.caravan Domain

Answer 18(a)
The .Caravan TLD is intended to benefit Internet users by enabling Caravan International to communicate more easily, effectively and securely with all Internet users, and particularly with Caravanʹs many customers, employees and affiliates. The .Caravan TLD will become a supporting branding, technology, and services platform for Caravan Internationalʹs mission and business.

Caravan International, Inc. is an active Illinois corporation that was founded and incorporated in 1964. For 38 years, from 1964 until 2001, Caravan International operated guided vacations in over 30 countries, across Europe, Africa and Asia. Caravan International is under the same ownership and management as Caravan Tours, Inc., a leading travel company, founded in 1952. Caravan Tours marketed and sold the tours that Caravan International operated. These two companies have a long, close working relationship and have continuously shared office space at 401 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois since the office building was built in 1965. Following the events of September 11, 2001, Caravan International, ceased operating its international tours but has remained an active corporation. Caravan Tours has continued to market, sell, and operate guided vacations with current destinations featuring five countries in the Americas: Canada, United States, Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala.

Caravan International will be the .Caravan TLD operating company. Caravan is the public name and international corporate brand name for both Caravan International and Caravan Tours. The first use of Caravan was in 1958 and it has been in continuous use since then. Caravan Tours, Inc. registered Caravan as a trademark in 1962. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the issuance of the Caravan trademark. For consumers, travel agents and travel service providers the Caravan brand name has long been associated with affordably priced, quality vacations.

Caravan International has a long-term, sustainable vision for the development of the .Caravan TLD. Caravan International believes that the .Caravan TLD will help in the development of innovative travel products and services. Caravan International envisions that the dynamic possibilities of the .Caravan TLD and the domain names registered under it will be a great opportunity to interact online with current and potential customers, travel agents and travel service providers around the world. In addition, the .Caravan TLD will provide a unique opportunity for creating a secure, trusted internet platform. A strong internet presence, along with technologies such as the world wide web and email, are central to this on-going development. This is also reflected by Caravan Toursʹ current domain portfolio, of over 400 names.

The .Caravan Registry will provide an Internet space, under control of Caravan International, to allow for the distribution and exchange of information among Caravan International and its stakeholders by means of, but not limited to, websites, social networks, email and other technologies that will reside within the .Caravan domain name space.

Caravan International intends initially to reserve all names within the TLD to itself, and to primarily use any of those domain names for promotional and navigational purposes relating to the online presence and/or provision of goods and services of Caravan International and Caravan Tours.

Eventually, though not likely for at least three years post-delegation, Caravan International anticipates the possibility that Affiliates could license the use of domains within the TLD from Caravan International. However, such licenses could only be made via contract which limits the use of the domain name to purposes specified by Caravan International. Such terms would be enforced via monitoring and quick action to mitigate any negative effects of any such abuse, if any. Licenses of the domain names could be revoked by Caravan International at any time, for any reason.
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