There’s always someplace new for visitors to explore. It’s time you become their favorite online travel destination.

A domain name is part of the globally-deployed Domain Name System, upon which the Internet runs. The domain name is the text name corresponding to the numeric Internet Protocols (IP) address of every device that connects to the Internet.

Domain names have different components. The primary domain level is called a top-level domain (TLD). This is the name that appears “to the right of the dot.” Top-level domains include generic top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .com,.net and .org, and  country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) such as .co.uk, etc.  It also includes new top-level domains such as .live, .life, .social, .travel and hundreds of others. Each TLD is operated by an entity called a Registry. Donuts Inc. is the world’s largest registry of new top-level domains.

To the left of the dot are second-level and third-level domain names. For example, in the travel.domains name, the word “travel” is at the second level. A name at the third level might be “Oxford” in Oxford.ac.uk.

All domain name registrations are handled by registrars (retailers such as Encirca, GoDaddy, Name.com, Squarespace, WordPress and hundreds of others), from whom individuals and businesses buy websites, web hosting, digital marketing tools, and domain names.

People are able to understand and memorize letters and words more easily than strings of numbers. Domain names “translate” a numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address into a memorable, character-based address for Internet users.

Once you register a domain name, you have an exclusive right of use to that domain name. However, since a registration grants only use rights, the registrant is not the legal owner of the domain name.

There are hundreds of millions active domain names, used for websites, redirects, links to social media platforms, online marketing and ad campaigns and more.

In the last twenty years, travel and tourism has become an online business. Even the oldest travel companies now have a significant internet presence. Since the .TRAVEL top-level domain was launched in 2005, individuals and businesses in the travel industry have eagerly embraced .TRAVEL as their Internet moniker. That’s because having .TRAVEL helps a visitor immediately understand your affiliation and interest in the travel industry. It’s an effective means for travel businesses to communicate their value proposition. Today there are tens of thousands of websites using .TRAVEL and that number continues to grow every year.

The .TRAVEL top-level domain was launched in 2005.

.travel is available to companies, organizations and individuals involved in the travel and tourism industry.

There are tens of thousands of .travel domain names in use around the world and the number is constantly growing. .travel has a global reach and is present and used by businesses in markets as diverse as Argentina,  India, France, Turkey and Russia.

The term ‘travel’ is widely understood and used in non-English speaking countries, especially within the Travel & Tourism sector. As such, a website ending with .travel will be universally recognized as a travel- and tourism-related entity. In addition, Donuts has many other travel-related domain names, including non-English domains such as

•       .REISE / .REISEN
•       .VIAJES
•       .VOYAGE
•       .TAXI
•       .GUIDE

Everyone and anyone with an affiliation to travel is using travel-related domain names. You can read about .TRAVEL customers here on the website. Travel bloggers and enthusiasts are embracing travel domains.  Many national and regional tourism boards now use .TRAVEL as the best way to promote their country or region, including: Egypt, China, UK, Costa Rica, Arizona, Vietnam and San Francisco. An increasing number of tour operators, ground handlers, hotels, airlines, associations and providers of travel & tourism services around the world, also use travel domains.

Instead of acquiring use of a domain name that ends in .COM or .NET, users can go to a registrar such as GoDaddy, Name.com, Encirca (or hundreds of others), type in the domain name of their choice, review and then select their preferences. Once you find the name of your choice, you register and pay for a one-, two- or three-year subscription. You can use that domain name as a “pointer” to your Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube platform, as the name of your website, or as a short link to post travel-related writing or other content.

A recent survey shows that users are far more likely to click on URLs that contain real words. So if you intend to use .TRAVEL in your URL (rather than .COM, .NET or .ORG), you’re more likely to attract more visitors to your website.

Donuts holds the world’s largest portfolio of new top-level domains (TLDs), including .TRAVEL and 15 other travel-related TLDs. Donuts offers a wide variety of clear and meaningful names for use as business identifiers (such as .ltd, .company), navigation (such as .careers, .support), in vertical markets (such as .travel, .photography, .cafe,  or .builders) or in broad-based generics (such as .life, .world or .live). Donuts provides its registrar / reseller customers with innovative services for the discovery, registration, usage and monetization of high-quality domain names. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Donuts, the registrar Name.com is one of the most admired brands in the industry. In 2017, Donuts was named Number 1 in the Deloitte Fast 500. Donuts’ headquarters are in Kirkland, WA.

The Registry is responsible for the registration of domain names in the top-level domain. Registries must be authorized and accredited by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). In 2017, Donuts Inc. acquired the .TRAVEL top-level domain, bringing the total of its top-level domains under management to 240. Designed to serve travel enthusiasts and the global travel and tourism community, the major aims of the .travel Top Level Domain (TLD) are to improve Internet identity and establish trust between the travel industry and customers.

The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC) is a non-profit corporation formed for the purpose of advising the .TRAVEL TLD. For more information, visit www.ttpc.travel.

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is the global, non-profit organization responsible for coordinating the Domain Name System (DNS) and related functions of the Internet. ICANN’s mission is to protect the stability, integrity and utility of the DNS and the one authoritative root on behalf of the global internet community. It is responsible for development of consensus policies, which include those that allow the orderly introduction of new TLDs. The new TLDs are intended to address issues such as cyber-squatting and trademark infringement, but also to innovate new methods of search, navigation, and domain names distribution to value-added services.

You can purchase a .TRAVEL name immediately, as part of your shopping process.

No, the eligibility review process is free. Name registration carries a cost that is set by the registrar you select.

Yes, you are eligible to be a .travel member so long as you have plans to participate in the .travel industry.

This is a simple process that takes a few seconds, as part of your overall shopping process.

The authentication process is simple. At the registrar website, you’ll be asked to click a box asserting your travel affiliation while checking out in the shopping process.

The .TRAVEL TLD is intended for use by any and all individuals, organizations and businesses in the travel and tourism community. The authentication process ensures the registrant’s affiliation with the world of travel.

Any participant in the travel and tourism industry is eligible to register a .TRAVEL name. When you visit an accredited registrar, you’ll be asked to validate your affiliation. It’s simple and should take only a few seconds as part of your shopping process.

A Registrar is a business authorized by ICANN to accept applications for registration of domain names by end customers (individuals, organizations and businesses). Registrars communicate registration requests to the applicable registry and, if the requested name is available, they complete the name registration with the Registry. Registrars take contact and administration data from a registrant and are responsible for renewing name registrations for a registrant. To view the list of accredited registrars, please go to URL HERE.

When you visit the registrar website, you’ll find a “search for domains” section. Type in your preferred name, and the search results will display instantly.

Your registrar may offer a service to alert you when a certain domain name becomes available.

Should the name that you wish to register no longer be available, you can search for an alternative name close to your original choice, with variants. Donuts has more than fifteen travel-related domains, and a total of 240 overall, so you’ll have lots of choices and will likely be able to find a domain name that’s right for you. You may also wish to register more than one domain name to increase your search ranking and visibility.