History of the TLD

.holiday is a generic top-level domain created as part of ICANN’s New gTLD Program. The application for .holiday was submitted in 2012, and a Registry Agreement with ICANN was signed in 2013. The TLD was delegated to the DNS root zone in December 2013 and became publicly available for registration in 2014. It was introduced to provide a descriptive extension for websites related to holidays, vacations, and leisure activities.

Main Use and Industry Position

.holiday is primarily used for websites that focus on travel, vacations, holiday planning, seasonal events, and lifestyle content. It is positioned as a descriptive domain extension that signals holiday-related content to users, making it useful for travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, event planners, seasonal retailers, bloggers, and individuals creating personal holiday pages. It competes with other lifestyle and travel-related TLDs by offering a clear and direct term that resonates with holiday and vacation themes.

Comparison to Other TLDs

.holiday differs from traditional generic TLDs like .com or .net by providing immediate semantic relevance to holiday and travel content. Compared with other thematic TLDs such as .travel or .vacations, .holiday is broader in cultural and regional interpretation and can appeal to both leisure markets and personal projects. It typically has higher registration costs than legacy TLDs but can offer stronger thematic branding.

Pros and Cons of the TLD

Pros

• Clear thematic relevance to holiday and travel-oriented content

• Available to registrants worldwide without special restrictions

• Supports modern DNS features including DNSSEC

Cons

• Higher average registration and renewal costs than many standard TLDs

• Not as universally recognized as .com for business trust

• May be less effective for non-holiday or generic business uses

Registration Criteria

Anyone can register a .holiday domain on a first-come, first-served basis without local presence or specific eligibility restrictions. Domain names must meet standard syntax rules such as 1 to 63 characters and allowable use of letters, numbers, and hyphens. Internationalized domain names are supported.

Summary

.holiday is a generic TLD introduced in 2014 as part of ICANN’s new gTLD initiative. Managed by a registry under Binky Moon, LLC, it serves travel, holiday planning, seasonal events, and lifestyle websites. It is unrestricted, supports modern DNS standards, and provides a branded alternative to legacy generic domain extensions. Usage is most effective when the holiday or travel theme aligns with the content or brand.