
Sharon Spence Lieb, Travel Journalist / Charleston, SC

"Great idea and vision, for everyone who travels....anywhere."
Patricia Aitken, Travel Agent / Eagle Point, OR

"It's great to see someone doing something proactive instead of just whining about the state of the travel industry!"
Alan Solomon, Travel Journalist / Chicago, IL

"I am very excited about this site and am looking forward to participating."
Carol Fravel, Travel Agent / San Jose, CA

"This is a beautiful website. I'll use some of the information in my Travel Tips column."
Betty Austin-Ware, Travel Journalist / Fort Mill, SC

"A great organization for quality travel & culinary connections."
Leigh Cort, Publicist / Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

"I am a hold-out -- have resisted joining any other online networking site -- no MySpace or Facebook for me. :-) "
Sharon Rooney, Publicist / Windsor, CA

"What a great site for resources!"
Tanja Rieck, Travel Agent / Redwood City, CA

2009.11.09: Tripatini is "a lot more useful than Facebook," says Tania O'Connor of Abeba Tours, Ethiopia, at Tripatini's World Travel Market cocktail party at London's Royal Horseguards Hotel.

2009.11.09: Why is Tripatini important? Listen to Nini Biilmann of Greenland Tourism & Business Council, interviewed at Tripatini's World Travel Market cocktail party at London's Royal Horseguards Hotel. 

2009.11.09: Why I joined Tripatini.com: Partha Chatterjee of Keys Hotels (Mumbai, India) explains, at Tripatini's World Travel Market cocktail party at London's Royal Horseguards Hotel.