Press Release: GORP.com
September 6, 2001
NEW YORK, NY -- GORP.COM (Great Outdoor Recreation Pages), the leading Internet site for outdoor recreation and
adventure travel, yesterday announced that the company has secured its third round of financing. Participants include
previous investors BNP Paribas (Banque Nationale de Paris), Capstone Ventures, FD5 as well as several individual
investors.
The announcement comes just a month after the appointment of Preston Bealle to CEO and amid announcements of key
partnerships. Together with the AOL association, these new business relationships are seen as defining steps in
reaching profitability in the second quarter of 2002.
``GORP.COM has exhibited the vision and leadership to fill a niche in one of the most dynamic areas of the travel
industry,'' said Bob Dorf, General Partner Marketing 1 to 1 Ventures and individual investor in each of GORP's
three fundraising rounds. ``During the past year, GORP has tripled page views, increased its opt-in database to
half a million names in only 6 months, and doubled travel sales quarter over quarter for the past year -- in the
middle of an economic downturn. We know we have a winner here, and are putting our financial resources behind them.''
The additional funding will be used to accelerate GORP's increasingly effective database marketing initiatives
and to support the implementation of new key partnerships established during the summer. The round will remain
open for the next 90 days to allow time for ongoing negotiations to be completed with other investors.
``Travel is clearly the single best online business to be involved in now and for the next few years,'' said Preston
Bealle, CEO of GORP, ``and packaged vacations, such as we provide, are the sweet spot of the online travel business
in terms of margin and profitability. That puts GORP in a strong position as the industry leader in adventure travel.
This investment will take the company to profitability in 2002.''
According to analysts, specialty online travel represents a significant growth opportunity in the next several
years. PhoCusWright, an independent Internet travel intelligence company, estimates the U.S. online travel marketplace
has grown from nothing to more than $14 billion today. They estimate this industry to enjoy double-digit growth
for the next three years. Within this growing market, selling specialty vacations online represents the travel
industry's greatest opportunity. Today, according to these analysts, online sales of these complex and highly profitable
products are very small, but long-term growth represents significant potential.
On the average, GORPtravel sales have enjoyed a 60% growth month over month from the previous year, and in some
months, growth has exceeded 100% above the previous year. Page views have doubled across the board and key strategic
partnerships are working to bring qualified buyers to the site.
``We've developed a unique online resource,'' added Bealle. ``GORP has become the total source for the outdoor
lifestyle. Because of that focus, we are well positioned to capitalize on this expanding marketplace.''
According to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), adventure travel is the fastest growing segment
of the $425-billion leisure travel market. Another online travel industry analyst firm, Jupiter Communications,
estimates the size of the on- and offline active travel market to be $40-50 billion in size and growing at a rate
of 10 percent annually. However, the industry has achieved this size without the benefit of an efficient infrastructure
to match outdoor enthusiasts with the right experiences, adventure tour companies and other consumers with similar
tastes. GORP, well known for its robust outdoor content, has put that infrastructure in place and revolutionized
the way adventure and active travel is researched and booked.
About GORP.com
Started in 1995, GORP is the largest Web site dedicated to outdoor recreation and adventure travel drawing nearly
30 million page views per month. With nearly 250,000 pages, GORP offers a complete package of authoritative, award-winning
content and a full-service active travel-booking feature with thousands of trips, accessible by the Web or telephone.
GORP has been cited by Yahoo!, US News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and many
others, as the leader in this category and a ``Best of the Web'' site. AOL Keyword: GORP.
SOURCE: GORP.com