The travel industry’s very own Internet domain .travel will go live on 3 October 2005. It will be available on a first come first served basis. NetNames has been appointed as one of the very few accredited registrars for
.travel and is
urging businesses involved in the travel industry to be aware of the need
to beat
competitors and potential cybersquatters around the world by protecting
brands and
trademarks online. ABTA is also encouraging members to act now and is
recommending
NetNames as one of its preferred partners for .travel domain names.

The new .travel domain name is available to any organisation operating in
the travel
industry. It has been
introduced to ensure they have their own reserved area on the web. It will
help
identify genuine, accredited travel industry operators. However the
industry expects
costly disputes over domain names such as cheapflights.travel to which
numerous
organisations around the world may be able to stake a claim.

“The .travel domain may be good news for the travel industry providing it
with a
new, dedicated home on the Internet,” says Jonathan Robinson, business
development
director, NetNames. “But companies involved in the travel industry need to
act
quickly to ensure they protect their online brands from potential threats
around the
world. Given the importance of this new domain name for the travel
industry, we
would urge companies to make applications as early as possible.
Applications will be
dealt with in the order in which they are received so any delay could mean
names
being registered elsewhere and to the opportunity lost or worse for your
brand.”

Organisations wishing to register for the .travel domain must be
pre-authenticated.
This is an essential preliminary validation process that permits an
organisation to
make an application for a travel domain and can be done through the travel
association you belong to. Tralliance Corporation is the body ultimately
responsible
for overseeing the release of the .travel domain, maintaining the
registration
database and drawing up the rules. Applications for .travel domains must
be made
through an accredited registrar such as NetNames.  Further information can
also be
found at www.gtld.com .
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