More and more consumers in the United States and around the world are researching and booking their travel online, and businesses have responded by putting their product offerings on the Internet. However, growing frustration among online travel researchers, who often have difficulty finding the information they want, can result in lost business opportunities for companies that have invested in excellent websites.

A sponsored top-level domain exclusive to the tourism and travel industry, .travel, has been created to address this problem:

Ø       It will function as an identifier for travel-related Internet searches, directing consumers to websites within the .travel domain first so they can easily identify legitimate tourism businesses. 

Ø       A .travel directory will also match buyers and sellers of travel products and services. Every .travel registrant will be listed in the directory, which will enable users to search over 1,400 categories covering all facets of tourism and travel, including Bed and Breakfast accommodations.

The .travel domain will enable companies in the tourism and travel industry to substantially improve their Internet visibility, communications and transactional capability, maximize their website traffic and increase their business volumes.

 

The .travel sponsored top-level domain is technically and functionally exactly like any other top-level domain, such as .com. It is international, so it can accept registrations from any country or region. All sponsored top-level domains serve a defined community whose members are exclusively eligible to register a name under the designated extension. In the case of .travel, only organizations, companies, partnerships and individuals that are directly active in the tourism and travel industry can hold a .travel name. To protect the domain's integrity, eligibility data will be gathered from organizations and individuals applying for a .travel name and reviewed for accuracy, a process called "authentication".

 

Registration and authentication policies and procedures are being overseen by Tralliance Corporation of New York, which has been confirmed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to serve as the registry for .travel in conjunction with the sponsor, The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC), a non-profit corporation.

 

For additional information about the .travel project, please visit

- TIAC website at http://www.tiac-aitc.ca/english/travel.asp (English)

- TAIC website at http://www.tiac-aitc.ca/francais/travel.asp (French)

- BnBSTAR website at http://www.bnbstar.com/login.asp

- ICANN website at http://www.icann.org/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/travel.htm

- Tralliance website at http://www.tralliance.info/docs/PreAuthGuide.pdf