Travel and tourism advertisers now have an entirely new opportunity to stand out in the Internet with the launch of new integrated features on the travel industry`s exclusive .travel domain and the world`s first travel-specific search engine www.search.travel as Tralliance stated.

Search.travel received more than 12 million unique visitors during the first three months alone after its launch last year as a value-added service to consumers and .travel domain name holders. Since then, our customers have been demanding opportunities to increase their brand exposure in search.travel said Ed Cespedes, CEO of Tralliance Corporation, the .travel Registry.

The enhanced travel search engine now includes sponsorship and advertising opportunities on destination pages that provide significant exposure for marketers, including:

• Dynamic destination-specific banner and advertising space that puts sponsors and advertisers squarely in front of target market audiences on a destination specific basis



• Destination maps with sponsor and advertiser placement



• Clickable map links for destination-specific .travel businesses, advertisers and sponsors



• The ability to drive consumer traffic from the map, ads or search results

It is vital that the travel and tourism industry embrace what we are doing and support the development and evolution of the .travel domain for the benefit of both the global travel industry and consumers, continued Cespedes. We are encouraged by the many high-profile destinations that have already committed to the new advertising program. Inaugural sponsors include Las Vegas, Florida, the Bahamas and New Orleans, among others.

The .travel domain is one of several Top Level Domains dedicated to specific industry segments on the web. As consumer Internet use grows and the demand for targeted search engines increases, technology experts anticipate a proliferation of new domains to help organize the World Wide Web.

Tourism accounts for more online commerce than any other industry, said Cespedes. Marketers who ignore opportunities to augment their .com visibility by participating in exclusive Internet spaces like .travel are ignoring a trend that is growing fast and that, like it or not, will help shape consumer online behavior in the future.