The dot.travel top level domain still has legs and will become increasingly prominent according to its organisational body Tralliance Corporation. The TLD was originally launched in the middle of 2005 but has so far failed to gain momentum in the UK compared to dot.com, dot.net and even dot.co.uk. However, Tralliance chief executive Ed Cespedes told…
Tralliance claims dot-travel domain still has a future
The dot.travel top level domain still has legs and will become increasingly prominent according to its organisational body Tralliance Corporation.
The TLD was originally launched in the middle of 2005 but has so far failed to gain momentum in the UK compared to dot.com, dot.net and even dot.co.uk.
However, Tralliance chief executive Ed Cespedes told Travolution that the .com world is fast reaching a saturation point, which will force corporations and other industry organisations to seek other ways to establish a presence.
Cespedes said that there are now 76 million dot.com names out there with at least 20% belonging to the travel sector.
“Dot.com is finally reaching saturation and today there are no more three, four and five digit domain names or a combination of letters and numbers. The prediction is that within five years all the combinations up to 10 characters will be gone.”
He added that companies can still get a five-character name but will probably have to pay thousands for it.
Cespedes said: “For the first time there is a movement saying we will have to mobilise other things so there is an opportunity for a new domain.”
The sheer volume of players on the internet will also drive companies to seek new ways of establishing a presence.
Tralliance is planning a UK campaign later this year to promote the dot.travel TLD and its benefits.
Cespedes said: “We are seeing dot.travel sites rise in search results and countries such as Egypt adopting it exclusively.”
Frederic Servieres, the dot.travel partner for the UK & Ireland said the organisation would use trade shows such as World Travel Market and other events to raise awareness of the domain name.
He also said currently 250,000 dot.travel names have been bought with just over 2100 in the UK and slightly less than 100 in Ireland.
Both he and Cespedes admitted there was a lot of work to be done in the UK to convince people of the value.
