VANCOUVER, Jan. 8 -- A survey of top-performing agencies at
UNIGLOBE Travel -- the world's largest franchised travel organization --
indicates that their woman clients are not as satisfied with travel suppliers
such as hotels, airlines, tour operators and car rental agencies as are their
male counterparts.

UNIGLOBE Travel agents say security, service and gender-relations issues
dominate the concerns of their female clients. The significance of these
concerns is compounded by the growth in business now generated by women
travelers: Almost 90% of agencies report an increase in female clients
(compared to male clients) over the past five years.

"Women clearly represent an increasingly significant segment of the travel
market and that is raising specific issues about how they travel," says
Michelle Desreux, senior vice-president of UNIGLOBE Travel (International)
Inc, "Clearly, there are progressive suppliers such as Hyatt Hotels and
Resorts and Carnival Cruise Lines that take special care with women travelers.
However, in the general case, we need to close the gap between what women want
and need and what they get while traveling for business or pleasure."

The survey found, for example, that suppliers are slow to respond to safety
concerns. "Women need to know that they can and should ask for hotel suites
above the ground level or close to the elevator and not take a no for an
answer," says Desreux. "Policies that enhance security should be standard
procedure for travel suppliers and women need to know what they can demand.
Women will clearly respond to suppliers who make an effort to help eliminate
the challenges of traveling alone in foreign cities."

Also, agents say women find that men still get preferred attention by
suppliers. "This attitude permeates everything from supplier advertising that
focuses only on men to face-to-face client service," says Desreux. "No doubt,
service across the board has improved, but women travelers report that gender
biases by suppliers continue."

Desreux says the survey, which involved in-depth interviews with 35 leading
UNIGLOBE Travel agencies in North America, showed there is a rapidly expanding
market for UNIGLOBE Travel to tap.

"With more than 90 per cent of the agencies reporting increases in women
travelers, there is an oportunity for UNIGLOBE Travel to lead the industry by
identifying and serving women's needs," she said.

Desreux adds: "We want to secure that business by finding ways to close the
service gap. We believe the keys are education and advocacy: Education to
help women become more travel savvy; advocacy to rally travel suppliers to
improve the services for women.

"We will be distributing a tip sheet to franchisees for distribution to
their female clients. And I will focus on ways the industry can better
service women when I talk with suppliers.

"By under serving women travelers, suppliers exclude themselves from a
lucrative market," adds Desreux. "We want to facilitate an industry-wide
attitude shift about women and travel. This is not about political
correctness. We have to take these concerns seriously and address them to
improve women's experiences when traveling."

The agents at UNIGLOBE Travel agencies commented on other key women-and-
travel trends. The survey found that:

-- Women need secure hotel rooms (i.e., above the main floor and near an
elevator)

-- Single, older women make up one of the fastest growing travel
demographics

-- Women are perceived to be less experienced travelers than men

-- Women are more likely than men to have all their travel details in place
before a trip

-- Single mothers and grandmothers traveling with children are traveling
more frequently

-- More women are traveling on business compared to five years ago and
further growth is expected

-- Women spend more than men when on vacation

UNIGLOBE Travel (International) Inc., with more than 1,100 locations in the
United States, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria,
Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands is the world's largest franchised
travel organization. It was founded in 1980 in Vancouver, Canada by U. Gary
Charlwood, its chief executive officer and chairman of the board.