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Guest Post: Tourism Organizations & Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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23

This is a guest post written by Rob Sequin, who has been a domain investor since 1999 and a domain broker since 2004. He specializes as a domain buyer broker and sales broker in travel related and geodomains. He just started the Travel Domain Newsletter featuring travel domain related news, domains wanted and domains for sale.

A while back Elliot wrote a great article “Visit Geo Domain Names Owned by Tourism Boards & CVBs”  that generated more than 100 comments.

I have been an active buyer, seller and broker of geodomains and travel related domains so when I saw the Exhibitor List from the recent New York Travel Show, I was curious to see the domain names that tourism organizations were using to promote their regions.

I was generally impressed to learn that most of these organizations appreciate the value of a good domain name. Some use pure geo domains, others use .travel and some use a prefix such as visit or go so most are using decent to high quality domain names.

Here is a list of tourism related organizations that recently exhibited at the New York Travel Show:

  • Africa Travel Association – AfricaTravelAssociation.org
  • Alaska – TravelAlaska.com
  • Anguilla Tourist Board – IVisitAnguilla.com
  • Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association – AntiquaHotels.org
  • Argentina National Institute of Tourism Promotion –  Argentina.travel
  • Aruba Tourism Authority –  Aruba.com
  • Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority –  AlanticCityNJ.com
  • Barbados Tourism Authority –  VisitBarbados.org
  • Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel –  FortMyers-Sanibel.com
  • Belize Hotel Association –  BelizeHotels.org
  • Belize Tourism Board –  TravelBelize.org
  • Botswana Tourism –  BotswanaTourism.us
  • British Virgin Islands Tourist Board –  BVITourism.com
  • Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association Education Foundation – CaribbeanHotelAssociation.com
  • Caribbean Tourism Organization – CaribbeanTravel.com
  • Cartagena de Indias Tourism Board – CartagenaDeIndias.travel
  • Cayman Islands Department of Tourism – CaymanIslands.ky
  • Central Florida Visitors & Convention Bureau – VisitCentralFlorida.org
  • China National Tourist Office – CNTO.org
  • Costa Rica Tourist Board (ICT) – VisitCostaRica.com
  • Croatian National Tourist Board – Croatia.hr
  • Cruise Line International Association – Cruising.org
  • Cruise Planners/American Express – CruisePlanners.com
  • Curacao Tourism Corporation – Curacao.com
  • CYPRUS TOURISM ORGANIZATION – VisitCyprus.com
  • Czech Tourism – CzechTourism.com
  • Discover Dominica – Dominica.dm
  • Dominican Republic Tourism Board – GoDominicanRepublic.com
  • Dutchess County Tourism – Hudson Valley Region – DuchessTourism.com
  • Ecuador Ministry of Tourism – Ecuador.travel
  • Egyptian Tourist Authority – Egypt.travel
  • Embratur-Brazilian Tourist Board – BrazilTour.com
  • Emerald Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau – EmeraldCoastFL.com
  • Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation – VisitFlorida.com
  • FLORIDA TREASURE COAST – TreasureCoast.com
  • Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism – VisitSpaceCoast.com
  • Hungarian National Tourist Office – GoToHungary.com
  • India Tourism – IncredibleIndia.org
  • Israel Ministry of – Tourism GoIsrael.com
  • Jamaica Tourist Board – VisitJamaica.com
  • Japan National Tourism Organization – JapanTravelInfo.com
  • Jordan Tourism Board North America – VisitJordan.com
  • KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION – VisitKorea.or.kr
  • Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB – LakeGeorgeChamber.com
  • Louisiana North – ExploreLouisianaNorth.org
  • Louisiana Tourism Coastal Coalition – VisitLouisianaCoast.com
  • Louisiana’s Wetlands Cultural Trail – VisitLaFourche.com
  • Maine Office of Tourism – VisitMaine.com
  • Martinique Promotion Bureau – Martinique.org
  • Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism – MassVacation.com
  • Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau – GoHawaii.com
  • Mexico Tourism Board – VisitMexico.com
  • Ministry of sport and tourism of Kamchatskiy krai – VisitKamchatka.com
  • Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Uruguay – UruguayNatural.com
  • Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia – TourismCambodia.org
  • Mongolian Travel – MongolianTravel.com
  • Moroccan National Tourist Office – VisitMorocco.com
  • Mt Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce – MtWashingtonValley.org
  • Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) – NambiaTourism.com.na
  • Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board – NassauParadiseIsland.com
  • New Brunswick Tourism – ACTP-PTCA.ca
  • New Jersey Travel & Tourism – VisitNJ.org
  • New Smyrna Beach Visitor Center – NSBFLA.com
  • NH Division of Travel & Tourism – VisitNH.gov
  • NICARAGUAN TOURISM BOARD – VisitNicaragua.com
  • Pacific Asia Travel Association – PATA NY Chapter – PATA.org
  • Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism – VisitPalmSprings.com
  • Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau – VisitPanamaCityBeach.com
  • Panama Tourism Authority – VisitPanama.com
  • Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority – PapuaNewGuinea.travel
  • PENNSYLVANIA’S LAUREL HIGHLANDS – LaurelHighlands.org
  • Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce – VisitPensacola.com
  • Phillipine Tourism – ExperiencePhillipines.org
  • Puerto Rico Tourism Company – SeePuertoRico.com
  • Quito Tourism – Quito.com.ec
  • Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau – RCVB.com.br
  • Romanian National Tourist Office – RomaniaTourism.com
  • Saint Lucia Tourist Board – StLuciaNow.com
  • Ski Areas of New York, Inc. – iSkiNY.com
  • South African Tourism –  SouthAfrica.com
  • Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau – SriLanka.travel
  • St. Kitts & Nevis Tourism Authority – StKittsTourism.kn
  • St. Lucie County Tourism – VisitStLucieFLA.com
  • St. Maarten Tourist Office – VacationStMaarten.com
  • St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau – VisitStPeteClearwater.com
  • Stowe & Okemo, Vermont & Green Mountain Railroad – GoStowe.com
  • Sullivan County Visitors Association – SCVA.net
  • Tahiti Tourisme North America – Tahiti-Tourisme.com
  • Taiwan Tourism Bureau Office in New York – TBROC.gov.tw
  • Tanzania Tourist Board – TanzaniaTouristBoard.com
  • The Tourism Authority of Thailand – TourismThailand.org
  • Tobago Division of Tourism and Transportation – VisitTobago.gov.tt
  • Tourism Council of Bhutan – Tourism.gov.bt
  • Tourism Fiji – FijiMe.tv
  • Tourism Malaysia – Tourism.gov.my
  • Tourism Prince Edward Island – TourismPEI.com
  • Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Development Company – GoTrinidadAndTobago.com
  • Turks and Caicos Tourist Board – TurksAndCaicosTourism.com
  • Ulster County Tourism – UlsterCountyAlive.com
  • United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism – VisitUSVI.com
  • Utah Marketing Organization – VisitUtah.com
  • Virginia Tourism – VisitShenandoah.org
  • Visit Orlando – VisitOrlando.com
  • Visit Tallahassee – VisitTallahassee.com
  • Whiteface/Lake Placid – WhiteFace.com
  • ZAMBIA TOURISM BOARD – ZambiaTourism.com

I like most of these domains. There is good use of .travel, Visit.. and country codes. All of these are very appropriate.

I have to give credit to these organizations that are using the pure geo brand; the Aruba Tourism Authority using Aruba.com, the Curacao Tourism Corporation using Curacao.com and the South African Tourism Board using SouthAfrica.com.

There are some acronym domains that I suppose are appropriate but they certainly won’t get much search engine love and may not be easy to remember. I have to point out the really bad domains in the list… New Brunswick Tourism using ACTP-PTCA.ca, India Tourism using IncredibleIndia.org, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Uruguay using UruguayNatural.com and Tahiti Tourisme North America using Tahiti-Tourisme.com. Sorry but in the US we spell it tourism.

TLDH News on .Miami and .Music

Elliot Silver
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2

I received some news from publicly traded Top Level Domain Holdings (TLDH) about two gTLD registries the company is interested in operating. First, the city Commissioners in Miami, Florida voted unanimously to award the contract to apply for the .Miami gTLD  to Minds & Machines (subsidiary of TLDH).

The second piece of news from TLDH is its announcement of its plans to apply for the .Music gTLD. The company has signed a joint venture agreement with LHL TLD Investment Partners of Beverly Hills, a group that is made up of “leading music industry figures including artists, managers, music producers and lawyers.”

As of a February news release, TLDH had already applied for 40 gTLDs on behalf of itself and clients, and the company intends to apply for more gTLDs before the application window closes next month.

Full press release below.

Read More

Unique Marketing from NewOrleans.com

Elliot Silver
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8

I was running on the treadmill at the gym yesterday evening when I saw something pretty cool on television that I wanted to share with you. The Wheel of Fortune “prize puzzle” revealed the phrase, “tubas, trumpets, and trombones,” and the prize had something to do with the puzzle.

My immediate thought was jazz music and my second thought was that the winner would win a trip to my favorite US city, New Orleans. Not only was I correct, but I almost fell off the treadmill when I saw that it was sponsored by my friends at NewOrleans.com. I later learned that NewOrleans.com also sponsored a prize on The Price is Right (video above).

I spoke with Don Jones, co-owner of NewOrleans.com, and he offered some information about the sponsorship and its effect on traffic. “We get a great deal of lift from these national programs with exposure to many millions of folks that watch regularly. With a great, branded top-level Geodomain it works even better. The basic sponsorship is reasonable and the company also has to pay for airfare, hotel, and dining.”

I think this is a great opportunity for companies with descriptive domain names, especially geographic domain names in tourist-friendly cities. Not only does it help build the brand in the United States, but it also tells local businesses the company is intent on promoting the city of New Orleans. Seems like a win/win.

The caveat is this isn’t a short-term or one-off deal. The company, together with its Vegas.com partner, has a long-term deal to offer vacation packages on these game shows.

Don offered to provide more details, including analytics when he has them. It’s a unique marketing and branding opportunity that might be interesting to explore.

Skip Hoagland Making News in Hilton Head

Elliot Silver
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5

In my opinion, Skip Hoagland and his companies own some of the top geographic domain names (in addition to great descriptive domain names). According to various articles on DN Journal, Hoagland and his companies own names like Atlanta.com, BuenosAires.com, Fishing.com, Portland.com,  HiltonHead.com, and many other top destination and keyword domain names.

From my perspective, Hoagland and his companies have done a great job at developing its domain names and establishing businesses on them. Many of these businesses have a strong local presence, which not only helps to drive revenue for Hoagland’s companies, but it also helps encourage visitors to spend their money locally.

I don’t know Hoagland all that well, but one thing seems certain – he does not sit idle when he sees something that can be improved and he is willing to go to great lengths to make change.

There’s an article on the IslandPacket.com website discussing Hoagland’s idea to create the Hilton Head Visitor and Convention Bureau. The region already has the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, but Hoagland believes his CVB can do better for local businesses.

It’s great to see Hoagland advocating for something he believes will help his community, and knowing Hoagland a bit, he won’t rest until his idea comes to fruition. Check out the article when you have a chance.  I also recommend that you read the aforementioned DN Journal articles to learn more about Hoagland’s  background and his businesses.

Could Google Update Be Good for City .com Domain Names?

Elliot Silver
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13

I read about another recent Google update  that favors fresh content, and I want to speculate about something. I think the update could prove to be beneficial to owners of developed city .com domain names. Although this is a generalization, I’d like to share my rationale and welcome your feedback.

From what I’ve read, this most recent update seems to favor websites that have fresh information and new content. Blogs, for example, seem to be benefitting from the changes, although I haven’t personally  analyzed  any of my websites yet.

Over the past couple of years in speaking with owners of developed city .com domain names, most have daily, if not hourly updates. The articles include local news, events, and other relevant information. Lowell.com might not be a primary news source, but I update the site daily as events and articles are submitted by local businesses and residents. This helps drive traffic, but it also shows Google that the site is updated frequently.

From my perspective, many “official” city websites are updated irregularly. Although the city government makes news every day, they often send their news to local newspapers for publication online. Their websites are still good resources, with phone numbers, addresses, policies, laws, and other important information. However, they aren’t always good sources of fresh information.

With the most recent Google update favoring fresh content and websites that provide this content, I would imagine some city .com domain names will see a Google ranking boost, and it will consequently drive additional traffic.

What do you think?

Can You Trademark a Geographic Domain Name?

Elliot Silver
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15

The Dolan Company, a publishing giant that owns the Minnesota Lawyer magazine, recently sent a cease and desist letter to Aaron Hall, a lawyer in Minnesota, directing him to stop using the  MinnesotaLawyer.com  website and domain name. MinnesotaLawyer.com is essentially a lawyer’s blog with free  legal guides, free  legal forms, and a free  ask a lawyer  section.

Dolan’s letter requested that Hall immediately cease and desist “use of ‘Minnesota Lawyer’ in connection with online and/or printed publications in the legal field,” and “refrain from publishing legal articles and information” on MinnesotaLawyer.com.

In response to Dolan, Hall claimed that his use of “Minnesota Lawyer” was merely descriptive of his location and profession. “Dolan does not that have a monopoly on the words ‘Minnesota lawyer,” stated Hall. “Every lawyer in Minnesota can lawfully use those terms in the title of their website or domain name.”

This is a National Problem
“This isn’t the first time that a geographic domain name has come under fire,” said Hall, an attorney experienced in  trademark  and  internet  law. Hall said that Dolan’s actions are merely part of a larger problem:

This is about the rights of small website owners. This situation exemplifies the threat to website owners across the United States. Often small website owners give up their website after being intimidated and threatened by large corporations. I have represented many small business owners in disputes over a website with a generic or descriptive name. Many small business owners don’t know what to do when they get a cease and desist letter, so unfortunately, they make a mistake like giving up the website or selling it for below market rates. The law is often unclear in this area, especially when it comes to new technologies like the Internet and domain names. If necessary, we are willing to take this issue to the Supreme Court. This case could set an important precedence for small website owners facing similar threats.

Trademarks Are Industry Specific

This showdown raises the question of whether you can trademark a geographic name like “Minnesota Lawyer.” Since Dolan has registered this trademark, the obvious answer is yes. But does that trademark prohibit those in another industry from using those common terms to describe themselves?

Dolan’s cease and desist letter claimed that the lawyer’s use of MinnesotaLawyer.com was infringing the magazine’s federally registered trademark in “Minnesota Lawyer.” However, the trademark is in the publications industry, not the legal services industry. Dolan claims that Hall’s use was also in the publishing industry. Dolan said that Hall’s legal blog infringed the publishing giant’s trademark because Hall was publishing legal articles on his blog under the name “Minnesota Lawyer.”

Hall defended, noting that his blog only publishes legal articles written by attorneys in his firm, does not accept any advertising, and does not compete with Dolan’s magazine. “As a Minnesota lawyer, I have a right to call my blog ‘Minnesota Lawyer,'” said Hall. Dolan took issue with the title of the site and the copyright notice in the footer:

While, in some cases, “Minnesota lawyer” can be used descriptively to indicate that a person is a lawyer from or practicing in Minnesota, your use of “Minnesota Lawyer” is not descriptive. Rather than using the phrase to indicate that you are a Minnesota lawyer, you are suggesting that you are the Minnesota lawyer. This is underscored by your prominent use of “Minnesota Lawyer” in the header of your website at “minnesotalawyer.com” and in the website’s copyright notice.

Hall responded, “titles are generally capitalized, which explains why “Minnesota Lawyer” is capitalized in the title.” Hall admitted that the footer was a problem for a few days:

This site has existed for over a year, and has always attributed copyright to me. However, in the past week or so, the site has been under re-development. Apparently, for a few days or less, the site temporarily had the default copyright notice embedded in the website software, which included the copyright notice and inserted the site’s title next to it. Immediately upon noticing this and before receiving your letter, I emailed the web designer to change this to indicate that the copyright is owned by me. This has been changed.

Likelihood of Confusion or Perceived Association

At the core of trademark infringement and trademark dilution is the question of whether people will mistake one company for another or believe that they are associated. Dolan summarized its concerns this way:

Your use of “Minnesota Lawyer” in this manner creates the false appearance of an association, affiliation or connection between you and your activities and Dolan, the Minnesota Lawyer trademark and Dolan’s goods and services. Dolan is concerned that such use is likely to cause confusion, cause mistake, and/or deceive consumers into believing that Dolan sponsors, endorses, supports or is otherwise affiliated with you and your activities.

What do you think? Should the Minnesota Lawyer magazine be able to prevent a Minnesota lawyer from using MinnesotaLawyer.com? Is it possible that some people will confuse the lawyer with the magazine by the lawyer’s use of MinnesotaLawyer.com? This case is interesting because, unlike many legal battles in the domain world, both sides in this case have plenty of legal firepower.

More information about this legal battle can be found here:  MinnesotaLawyer.com Cease and Desist Letter.

DISCLAIMER: This article was written with assistance from Aaron Hall. In addition to being an attorney writing on  PPC law,  blog law, and other web business topics, Aaron Hall is a domainer himself, owning  MinnesotaAttorney.com,  MinneapolisAttorneys.com,  MinnesotaBusinessAttorney.com,  MinneapolisPhotographer.com,  MinnesotaBankruptcyLawyer.com,MinnesotaBankruptcyAttorney.com, and over 400 other domains.

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