Alexandria, Va., June 20, 2005 – Today, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) announced that USA TODAY has been named the official consumer publication of THETRADESHOW (Travel Retailing and Destination Expo), which will be held in Orlando on Sept. 10-13, 2006.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am that the country’s most-read paper has partnered with ASTA and THETRADESHOW,” said ASTA President and CEO Kathryn W. Sudeikis, CTC. “USA TODAY has been a long-time partner of ASTA and in promoting travel agents to consumers. I’m extremely excited about the possibilities that working with this well-respected publication holds for ASTA and THETRADESHOW.”

“USA TODAY is proud to be the official consumer publication of ASTA/THETRADESHOW,” said Cindy Freed, Vice President of Business Marketing at USA TODAY. “USA TODAY and ASTA have a similar goal -- to simplify the life of the traveler by providing the best, up-to-date information. Our growing relationship builds upon this goal and benefits both organizations as well as our travel partners.”

As THETRADESHOW’s official consumer publication, USA TODAY will join ASTA in promoting the event to travel industry suppliers, travel agents and consumers through links on the companies’ respective Web sites and print ads in related sections of USA TODAY. USA TODAY will also be promoting the ‘Find a Travel Agent’ page on ASTA’s consumer Web site, TravelSense.org.

Each day more than 6.2 million people read some form of USA TODAY (online and print editions). (In April 2005, USATODAY.com had more than 9.9 million unique visitors.) Of those, 63 percent traveled in the past year, while 27 percent took an international trip in the past three years. Thirty-one percent of USA TODAY readers own a valid passport.

Partners of THETRADESHOW include the National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents (NACTA), National Tour Association (NTA) and USA TODAY. For more information on THETRADESHOW, call ASTA’s Meetings Department at 1-800-ASK-ASTA or visit www.astanet.com.