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.travel:
The Sponsored, Top-Level
Domain
Exclusive to the Tourism and Travel Sector
More and more consumers in Canada 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 sector, .travel, has been created to address this problem:
- It functions as an identifier for travel-related Internet searches and a symbol of authentication. By typing in a destination or business name followed by the .travel extension, the user is directed to legitimate tourism- and travel-related businesses rather than unrelated products or services.
- The .travel search engine, www.search.travel, allows internet users to perform a comprehensive search for travel information and services with authenticated .travel domain names being displayed first. With the option of focussing a search on destinations, activities, travel agents/tour operators, lodging, transportation, restaurants and travel media the user gets accurate results without having to sort through irrelevant websites.
The .travel domain enables 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.
How to qualify for a .travel domain name
- Click here to apply for authentication; make note of your user name and password, as well as your Unique Identifying Number (UIN). Be prepared to include your legal business name, contact info and which travel sector your organization is involved in.
- Email your supporting documentation for authentication to TIAC. Please include your business name and/or UIN number.
- You will receive an email from TIAC indicating you have been either confirmed or denied authentication, which will contain details on how to proceed to registration. The policy guidelines for names changed in December, 2007.
- Each .travel domain name costs $100 US through TIAC's preferred registrar, NamesBeyond. Full-TIAC members who register with NamesBeyond will receive a $10 rebate, per name, which will be reflected on their membership renewal invoice the following year.
Background
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, according to uniform eligibility rules, policies and procedures.
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 policies and procedures governing authentication will be 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 that was formed to develop policies for .travel. Tralliance will work with several ICANN-accredited registrars to register names.
Role of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada
As a member of TTPC, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada is acting as an authentication agent for Tralliance Corporation. By determining applicants' eligibility, TIAC helps ensure that .travel registrants are a recognized part of the tourism and travel community.
Each time an application is made for .travel domain names, Tralliance sends a Unique Identification Number to the applicant and the association which serves as a "pass" and a method of identifying the applicant’s file. As the authentication agent TIAC reviews the applicant’s eligibility data and any additional names that are requested, and in cases where the eligibility criteria are met approves the application on behalf of the Tralliance Corporation. Any supporting documentation that TIAC receives is forwarded on to Tralliance, where it is checked to insure valid approvals have been made. Applicants who have been approved may then purchase their domain names with a Tralliance certified registrar. The registrar will send the desired name(s) to Tralliance, which will confirm each registration on a first-come-first-served basis.
For more information regarding this process or TIAC's role in the .travel initiative, please contact Andrea Labelle, Director, Business Development.
Supporting Documentation
All information must be verified before eligibility for a .travel name is authenticated. You must submit supporting documentation for each name, via email, to TIAC's authenticator. Supporting documentation includes but is not limited to:
- A URL that leads to a site using the name that is being requested;
- A name in a URL in any location in the URL is sufficient;
- Anything that a governmental/business authority or customer of the applicant may receive in relation to its business;
- Variations of a used name are acceptable if they are common abbreviations, pluralizations, typo variations or acronyms;
- A name that is proposed for use in a new company or new product/service is acceptable if the applicant documents a business plan to use such a name within 60 days.
Eligible Names
As of December 21, 2008, authenticated travel businesses, organizations and individual agents are allowed to register any available .travel domain name.
- What do I have to do? Authenticate by submitting an application here: Click Here.
- I have been authenticated and have a UIN number. What do I do? Contact an approved .travel registrar with your UIN number and the names you’re interested in purchasing for your business or organization. Click Here
- What if I have previously been denied for a requested .travel name? The policy guidelines for names changed December 21, 2007 and the names you were denied may be available for you to purchase.
- How do I check to see if a name is available? Please Click Here for domain name availability.
- Are there names that are restricted or reserved?
Yes. Please Click Here.
For additional information on policy and eligibility for .travel names please refer to:
Preferred Registrar
TIAC's preferred registrar is Names Beyond.com, which guarantees priority for TIAC's .travel applicants. In addition, Names Beyond.com offers the following discounts to TIAC members:
- Email services — 20% discount
- Email forwarding — free of charge
- Web mail access — free with email services
- Web hosting — 3 months FREE with 1 year hosting
- Secure certificates — 10% discount on advertised retail price
- Website design — 20% discount on advertised retail price
- All other services — 10% discount on advertised retail price
Register your preferred .travel names with  |
