IATA TO RENEW EFFORTS TO CREATE .travel INTERNET TLD

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - ICANN - last week granted seven of the 44 applications it had received for new Top Level Domain - TLD - Internet names. IATA's .travel proposal was not among those chosen at this time.

IATA is disappointed - but is very encouraged at the broad travel industry support for the .travel proposal.

Support came from ASTA, representing 26,000 US travel agents; UFTAA, representing 48,000 travel agents in 97 countries; the International Hotel & Restaurant Association; the World Travel & Tourism Council; the World Tourism Organisation; the International Union of Railways; the Travel Industry Association of America; the Pacific Asia Travel Association; and the Federation of Air Transport Users Representatives in Europe (FATURE), among many others.

Altogether, support flowed in from more than 75 associations, consumer federations, travel industry suppliers, and agents, representing virtually every segment of the global travel and tourism industry and every continent of the world.

"IATA's goal is to enhance the value of the Internet for both the travel consumers of the world and for travel providers," said IATA Director General Pierre J. Jeanniot. "That has not changed. We thank our partners who have supported .travel and look forward to working with them to achieve the .travel goal".