BERTRANGE, Luxembourg, April 25, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metro International S.A. ("Metro"), the international newspaper group, today announced that Metro Modern Media is launching a travel agency, Metro Travel, which will offer inexpensive travel to Europe's most popular cities. Metro Travel will focus primarily on offering a simplified, inexpensive means of seeking and booking into popular hotels in Europe.
Effective today, hotel rooms can be booked simply and inexpensively in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo via Internet www.metrotravel.com. Metro Travel will also be launched in Denmark in early May.
As distinct from other hotel-booking websites, Metro Travel will not clutter its site with an enormous number of hotels. To simplify the selection process for travelers, we have chosen a limited number of hotels in each city, carefully adapted to the needs of different travelers. The name clearly indicates target groups: Metro Budget, Metro City, Metro Family, Metro Hip, Metro Top Choice, etc.
Par Kjellin, President and CEO of Metro Travel commented: "Metro Travel's low prices not only provide Swedish travelers with the opportunity for low hotel costs in the home market but throughout Europe as well. When Metro Travel's operations are fully under way, Swedish cities and hotels will enjoy an entirely new opportunity to reach out to millions of potential new travelers."
Olle Tonnervik, Founder and member of the Board of Directors of Metro Travel, commented: "Metropolitan travel is the fastest growing sector of the travel market. In Europe, more than 10 million travelers take 'City-breaks,' each year. We will concentrate primarily on those customers looking for high quality hotels and low prices without having to make thousands of hotel comparisons."
For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, email info@metro.lu or contact: Olle Tonnervik, Board member, Metro Travel +46 (0)70-514 12 44 Par Kjellin, President, Metro Travel +46 (0)70-964 1801 Hordur Bender, President, Metro Travel Media +46 (0)70-50 33 46
Metro is the largest and fastest growing international newspaper in the world. 55 daily Metro editions are published in 77 major cities in 17 countries in 16 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach -- attracting a young, active, well-educated audience of more than 15 million daily readers and over 33 million weekly readers. Metro has an equal number of male and female readers and 70% are under the age of 45. Metro's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 47% since the launch of the first edition in 1995.
Metro International S.A. 'A' and 'B' shares are listed on the Stockholmsborsen 'O-List' under the symbols MTROA and MTROB.
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