American Airlines today announced the launch of Aprendi.com, the first-ever social travel website in Spanish. Aprendi.com will allow travelers to learn from, and share, their experiences with other travelers in the online community. As the popularity of social media sharing continues to grow, the number of Latinos online and on social websites is also growing rapidly – currently more than 30 million participate. This makes the Aprendi.com site ideal for Hispanic travelers who are increasingly traveling to expand their horizons and explore new places.

“We know Hispanic travel behavior is evolving and that one of the reasons to travel is to be inspired, learn about new cultures and live richer, fuller lives,” said Cynthia Barnes, American’s Director – Diversity Markets and Advertising. “We want them to share those travel experiences and trade stories with others in their communities. And we want to be the airline they choose as they visit the most exciting destinations around the world.”

American offers more flights to more destinations in Latin America than any other airline and thanks to its oneworld® Alliance partners, travelers and adventure seekers can choose from 900 destinations across 145 countries to enjoy a new language, culture, cuisine or new experience they can treasure forever and share with others on Aprendi.com.

Aprendi.com is the next evolution of American’s existing U.S. Hispanic advertising campaign. “Aprendi” (I learned) focuses on the emotional benefit of traveling and how Hispanics can enrich their lives through travel. The Spanish-language site offers Hispanic travelers the opportunity to learn about destinations, interests and activities that matter most to them – all from other travelers. Users can create a unique profile, upload images and videos from their travels, and share their adventures with family and friends through such social channels as Facebook and Twitter.

As part of the launch activities of Aprendi.com, travelers also will have a chance to compete in a contest to be named Ambassador for one of four regions – North America, South America, the Caribbean or Europe. If chosen, they will receive the experience of a lifetime – a two-week trip for themselves and a guest to one of the regions. During the first phase of the contest, which runs through Oct. 14, 2011, participants will apply online to compete. For the second phase, the 12 semi-finalists will submit videos explaining why they should be named Ambassador for their region of choice. The Aprendi.com online community will vote on the final eight from the video contest, and select the final four, who will be announced Dec. 1, 2011.

The four lucky winners will then chronicle their adventures on Aprendi.com and continue to inspire other Hispanic travelers to head off on their own adventures.

Zubi Advertising, the U.S. Hispanic advertising agency for American Airlines and creator of the site, conducted research through focus groups and received excellent response from Hispanic travelers. “Preliminary feedback from travelers led us to expand the Aprendi campaign and culminated in the development of the Aprendi.com website,” said Joe Zubizarreta, Zubi’s Chief Operating Officer.