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(SEATTLE, WASH.) –
September 9, 2005 – One of the initial 25 travel industry
organizations worldwide selected to be a .travel
authenticator, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) today
introduced an online authentication and pre-registration process at
www.adventuretravel.biz
for entities to secure the .travel domains.
Dot-travel (.travel)
is the Internet TLD exclusively for businesses, organizations and
individuals in the travel industry. .travel will register
domain names with the extension, “.travel”, for example, “www.discoveryholidays.travel”.
A top level domain is the word or letters that come after the last
"dot" in a domain name or Internet address. The most commonly known
top level domains are ".com", ".net" and ".org".
Early registrations
for the .travel Internet domain begin in the early part of
October 2005. The initial pre-authentication deadline is September
25, 2005, 00:01 EST. Those organizations who apply within that
launch period will have priority over the general public to ensure
that they secure their appropriate URLs (Web Addresses).
All registrants for
.travel domains must be verified as eligible to hold a
.travel domain name according to criteria established by
Tralliance Corporation, the company in charge of managing .travel.
Verification of eligibility is referred to as “Authentication”.
Authentication will be carried out by the Registry (Tralliance
Corp.) with the support of the ATTA. As an “Authentication
Provider,” the ATTA is able to carry out pre-authentication for
.travel registrations for more than 300 members and newly
joining members. ATTA Members are encouraged to finalize
submissions by September 21, 2005, to ensure ample processing time.
Pre-authentication,
a free service to ATTA Members, gives the .travel Registry
the information to determine an entity’s eligibility and will speed
the registration of a name when the .travel Registry begins
to take name registrations in early October. Once an entity is
pre-authenticated, it will be entitled to register a .travel
domain name(s).
For this purpose,
the ATTA also announced the opening of .travel
pre-registrations. ATTA partner EnCirca, which provides a fully
integrated system for .travel registration, will pre-register
ATTA member applicants. The .travel name registration fee
($99 per year per domain -- 5% discount for ATTA members) includes
the cost of pre-authentication. Pre-registration allows applicants
to get authenticated names queued in the registrar's system before
the official launch.
Consumers will know
that the operators of .travel Web sites meet clear, standard and
objective criteria. They will know that names registered in the
.travel TLD have met published standards as established
organizations. Thus, consumers can have greater confidence
purchasing travel over the Internet through .travel Web sites.
Businesses that
register .travel domain names will be found in one location
and will be instantly seen by consumers as recognized travel
businesses with regard to conducting e-commerce transactions. This
will serve the industry as well, since .travel enables the
trade to confidently conduct business with other .travel
domain name holders that they may not know. The .travel TLD
will also enable the .travel Directory, permitting both
travelers, and the travel and tourism trade, to more efficiently
locate precise and detailed information about any travel or tourism
offerings of .travel registrants, via the Internet.
Dot-com domain names
are registered on a first-come-first-served basis, with no
requirement that registrants meet any registration criteria. By
contrast, eligibility to hold a .travel domain name requires
that the registrant be a verified business or organization operation
in the travel industry. .travel will be an exclusive space
for the travel and tourism industry on the Internet, with every
.travel registrant being authenticated before it is given a domain
name(s).
Tralliance Corporation President and CEO Ron Andruff will address
authentication of all .travel registrants, the .travel
Directory, and the overall impact .travel will have on the
global travel and tourism industry at the October 16-18, 2005,
Adventure Travel World Summit (www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com)
in Seattle.
Seattle-based ATTA (www.adventuretravel.biz)
is a strategic membership organization dedicated to raising the
profile of adventure travel globally. The ATTA, established in
1990, provides valuable services, knowledge, and connections that
help ATTA members succeed in their businesses, thereby helping the
industry grow.
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