PhoCusWright's OTA Index Up 7% in April

Sherman, CT -- In April, the PhoCusWright Online Travel Agency Index (POTAI) was performing largely in line with broader market indices until the final week of the month, when a breakout by Expedia led the index to end the month up 7% (Nasdaq -1%, S&P 500 -1%).

Highlights for April:

1. Expedia exceeded Wall Street expectations for 1Q12 and the stock spiked following the earnings report
2. The index's other large components – Priceline and TripAdvisor – again topped the market, but with more modest gains than in March
3. Internationally-based OTAs continued to struggle

The PhoCusWright Online Travel Agency Index tracks companies that are directly involved in online travel, whether as agencies or close substitutes such as referral or deals sites.

The PhoCusWright Online Travel Agency Index (POTAI) and the PhoCusWright Online Travel Ecosystem Index (POTEI) are key components of PhoCusWright's Money Edition Research Subscription. In addition to these stock indexes, the Money Edition subscription features a range of regular publications, all focused on the financial side of the online travel space. The Money Edition is designed to help travel companies and investors "follow the money" and make smart, strategic decisions with clear and actionable analysis of the financial and economic fundamentals of travel.

About PhoCusWright Inc.
PhoCusWright is the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect. Independent, rigorous and unbiased, PhoCusWright fosters smart strategic planning and tactical decision-making.

PhoCusWright delivers qualitative and quantitative research on the evolving dynamics that influence travel, tourism and hospitality distribution. Our marketplace intelligence is the industry standard for segmentation, sizing, forecasting, trends, analysis and consumer travel planning behavior. Every day around the world, senior executives, marketers, strategists and research professionals from all segments of the industry value chain use PhoCusWright research for competitive advantage.

To complement its primary research and learning solutions in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia, PhoCusWright produces several high-profile conferences in the United States and Germany, and partners with conferences in Canada, China and Singapore. Industry leaders and company analysts bring this intelligence to life by debating issues, sharing ideas and defining the ever-evolving reality of travel commerce.

The company is headquartered in the United States with Asia-Pacific operations based in India and local analysts on five continents.

PhoCusWright is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northstar Travel Media, LLC.