TravelMole Fast Conference: dot-travel domain "will make little difference"

INDUSTRY experts have warned that the ‘.travel’ domain name will make little difference to the future of online retailing. Speaking at a Travelmole Fast conference, panellists said the launch of the name will earn money for marketeers and but make little impact to the online sector. The domain name was launched at World Travel Market last week amid claims that all companies will migrate to .travel. It will mean names like Lastminute.com and Expedia.co.uk could adopt the travel suffix. But Cheapflights director of business development Liz Faherty said customers are too familiar to the existing .com and .co.uk. “We started in the UK as cheapflights.com and in January 2002 when we knew we wanted to launch in the US, we began marketing .co.uk for UK visitors otherwise they would end up on the American site,” she said. “Only now, almost three years down the line, are people getting used to it.” She said only recently have they taken a pop-up window off the .com site relocating people to the UK version. “If there is a reason to get .travel it’s to stop someone else getting it,” added Faherty. Genesys management consultant Paul Richer, who moderated the conference, said: “I am a bit sceptical. I can’t see any harm in it but it won’t change your life.” Great Hotels Organisation chief executive Peter Gould added it would help marketers make money while Hitwise UK general manager Simon Chamberlain said brand is more important. “Of the top 1000 searches for travel, over 50% are brand specific,” he said. “But if .travel is there for the taking, then take it.”