Listed: NYSE TSX Symbols: IDR (NYSE) ITW (TSX) VANCOUVER, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Intrawest Corporation, a world leader in destination resorts and adventure travel, announced that Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) was named "World's Best Luxury Tour Operator" and "Best Africa Tour Operator" by America's top travel professionals at the recent Travel Weekly "Readers Choice" awards in New York. This comes just a month after the company was voted "World's Leading Luxury Specialist Tour Operator" by travel professionals from 80,000 travel agencies in more than 200 countries at the World Travel Awards in London. The "Readers Choice" Awards were established by Travel Weekly in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the travel industry and are considered to be one of the highest accolades a travel company can receive. "To be acknowledged as the world's best by America's top travel professionals is truly a great honor," said Geoffrey Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of the Abercrombie & Kent Group of Companies. "Our mission is to provide the very best in travel and we succeed because of our focus on the customer. Travel agents recognize that our worldwide network of 48 destination management companies enables us to set a higher standard and deliver authentic experiences." "On behalf of all of us at Intrawest, I would like to congratulate the A&K team for the high recognition received from the top travel professionals across North America," said Joe Houssian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Intrawest Corporation. "Abercrombie & Kent is an impressive operation and we are starting to realize the benefits of bringing our companies together in a strategic partnership. We will leverage our leadership position in the destination resort and luxury travel industries to build on the impressive growth of this business." Travel Weekly is the most influential in-depth source of travel industry news, information, analysis, and destination coverage. Engaging and authoritative, Travel Weekly has the largest audience of any B2B travel publication. It reaches 180,000 travel industry leaders, travel agency owner/managers and travel counselors daily. It is read by an audience of the most influential leaders from travel providers, distributors, packagers and associations worldwide. For more than 40 years, Abercrombie & Kent has been internationally recognized as the first name in luxury adventure travel. The company has built its award-winning reputation by being the first to bring unexpected comforts and amenities to remote destinations and providing privileged access to people and experiences in Africa & Egypt, Orient & Australasia, Europe, South America & the Galapagos, Antarctica and North America. Travel with Abercrombie & Kent combines the convenience and service of a U.S. - based company with 24/7 support from a network of 48 on-site offices in destinations worldwide. More information about Abercrombie & Kent and its luxury adventure travel services can be found on the company's Web site at http://www.abercrombiekent.com/. Intrawest Corporation (IDR:NYSE; ITW:TSX) is a world leader in destination resorts and adventure travel. The company has interests in 10 resorts at North America's most popular mountain destinations, including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Intrawest owns Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, and an interest in Abercrombie & Kent, the world leader in luxury adventure travel. The Intrawest network also includes Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest - a private resort club with nine locations throughout North America. Intrawest develops real estate at its resorts and at other locations across North America and in Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit http://www.intrawest.com/ Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Intrawest's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, Intrawest's ability to implement its business strategies, seasonality, weather conditions, competition, general economic conditions, currency fluctuations and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional information, please contact Mr. John Currie, chief financial officer, at (604) 669-9777 or Mr. Tim McNulty, director, investor relations at (604) 623-6620 or at If you would like to receive future news releases by email, please contact: DATASOURCE: Intrawest Corporation CONTACT: Mr. John Currie, chief financial officer, at (604) 669-9777 or Mr. Tim McNulty, director, investor relations at (604) 623-6620 or at

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