Celebrating two years of holding the .travel domain name, the Seychelles Tourism Board has said that its travel oriented portal has seen impressive online growth ever since adoption.

Launching in 2007 with the release of new tag line, “The Seychelles Islands… Another World”, the tourism board launched two sites simultaneously seychelles.travel and anotherworld.travel.

STB claims that both sites, which feature the .travel domain were an “immediate success”, and the spike of traffic has grown the site’s online presence ever since.

“As .travel is a global initiative for the travel industry, we felt it was necessary to adopt .travel,” said Karen Confait, Seychelles Tourism Board E-Marketing Manager

“We wanted to move away from the millions of .com websites; establish ourselves as an authenticated, reputable travel website; and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. It also provided more visibility on search engines.”

.travel websites are authenticated travel websites and is a domain only available for the tourism industry to use.

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The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) decided in 2007 to adopt and launch www.Seychelles.travel. “As .travel is a global initiative for the travel industry, we felt it was necessary to adopt .travel,” said Karen Confait, e-marketing manager of the Seychelles Tourism Board. “We wanted to move away from the millions of ‘.com’ websites, establish ourselves as an authenticated, reputable travel website, and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. It also provided more visibility on search engines.”

The Seychelles Islands, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Western Indian Ocean, features fine beaches, national monuments, Creole architecture, golf, horse-riding, and guided nature tours of national reserves such as the legendary Valle de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage site and marine parks. The STB’s new brand, The Seychelles Islands… Another World was launched about the same time as the Seychelles.travel website. As a supplement microsite, the STB uses www.anotherworld.travel,  which highlights the 11 20-second TV commercials showcasing the natural beauty and diversity of the islands. For more information, visit www.Seychelles.travel and www.anotherworld.travel.

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This week issue highlights the travel industry’s effect on the economy and jobs. The lead article, “Travel is BIG Business…More than 75 Million Jobs Worldwide” showcases important facts on the number of jobs worldwide by the WTTC as well as Alabama.travel’s figures indicating tourism’s effects on taxes.

Also, this week the,  “New Face in .travel” article is an island-hopper’s paradise, the Seychelles and www.Seychelles.travel.

The Seychelles Islands, an otherworldly archipelago of 115 islands in the Western Indian Ocean, is an island-hopper’s paradise. Famous for having some of the best, pristine beaches in the world, Seychelles invites one to walk along powder-soft sands and relax in the sublime, turquoise waters.

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The Seychelles Islands, an otherworldly archipelago of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, is an island-hopper’s paradise. Famous for having some of the best, pristine beaches in the world, Seychelles invites one to walk along powder-soft sands and relax in the sublime, turquoise waters.

With such attractive options for travelers from near and far, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) decided in 2007 to adopt and launch www.Seychelles.travel. “As .travel is a global initiative for the travel industry, we felt it was necessary to adopt .travel,” stated Karen Confait, e-marketing manager of the Seychelles Tourism Board. “We wanted to move away from the millions of .com websites; establish ourselves as an authenticated, reputable travel website; and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. It also provided more visibility on search engines.”

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Travel is BIG Business…More than 75 Million Jobs Worldwide*

With concerns about the bottom line, employment, and pinching pennies, it is clear that the world has a different mindset than previous years regarding spending, return on investment, and job security.  The travel industry must remind governments and the general public that travel is a BIG business providing not only great revenue, but also numerous jobs spanning various skill sets.

In an article published late July 2009, the Daily Sentinel wrote, “According to Alabama’s official tourism Web site, www.alabama.travel, over $702 million of state and local tax revenues were generated by travel and tourism activities in 2008. Without those taxes, each household in Alabama would have to pay $404 in additional taxes to maintain current services, according to the site. Nearly 170,000 jobs - 8.5 percent of non-agricultural employment in Alabama, the site says - were directly or indirectly linked to the travel and tourism industry in 2008.”

That example alone would illustrate the travel industry’s importance in this economic crisis.  To strengthen this claim, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that travel and tourism supplies more than 75 million jobs worldwide.  And, please note, that travel and tourism also promotes trade and enhances human understanding.

It is with this knowledge that .travel is proud to participate and plan a crucial role in the travel industry’s evolution to its next level.

What are you thoughts about the global economic crisis and the travel industry’s impact of the crucial times? Do you have other examples that you would like to share with the .travel community?

*According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) tourism is estimated to represent, directly and indirectly, 7.6% of the total workforce in 2009 (276 million jobs)