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Wayn.com is one of the top travel social sites on the net. With lots of features, it is sure to be a favorite of the serieal traveler.

A travel community with travel resources to include a forum, travel blogs, travel guides and more. Create an account on Travellerspoint.com for free.

Gotsaga allows users to connect with people that speak different languages. Chat that translates into another language. How cool is that.

Travelers can not only use this site to make their group travel plans, but they can use it to find out what sort of things they will expect at their destination. Creating a profile is easy to do.

Dopplr.com is a travel guide that is for the smart traveler with thousands of locations and trips registered.

Next Stop is a brand new user generated travel guide that is sure to be a highly trafficed travel community with lots of resources being added daily.

Offbeatguides.com is a travel guide that specializes in those places that are off the beaten path.

Best Travel Deals.net is a community for travelers who are interested in stretching their travel budget. If you are looking for the best deals for traveling, then this might be the place for you. It is also a Social media travel community that gives out lots of link juice.

Monthly visits to WAYN.com soar 250% in 2 months

London, 15 March, 2011- Following a recent update to the look, feel and functionality of the site, WAYN.com posted a 253% increase in monthly visits to the site.

Just over 4 million visits were logged within the 30 days up to 13 January 2011, increasing to 10.2 million in the 30 days up to 13 March 2011.

The recent upgrade to the site was driven by the company’s new vision to empower users to connect with those who share their interests in terms of where they would love to go (destinations) and what they would love to do (activities).

Co-Founder & Co-CEO Peter Ward stated: ‘The decision to give the site an update is clearly paying off, evidenced by the marked improvement in traffic to the site. Not only are we seeing impressive growth in monthly traffic figures, but also a promising upward trend of the site’s daily traffic rank. The whole team is committed to maintaining this momentum.’

WAYN key site metrics:

16 million registered users
10.2 million visits per month
20,000 photo uploads per day; 18 million strong photo library
12,000 comments / ratings generated daily
15,000 new trips added daily
20,000 dream destinations and activities added daily as part of the new 'intentions broadcasting' platform


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WAYN.com (Where Are You Now? Ltd) is the largest travel and lifestyle based social platform in the world with over 16 million members in over 193 countries. WAYN helps you to realize your dreams by connecting you with like-minded people based on your past experiences, where you would love to go, as well as what you would love to do. WAYN has been recommended by the Telegraph, Financial Times, Independent and Sunday Times newspapers, and has been recognized as the UK’s most popular community website in MetrixLab’s Website of the Year Awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Follow us on Twitter @WAYN
Like us on Facebook & Map Your Friends

Contact: Naresh de Silva

South Africa Tourism projected to lead the way in online destination marketing and social media interaction

SAT within Top 10 most social engaged National DMOs and set to reach Top 3 worldwide


London, November 2010- South Africa Tourism (SAT), currently ranked 7 in terms of number of Facebook ‘likes’, Twitter and WAYN followers of National DMOs, is set to become one of the most socially engaged brands in the worldwide travel landscape. Teaming up with dedicated travel and lifestyle social network WAYN.com, SAT seeks to grow its fan base across the globe, while aligning sales and marketing strategies with the intentions broadcasting of its following.

Research conducted by WAYN.com found Australia leading the way by a wide margin with their fan base closing in on the 1 million mark. New Zealand and Spain bagged 2nd and 3rd spots with 282,945 and 265,125 fans respectively.

South Africa, which currently has 78,502 followers on Facebook, Twitter and WAYN combined, is looking to steal the limelight from 3rd spot Spain as its following is on track to grow by up to 200,000 fans by April 2011. The South Africa profile on WAYN.com itself has garnered 40,112 friends in less than three months, outperforming the equivalent Facebook page, which as of November 14 2010 had recorded 33,589 ‘likes’.

SAT has previously run other campaigns on the WAYN.com platform, most notably the ‘Face of South Africa,’ a competition to find a face for SAT’s promotions in 2009, which proved to be a phenomenal success with over 20,000 applicants in just 3 weeks of the competition opening. WAYN.com is now set to help SAT engage further with their legion of fans by creating an interface to match intentions (as broadcast by individual members within the WAYN community) to corresponding offers from SAT.

Jerome Touze, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of WAYN.com stated that more and more DMOs are focused on cultivating their audience in the social media sphere. “WAYN.com provides a platform in addition to Facebook, Twitter et al to engage with and influence millions of travel consumers, providing a tremendous boost to a brand’s visibility in the digital media space.”

He added: “With increased promotion and competitions on its WAYN.com profile, SAT’s fan base should grow by as much as 200,000 by April 2011, which on current figures would mean that South Africa would depose Spain to occupy 3rd spot with a total of 278,502 fans.”


The Top Ten National DMOs worldwide in terms of Facebook ‘likes’, Twitter and WAYN followers (as of November 14 2010):




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WAYN.com is the largest travel and lifestyle focused social networking community website in the world with over 15.7 million members in over 193 countries. WAYN helps you to realize your dreams by connecting you with like-minded people based on your past experiences, where you would love to go and what you would love to do

Follow us on Twitter @WAYN
Find us on Facebook

Switzerland most popular ski destination in the world

Swiss slopes beat Austria and France to coveted top spot

Britons are Europe’s second biggest spenders on ski holidays behind Germans

London, October, 2010- As the days get shorter and the nights frostier, our thoughts inevitably drift to the onset of winter- and more importantly, to the perfect winter break! For some of us, travel during the snowy season is motivated by the desire to visit a winter wonderland; while for others a holiday in the thick of winter means a chance to get as far away from the cold as possible. Lifestyle and travel social network WAYN.com commissioned a survey among more than 1300 travellers worldwide to find out a little bit more about their winter and ski holiday habits.

According to survey respondents, the best slopes for skiing are to be found in Switzerland, which trounced both Austria and France (rank 2 and 3 respectively) to the number 1 ranking. Boasting some of the best ski resorts in the world, Switzerland headed the Top 10 list of ski destinations, which among others, ranked Canada at number 4, Italy and USA in joint 5th and Russia at number 10.

Reflecting the fact that the ski market is becoming increasingly global, many destinations not popularly associated with a prominent ski culture only just missed out on a Top 10 ranking, such as Chile, South Korea and New Zealand.

Despite the economic downturn, up to 22.5% of the ski enthusiasts in the survey takers spend more than £950 on a ski holiday. US skiers seem more indulgent than their counterparts around the world when it comes to splashing out, with up to 30% spending at least £950 per person for a ski break. In Europe, German skiers top the list of highest average spenders on a ski trip- spending between £796 and £950 per person. The median average spend among skiers globally is £476 - £635.

The survey results also found that some of the most active skiers are to be found in North America, with up to 7.8% of these respondents stating that they skied more than twice a year. By contrast, 55% of European skiers stated that they took a ski holiday only once every two years or less.

Commenting on the findings, WAYN co-CEO Jerome Touze stated that although ski holidays were traditionally seen as very expensive or even ‘posh’, the last decade or so has seen a change in the industry. “Package deals, faster transport and the opening of ski resorts in destinations not traditionally associated with skiing saw the ski market become increasingly global and open- even if the global recession inevitably slowed this trend recently. Indeed, the recession is still likely to dampen many people’s ski plans as the survey results suggest.”

He added: “By contrast, it can be seen that for many, a winter break is the perfect time to escape the cold by going somewhere warm, preferably near a beach.” The full results of the survey can be viewed at http://www.wayn.com/media/WinterSkiSurvey.pdf.

Select results:

Top 10 Ski destinations:



Top 10 European big spenders by country (ranking by median average spend per person per ski trip)*:



* Countries with same average spend sorted by number of respondent skiers, ie. the greater the number of respondents from that country, the higher the position in a tie

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Where Are You Now? (WAYN.com) is the largest travel and lifestyle focused social networking community website in the world with over 15.7 million members in over 193 countries. WAYN helps you to realize your dreams by connecting you with like-minded people based on your past experiences, where you would love to go and what you would love to do.

Email Naresh de Silva on naresh[dot]desilva[at]wayn[dot]com

Follow us on Twitter @WAYN and on Facebook.

UK is Europe’s shopping capital and gives visitors most value for money

France confirmed as the most romantic European destination but with the least friendly locals

Switzerland chosen by most respondents if given the chance to take a free holiday anywhere in Europe


London, September, 2010- With its heady mix of history, culture and geography, Europe has always enchanted the global traveller. No matter what the season, Europe has an array of experiences to offer. But what really attracts today’s travellers to an European holiday? Is it the sunny beaches of the Mediterranean, winter wonderland in the Alps, or shopping in one of its fashion capitals? Lifestyle and travel social network WAYN.com, commissioned a survey among more than 6500 travellers worldwide to discover how European countries ranked against each other in a number of different categories.

According to respondents the most popular reason for visiting Europe is ‘culture’ with just under a quarter of respondents (24.2%) stating that it mattered most when considering a trip to Europe. And in that category Italy comes out tops with 41.5% of respondents including it in their top five European destinations to visit for cultural reasons, followed by France and the UK. Italy also beat off stiff competition from France and Spain to be crowned top gastronomic destination.

Not ready for summer to end? WAYN respondents believe you can’t go wrong holidaying in Spain or Italy, which took the top two spots in the summer holiday category. Or perhaps you’re already planning that perfect winter break? Then Switzerland and Austria are the places to be this winter according to survey results, having got the most votes for top winter destination. France came third in both categories confirming its holiday credentials no matter what the season.

The UK takes the cake in two categories. It was chosen by respondents as the top destination for shopping, followed by France and Italy, while it was also ranked number one in the value for money holiday category. However such positive perceptions are tempered by the fact that it was chosen as the least accessible destination owing to visa restrictions/ immigration procedures.

In the friendliness stakes, Italy again took top prize. On the other hand, the French have yet to shed their image of being unfriendly as France got the most votes for the destination with the least friendly locals, followed closely by Germany, while the UK was in third position.

As for general safety, the results do not portray Eastern European countries favourably, with Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all making it into the top ten of the least safe European destinations. Western Europe is also represented in the top ten list with the UK coming in fifth and Italy in tenth.

Finally, in one of the most coveted categories, when respondents were asked to choose one country if given the chance to have a free holiday, Switzerland came out as number one, followed by Italy and the UK.

Commenting on the findings, WAYN Co-Founder and Co- CEO Jerome Touze stated that the survey results shine a light on reputations that are in some cases deserved but in others, not. “A case in point is how Eastern European destinations are perceived as being less safe than their Western counterparts, which might not necessarily be true but that perception persists, probably due to a lack of information and hearsay.”

He added: “Notable also is the fact that some results show a full spectrum of opinions/perceptions. A case in point is the subject of friendliness, with France occupying fifth position on the ‘friendliest destinations’ list, while simultaneously taking first place in the ‘least friendly destinations’ list. This is probably symptomatic of the fact that there are mixed messages being received by a destination’s target audience. ”

The survey was taken online by 6597 WAYN members. A summary of the results can be viewed at http://www.wayn.com/media/EuroTravelSurvey.pdf.


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Where Are You Now? (WAYN.com) is the largest travel and lifestyle focused social networking community website in the world with over 15.7 million members in over 193 countries. WAYN helps you to realize your dreams by connecting you with like-minded people based on your past experiences, where you would love to go and what you would love to do.

Email Naresh de Silva on naresh[dot]desilva[at]wayn[dot]com

Follow us on Twitter @WAYN and on Facebook.

Realising Your Dreams Just Got A Lot Closer

WAYN (Where Are You Now?) launches WAYN Dating in time for St. Valentine’s Day

WAYN – the world’s largest travel and lifestyle focused social networking community with over 15.4 million members globally, has surprised many by announcing that they will be launching a Dating service called WAYN Dating, which is due to go live at 12pm GMT on St Valentine’s Day.

WAYN Dating (http://wayndating.com) aims to match-make people from around the world based on what they love to do. Peter Ward, co-Founder and co-CEO of WAYN remarks: “This very much in line with WAYN’s new vision. WAYN is all about helping people realise their dreams, by meeting cool people to do fun stuff with, so it was a natural progression for us to consider launching a dating service that is tailored to helping singletons do what they love with someone they would love to do it with.”

WAYN Dating will be revealed at a pre-screening this Friday at a glamorous party in London’s only rooftop Private Members Club – the Kensington Roof Gardens in Kensington, which will be attended by some well known celebrities both old and new. Peter Ward and Jerome Touze, the two co-founders of WAYN and WAYN Dating, will be at the event to make a special announcement and mingle with a select group of friends from the tech and media industry as well as WAYN members from around the world.

The co-founders are staying tight-lipped about the new service in the meantime, which will aim to provide users worldwide with a successful matchmaking facility based on timing, place and desired activity; something that is already hinted on the WAYN Dating countdown page (http://wayndating.com)

Jerome Touze shared: “WAYN Dating will initially launch as a live BETA, with many unique and exciting features coming to the site in the near future. We’re aiming to create an aspirational service that builds on the core values of what WAYN is all about, but in a dating context. It should be a lot of fun!”

A recent Valentine’s survey conducted by the social network shows that from a sample of over 8,000 WAYN members (55% of which were single), 45% regarded shared interests and friendship as the most important criteria when looking for a partner. Also, almost half of those polled (46%) claimed that companionship, sharing similar interests and lifestyle were the most important considerations when looking for a relationship. Those without a sense of humor were seen as the biggest turn offs.

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