NEW YORK –- On January 29, the travel industry officially launched its own Internet domain name, dot-travel (.travel).

According to a Travel Weekly report, New York-based Tralliance Corp. is responsible for developing and managing the new domain. In the first 16 weeks of operation – before the official launch – the Internet domain had registered 16,162 dot-travel sites.

As a requirement by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, there was a 90-day trial period that ended at the start of the year, the report said.

Tralliance officials told the travel industry newsletter that a registration rate of 1,000 per week is an indication of a promising future and further acceptance of a travel-specific domain. The existence of such a domain is expected to offer more structure in cyber space than the dot-com domains can currently offer the travel industry.

Though the initial pace showed popularity, the report said that it is likely for that sign-on rate of 1,000 per week to slow.

Already, the domain has seen representation from all sectors of the travel industry. Domain names currently run at $95-$280 apiece. The price differs as packages differ, with one offering site development as well.

The new domain will be beneficial because the authentication process for participants will shut out domain names bought on speculation and create less clutter, the report said.

Later this year, a dot-travel directory is expected to launch, available in nine languages and free for consumers at www.directory.travel.