The .TRAVEL domain extensions were launched in the mid 2000s. The idea for having a .TRAVEL domain was because existing domains ending in .COM or a country extension would soon be running out and the descriptive extension would better identify a web service for users.
Tralliance, the .TRAVEL registry has spent the past year celebrating ten years of the .TRAVEL domain strategy. Managing director at Tralliance, Byron Henderson, mentioned that the original test launch of the TLDs in October 2005 was hindered by limitations placed on it from third parties.
Henderson says :
One of the greatest successes of the first 10 years is a large number of official country sites using .travel, for example, Germany.travel, Argentina.travel, Cancun.travel, Russia.travel, Poland.travel, Colombia.travel, Canada.travel and many more.
The same clear identity is seen in travel destinations and regions such as Alabama.travel or Ibiza.travel.
More than 18,000 registrations for .TRAVEL extensions have been made in ten years, Henderson says, with most of them from active travel industry brands. Henderson claims the number of domains that are parked by the applicants is low.
Despite the lack of major brands such as airlines, online travel agencies, hotels, etc using the .TRAVEL domain extension, Henderson sees a reasonably bright future for the project.
He explains:
The name industry is changing rapidly to one where a domain name is and must be seen as a part of a marketing plan where the domain name is integral to an identity and branding strategy, and part of broad marketing reach.
This means that multiple domain names, in many markets and many business sectors, are an inevitable and cost-effective part of corporate marketing. We see global regions, for example, as very different from each other and each requiring a different strategy.
Tralliance will continue to push the .TRAVEL concept into new regions in the coming years, as well as add support for the Arabic and Chinese markets in the next 12 months.