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TripAdvisor acquires leading cruise community

May 25, 2007 | Online Travel

TripAdvisor has acquired The Independent Traveler, Inc., publisher of Cruise Critic, a leading cruise community and IndependentTraveler.com.

TripAdvisor has acquired The Independent Traveler, Inc., publisher of Cruise Critic, a leading cruise community and IndependentTraveler.com.

“Kathleen Tucker and her team have done a phenomenal job building the most popular cruise community in the world,” said Stephen Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor. “This acquisition is a great addition to our portfolio of leading travel communities and content sites and gives us a strong foothold in the $32 billion cruise market.* Kathleen will continue to lead the team and we expect continued growth and excellence from The Independent Traveler sites.”

“TripAdvisor’s model of acquiring best-of-breed travel media companies and allowing them to continue to operate independently is ideal for us,” said Kathleen Tucker, founder and president of The Independent Traveler, Inc. “By joining the TripAdvisor family, we will have more resources to continue to build our business, expand internationally and strengthen our lead in the cruise space.”

The Independent Traveler, based in Pennington, New Jersey, generates the majority of its revenue through online advertising and content licensing. Terms of the acquisition are undisclosed but the company operates profitably. There are no near-term plans for extensive integration of the business or the Web domains and no staffing changes are expected.

Related Links: Cruise Critic, The Independent Traveler

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