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!

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.