It’s true. The travel and tourism industry is fully embracing .travel. Need proof? How about a seminar held by the CEO of .travel being sold out over a week before the event is set to take place. On Friday April 3, 2009 at 4:30 pm CEO of .travel, Edward A. Cespedes will host a 50 minute seminar on How to Compete on the Internet. Cespedes will speak on the history of the Internet, current trends, and where everything is headed. Other topics that will be touched upon include: the basics of the Internet, getting your business found on the web and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tips for beginners and experts alike. Over a 100 members of the travel community will be in attendance.

In today’s climate the Internet can either be your worst enemy or best friend. Without the right tools it is easy to drown in the world of Expedia or Priceline. But, if you know how to use the Internet to your advantage it is possible to have a thriving travel business on the web. Cespedes will explain how a good domain name ending in .travel significantly increases a business’s chances of being found on search engines. Knowing how to name your site, build it, and host it are all ways to increase traffic to your website and compete with big name travel wholesalers.

The seminar will be held during cruise3sixty at the Broward Country Convention Center. Cruise3sixty is the premier event and conference for the cruising industry. The event is hosted by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a strategic partner of .travel. Cruise3sixty’s attendees are a mix of travel agent, providers, and industry executives. This year, over 2,000 travel industry professionals are expected to attend the event!

To learn more about .travel’s involvement in cruise3sixty please click here.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Blogs are all social media that can enhance your business’ presence on the Internet. .travel has implemented all of these programs to further engage and inform travel agents, suppliers, destination marketers, business owners and other individuals about .travel’s happenings.

.travel has its own Facebook page which has a global following and growing. Click here to view .travel’s Facebook. In addition, YouTube channels have been used by many of the .travel community; they have successfully promoted their websites using “sticky content” (relevant up to date video experiences). Click here to view the .travel channel on YouTube here are some of the .travel team’s other favorites Columbia.travel and Slovakia.travel.

Twitter, another hybrid of social media marketing, has a special way of attracting full-time Internet users. With Twitter, one can post and update, leave, come back and post again. Every minute of the day, friends or even acquaintances can see what you are doing. This keeps people abreast of your company or actions in “real-time”. Click here to view .travel’s Twitter

In fact, the .travel team has noticed that there are many travel related bloggers who have just joined the blogosphere and are using .travel. Check out these below which have two distinct audiences. Both are updated with relevant and fun stories every week. Click here to view MsTravelingPants and TheseBoots.

“This is a great approach to influence and spread the word about .travel. We have been consistently blogging, tweeting, uploading videos, and even inviting members to join the .travel page on Facebook,” stated Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations, Heidi Siefkas-Cassemiro. “Our company believes that by commenting, posting, and blogging we will reinforce the awareness of .travel and engage the community”.

Come join the social media craze and don’t miss out on the fun, information and action.

Check out .travel’s presence on:

YouTube ,Facebook , Twitter

Last week, the .travel team traveled to NYC for the world renowned New York Times Travel Show taking place in the Javitz Convention Center. Expecting over 20,000 visitors over the 3 day event, the .travel team chose to participate on Friday, which was a trade specific day filled with industry players from every aspect of travel: travel agents, CVBs, associations, destinations, travel media, and more.  The day was broken into two parts:  the trade only exhibit and seminars and then the larger consumer based show.  Early in the day through the afternoon, .travel shared the exhibit floor with strategic partners such CLIA and NACTA and other companies such as PMG, eWaterways, and more.

Following the trade specific show and seminars, the official ribbon was cut to open the full exposition floor where countries, states, and resorts such as Canada.travel, Brazil, Argentina.travel, Aruba, and Thailand featured  their products to fellow industry peers and then to end consumers on the weekend.

Knowing that grabbing attention of your industry peers is key, many exhibitors offered wine, cheese, giveaways, and entertainment. The .travel team’s highlights were:

1) Vermont-the best cheese by far!

2) Aruba-the best dressed dancers.  Wow what colors!

3) St. Lucia-the best band playing soothing music from the Caribbean.

4) Utah.travel-the best giveaway with a free visit to the Grand Canyon.

After the show, it was time to explore the city that never sleeps! Indeed, there is no city like NYC! With so many attractions to offer from Times Square, the Empire State Building, Central Park and more, one can never forget New York. What a wonderful place to host a travel industry event! Nothing is better than, “the Capital of the World.”  It was an amazing trip and show.  The .travel team looks forward to participating in The New York Times Travel Show again next year!

If you attended and would like to add your favorites, please comment.

Last week the .travel team packed their bags and hit the road once again to meet with fellow members of the travel and tourism industry. This time the team attended the United Motorcoach Association’s Exposition (UMA) in sunny Orlando, Florida. While the weather outside may have been chilly, .travel received a very warm reception from the entire motor coach industry. Here are just a couple things the .travel team took away from UMA:

It is a Motorcoach NOT a Bus

All the UMA exhibitors were eager to correct anyone that referred to their vehicle as a “bus”. They would say that buses are the big yellow things that used to take you to school every morning, and that they were in the business of selling luxury “motor coaches”. Motor coaches today come fully equipped with leather seats, WiFi Internet connection, flat screens, hardwood floors, skylights, and entertainment systems. Technological advancements have revolutionized land travel; now you can check your email, watch your favorite movie, and explore the country all from the comfort of your motorcoach seat.

The Way We Travel is Changing

With high gas prices and financial hardship, more people are choosing not to fly and instead use motor coaches as a more economic means of traveling. A one-way motorcoach ticket from Miami to Tallahassee, FL is about $100*; to fly costs twice as much! Travelers are also finding motor coaches to be a more pleasant experience than airline travel. Motor coaches eliminate the hassle of busy airports, security check points, and three-ounce bottled liquid limits. By not focusing on the quickest possible way to get from point A to point B, travelers get to see sides of the country they may never have seen otherwise.

The motor coach industry is a major presence in travel community. In fact, the United Motorcoach Association is a strategic partner of .travel. UMA believes strongly in .travel and the establishment of an Internet travel community. It was an honor for .travel to be represented at their 25^th annual exposition. To learn more about United Motorcoach Association please click here.

Where is the next 5^th Avenue of Real Estate Investments?

Spurred by the recent news about various domain sales such as answers.travel for $3.3 million and flowers.mobi for $200,000*, the next 5^th Avenue of real estate investment is clear.  It is in domain names. In fact, did you know that the buying and selling of domain names is an estimated $2 billion industry?*

Currently, there are over 77 million .com domain names outstanding.   Simple names such as ABC123.com or 321xyz.com and all other 5-6 character and number combinations in .com are no longer available in the primary market.

How could so many people all around the world be wrong? Domain names are a valuable investment.  Some sales have gone into six or seven figures like mentioned above, but we have selected some moderate private sales in .com and other Internet extensions. As examples:

hotelesbaratos.com for $26,633 (cheap hotels in Spanish)

poland.net for $27,777

taxi.mobi for $75,111.*

With the .com market at its saturation point, this opens the investment opportunity to specific domain names such as .travel that provide valuable intellectual property.  As the largest e-commerce category on the net, the .travel opportunity is staggering. With over 2,000,000 phenomenal .travel domain names for investors, check out some that are up for grabs:

flytoparis.travel, dealstocancun.travel, ushotels.travel, hotelesbaratos.travel, islanddeals.travel, carnivaltrip.travel, go2greece.travel, delayed.travel, eurotours.travel, and many more.

Just ask yourself, if you had the chance to go back and grab your “dream domains” wouldn’t you? Your chance is now. Make a long-term investment in valuable Internet real estate with .travel.

Sources:

• Intelliscan January 2009 and CircleId.com October 2008
• USA Today, July 2007
• Intelliscan January 2009, dotmobiZ.com 2008
• Intelliscan January 2009

.travel Tips for Choosing the Best Domain Name

1. Choose a domain name that will provide good search engine results

There is an entire industry devoted to getting websites to rise to the top of search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Search engine optimization is the process of increasing the amount of traffic to a website through natural search engine results. This means that the higher your site ranks in the pages of Google, the more likely users are to click on your page. A website is optimized when its content and domain are relevant to keywords being searched. A major advantage of registering under the .travel domain is that the keyword travel will be found right in your URL. This will significantly enhance your site’s search engine results when the word travel is searched. By registering with .travel you would be following in the footsteps of great travel sites that have assumed the # 1 Google spot, such as: PhiladelphiaUSA.travel, Egypt.travel, VisitTopeka.travel, and Canada.travel.

2. The Domain name should reflect what you are selling

Many people think that it is better give their website a generic domain over one that is specific to their company. For example, a company in Costa Rica may specialize in canopy tours yet go by the URL www.tourcostarica.travel.

Travelers looking specifically for canopy tours may not immediately think to go to a site with that name. Going with another domain such as canopyadventure.travel, may be more beneficial in reaching a target audience. Of course both tourcostarica.travel and canopyadventure.travel are still available under .travel!

3. Try to keep it short AND meaningful

There has been much argument over what the best length for a name is. The general consensus is that domain names should be kept short and sweet. However, shorter names are only more beneficial when the characters hold meaning. For example, the domain ea.travel would not be very recognizable because the letters have no real sequence or relevance. But the slightly longer ExperiencetheAmazon.travel is more memorable to the user because he knows exactly what it means, and what to expect when visiting the site. So if you can keep your domain name short and understood then great; but if not your site will not be disadvantaged by a longer name, as long as it has a clear message.

If you are a new company looking to start a website of your own, here are some examples of great domain names still available with .travel! Skydiveusa.travel, cheapbeachtrips.travel, discovereurope.travel, bestofsanfran.travel, viajes.travel, exploreafrica.travel, ofertas.travel, trips4U.travel, weddingtrips.travel, and countless more! Click here to see if your .travel name(s) are available…

New Years Eve is a time for us to reflect, as well as look to the future, and along with that comes the typical New Years resolutions. If you are looking for a resolution that is different from the typical “loose 20 pounds” or “clean out the garage”, .travel has some resolution ideas for the Travel Industry.

1. Register your business with .travel! It is time for travel and hospitality businesses to register and use their .travel names. With a price tag at approximately $100, .travel is THE solution to aid in these economic times and beat the competition.

Great .travel names are available: cheapbeachtrips.travel, discovereurope.travel, bestofsanfran.travel, exploreafrica.travel, ofertas.travel, trips4U.travel, weddingtrips.travel, moscowtrips.travel, rometours.travel, praguetours.travel, viajesandmore.travel, and thousands of others. To check if your chosen .travel name(s) is available, please click here…

2. Be satisfied with your career. If you are looking for a job, consider using www.job.travel, a new employment website specifically for the travel and tourism industry. It has launched in over 100 cities so far!

3. Travel more! There is always somewhere new and exciting to discover. Some interesting places to discover: ElSalvador.travel, SantaCatarina,travel, and Slovakia.travel.

4. Skip the paper check-in for flights, and use online check-in. You can check in 24 hours before a flight, and even get better seat options. Online check-in also allows you to bypass standing in line and go straight to security if you are not checking bags. Some companies are now even making a cell-phone check-in available, where the e-Ticket is sent straight to your PDA device. Check out 2go.travel, a website that allows you to upload your trip itinerary, pictures, and much more!

5. Become more environmentally responsible in your travels. Many hotels are adopting the idea of being a “green hotel” by using energy saving measures such as fluorescent bulbs, and low-flow showerheads. Consider re-using your towels and bed sheets instead of having them changed everyday to contribute to the movement.

Some great .travel websites with more information include: www.GreenSpot.travel, ReduceMyCarbonFootprint.travel, ClimateSolutions.travel and www.EarthLung.travel.

Have a happy and safe New Year!

As the Holidays approach us, we wanted to take some time and look back at this year’s trips, events, and other exciting highlights at .travel. Traveling has been a major component of furthering the awareness of .travel. Washington, Berlin, Paris, Mexico, New York, Costa Rica, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, Quebec, London, and Miami have been on our list of destinations this year.

2008 has taken us all over the world, but the world has also been talking about us. Over the course of 2008, .travel was featured in major travel industry publications that reached well over 1 million viewers. You may be familiar with a few of these key trade publications: Travel Weekly, TravelMole, Travel Trade, TiViPro, FVW, eTurboNews, Washington Daily News and Travolution.

It is true that 2008 has been a year of highlights from travels and press, but also various important announcements and additions to the .travel family. In May, EXPOTUR, one of the largest Buyer/Seller conferences in Central America announced the launch of EXPOTUR.TRAVEL for promotion of its 25^th anniversary event. We have also witnessed many other key industry players that have adopted .travel including: Argentina.travel, Poland.travel, Slovakia.travel, ClimateSolutions.travel, EarthLung.travel, BruneiTourism.travel, and Normandy.travel, just to name a few!

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The .travel executive team has just returned from the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. WTM is a global event for the travel industry where one can visit virtually any country all under one roof! This business to business exhibition provides a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade industry to meet, network, negotiate, conduct business and stay updated with the latest developments in the travel industry.

The 4-day exhibition is intense but exciting. In the spirit of WTM, .travel thought it would be a great idea to offer our tips for survival at the World Travel Market.

1) Plan out a route for traveling to the exhibition.

WTM is located at ExCeL London, which is about an hour east of the center of London. The best bet is to travel by public transport; by Tube and then hopping aboard the DLR train to the “Custom House” stop. The ride may be crowded, but the “people watching” is intense!!! If you have the budget, you can also take a river boat or private car, but the ride takes about the same amount of time.

If you are not keen on the commute, you can arrange accommodations at Hotel Novotel, which is a short walk from the front steps of the ExCeL venue. And, they have convenient massage chairs for your “WTM aching feet.” (This is a HINT to wear comfortable shoes!!!)

2) Once inside WTM, acquire a map and a bag

The venue is large, but nicely organized by Continent. Plan out which booths you would like to visit and locate them on the map in order to maximize your time. The WTM website has a great “Personal Event Planner” tool, where you can search for categories that you are interested in seeing, and have them mapped out for you (http://www.wtmlondon.com/page.cfm/Action=ShowCategory/CatPageID=1).

A large bag will be helpful to carry all of the brochures and goodies you will pick up along the way.

3) Be prepared for long lines at lunchtime

There are many places to eat inside ExCeL, but be prepared to wait in a long line to get your lunch. Plan to eat at an off time to avoid the queues, or grab a pre-made sandwich or salad at the Whistlestop food market.

4) Set goals

Decide what you want to accomplish at WTM. Do you want to make new contacts and business deals? Do you want to expand career possibilities? Or are you just “window shopping”? Make sure you have a clear objective of what the purpose of your attendance is. Also, make sure to bring plenty of business cards!

5) See London!

In your free time outside of WTM, see some of the sights London has to offer. There are plenty of museums, restaurants, shows, and historical landmarks to visit. The .travel team had the opportunity to take a ride on the Eye for great views of the Thames and Big Ben and visit the Tower Bridge. Take a break from working and explore!

To learn more about the World Travel Market, visit their website at: http://www.wtmlondon.com/

The Celebrations of World Tourism Day

Featured Many .travel Community Members

Created originally in 1970, World Tourism Day is celebrated each year on September 27^th. This year the occasion was hosted in Lima, Peru and brought together a group of the leading public and private tourism stakeholders, representatives of civil society and of the UN system. This year’s festivities addressed the ever-apparent need for global climate response by the travel and tourism industry.

As part of these celebrations, many organizations took advantage of launching new projects, initiatives, and websites. Among many of the programs featured and discussed, .travel was a reoccurring theme. As a continuation of the celebrations, .travel wanted to welcome these initiatives to the .travel community:

ClimateSolutions.travel was launched to serve as the central gateway of information and available solutions to help the tourism sector respond to climate change. Designed by the UNWTO with the support of Microsoft, ClimateSolutions.travel is a collaborative effort to achieve Climate Neutral Tourism. To learn more and help your organization respond to climate change, please visit www.ClimateSolutions.travel

Argentina.travel was also launched as part of the celebrations of World Tourism Day. Although not in Lima, but in Mar de Plata, Argentina, the site was unveiled as a way for the country to address its need for a dramatic web presence to further engage and educate travelers about all that Argentina has to offer. With a goal of roughly 5.59 million international tourists in 2010, Argentina has made the decision to lead its campaign with www.Argentina.travel (*As stated in “El país ya tiene su sitio web de turismo” on Yahoo! T Noticias)

Earthlung.travel also was part of the discussions in Lima. Although launched last October, Earthlung.travel was featured in Lima for its innovative project and being a pioneer of the travel industry. www.Earthlung.travel focuses on various areas that are quintessential to global climate response such as stopping deforestation, reforestation, use of energy conservation programs, and solving pollution by going to its source. This program aims to make Sri Lanka a carbon neutral to assist destination by 2018.

Although mentioned above are only a select portion of all of the important World Tourism Day initiatives, .travel salutes the efforts of all that participated in the World Tourism Day and look forward to sharing in all of their future successes. In the case that an event or program was not mentioned, .travel welcomes your comments and information.