Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands off the Mediterranean coast of Spain, is crediting the .travel URL for its Web site, www.ibiza.travel, for increasing its profile in the market, according to Heidi Siefkas-Cassemiro, vice president of marketing and public relations for the .travel URL.

“We adopted ibiza.travel to support the local Ibiza travel industry,” stated Josefa Marí Ribas of Ibiza’s destination marketing organization, Consell Insular d’Eivissa. “With such great importance to the global tourism industry, .travel was a logical choice to promote our accommodations, sports, culture, and gastronomy.”

In 2008, the site received nearly 85,000 visitors. With nearly 40,000 visitors in the first quarter of 2009, the marketing organization predicts total visits for this year will well surpass 2008.

Additionally, the ibiza.travel site is attracting new visitors, according to Ribas, noting that about 75% of all Web site views are from new, first time viewers.

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The Outside Sales Support Network and its Community of Agents and Sellers of Travel Align with .travel

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-May 6, 2009: .travel, the Internet extension specific to the travel and hospitality industry, is proud to announce a new partnership with the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN). OSSN is one of many strategic alliances that .travel has made with major industry organizations over the years. Other partnered organizations include ASTA, CLIA, and NACTA.  Through this relationship, .travel will now be able to reach out to thousands of industry professionals represented by OSSN; such professionals include: independent travel agents, home based travel agents, independent sellers of travel, and outside sales travel agents.

“This new partnership with the OSSN is further proof of the industry embracing .travel,” says Heidi Siefkas-Cassemiro, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations of .travel. “Independent agents and sellers of travel have the most to gain from the domain. Through this union with the OSSN we plan on getting the travel agent and seller community to fully realize the benefits of .travel.”

The Outside Sales Support Network was founded in 1990 and currently has 75 chapters and 7,800 members. The OSSN works to provide travel agents with the tools and training needed to succeed in today’s travel environment. The inclusion of .travel in the OSSN’s educational efforts will help to enhance the travel agent community’s competitive edge in the marketplace.

To purchase a .travel your own please visit www.travel.travel.

To learn more about the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN), please visit www.ossn.travel.

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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

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-February 25, 2009: .travel, the Internet extension for the travel and hospitality industry, has been invited to be a speaker and exhibitor at the Home Based Travel Agent Show and Conference. The event will take place March 10-12, 2009 at the Chicago Hyatt Regency. .travel will reach out to thousands of travel agents and providers, and continue to enhance the travel community’s presence on the Internet.

“Home based travel agents are some of .travel’s key supporters and users” says Heidi Siefkas-Cassemiro, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for .travel. “They are the largest group of .travel owners. We look forward to making our relationship with the home based agent community even stronger through our participation in this show.” (more…)

By: Dennis Schaal

January 30, 2009

The dot-travel Internet domain has been falling short of some of its early aspirations, but two recent developments have drawn new attention to its possibilities.

First, an Australian company paid $3.3 million in a private transaction to buy a bundle of assets that included the address Answers.travel, suggesting that at least one investor sees an opportunity for a big payback in the new domain.

Secondly, the Cruise Lines International Association, which has had little to do with the new domain to date, disclosed that it had become an “authentication provider” for the dot-travel registrar, Tralliance Corp. In essence, CLIA has joined some 40 other travel organizations that have agreed to certify or authenticate the status of members who are seeking dot-travel addresses.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-January 14, 2009- .travel participates at the United Motorcoach Association’s (UMA) Expo in Orlando, January 21-25. As an exhibitor, .travel will be amongst 180 other travel related companies such as the American Bus Association, National Tour Association and the Mississippi Division of Tourism. This year’s event will be held at the Orange County Convention Center and expects over 1,000 travel industry professionals.  The 4-day event will highlight educational seminars and training in fields such as Operations, Finance and Marketing Techniques.

“I am pleased to have .travel take part in our expo this year,” responded Victor Parra, President and CEO of the United Motorcoach Association. “.travel is a useful tool that all members of the travel and hospitality industry need to maximize their presence on the Internet”.

(more…)

This week’s newsletter highlights some of the team’s participation at the Travel Leisure Conference in Miami and a new .travel success story to add to our growing list, www.SolomonIslandsHotels.travel.

.travel Team Attends Travel Trade’s 25^th Annual Leisure Travel Conference

The .travel executive team attended Travel Trade’s 25^th Annual Leisure Travel Conference last weekend in Miami, Florida. Held at the Miami Hyatt Regency, the largest and longest running Travel Trade event presented various educational seminars, workshops, cruise ship inspections, and networking opportunities. .travel executive team members had the opportunity to speak on two panels. .travel also exhibited at the Leisure Travel Marketplace, held on November 17^th.

SolomonIslands-Hotels.travel Geared Towards Responsible Travelers

SolomonIslands-Hotels.travel is a new web portal that is opening the door to independent travelers wishing to book services with local tour operators and accommodations. “The portal is an important addition to our country’s tourism promotion channels,” said the Solomon Islands Minister for Tourism, Mr. Seth Gukuna. “It will not only enhance Solomon Islands appeal, but also enable business to be conducted in this important sector.”

SolomonIslands-Hotels intends to use its .travel name in all marketing aspects including email, business cards, collateral materials, and expos. It has also used its .travel name in a recent interview on a National ABC radio program - “Talking Pidjin” - and in its participation in the Adventure Travel shows in Sydney and Brisbane in November 2008.

The name “Solomon Islands” was a natural choice to the owners, as “hotels” is a significant key word in searches and .travel reflects the nature of the site. By using its .travel name, SolomonIslands-Hotels expects to see an increase in independent travelers due to the additional exposure and well presented information available to them. They are also expecting a broad spectrum of visitors. The Solomon Islands has a variety of activities and special interests that will attract a wide spectrum of travelers from backpackers to business travelers.

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Graham McKenzie interviews Heidi Siefkas-Cassemiro, VP of Marketing and PR for .travel registry. They discuss the importance of a .travel url, how search engines work, and competing with .com url.

.travel Featured at The 25th Annual Travel Leisure Conference

.travel invited as featured participants at the Travel Leisure Conference November 15-17, 2008. The 25th Annual Travel Leisure Conference is projected to see record turnouts with over eight hundred travel agents and hundreds of the travel industry’s top executives. Held at the Miami Hyatt Regency, the largest and longest running Travel Trade event presents various educational seminars, workshops, cruise ship inspections, and networking opportunities.

Travel Trade invited the President and CEO of .travel, Edward A. Cespedes, as one of speakers for the technology panel. Taking place Saturday, November 15 at 4:15pm, Cespedes will stress the need to be found on the Internet and how to compete in a world of millions of other travel websites.

As a focal point of the global travel industry, Responsible Tourism will be one of the major workshops and is expected to have high attendance as well as key industry panelists, including .travel. The Responsible Tourism Workshop on Sunday, November 16 from 5:15pm-6:15pm will be a discussion moderated by Jose Luis Cabada, Sr. Vice President of Sunny Land Tours. Invited to participate by Travel Trade and Cabada, Heidi Siefkas-Cassemiro, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations of .travel, will join other industry representatives in this ever apparent key issue.

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