Mahi Sall, Advisor, Fintech-Bank Partnerships, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
January 25th, 2023
Mahi Sall is the CEO & Founder of FinXpair, a Berlin-based strategic advisory boutique firm focu[...]
5 Fascinating Ways Crypto & Blockchain Can Be Used in Tourism
Guest Post | Nov 10, 2022
From global aviation to cross-border payments, the innovation of blockchain is becoming unstoppable regarding the number of major industries it can be utilized to transform. One of the most promising industries in which blockchain has recently gained ground is tourism.
Annually, the global tourism industry is worth an incredible 1.31 trillion U.S. dollars. It’s predicted that this will surge even higher in 2022 to 1.67 trillion U.S. dollars. It may sound like a lot, but this is far below the value of the global tourism market before the global pandemic outbreak in 2020.
With global travel halted, the tourism industry took an enormous hit that it’s still recovering from. Before the outbreak, the phenomenon of crypto tourism was just starting to take off from 2017 onwards.
Generally, the travel industry is a forward-thinking sector and often more open to new, innovative ideas than other industries. In an attempt to revive the industry back to pre-pandemic levels, many are keen to incorporate cryptocurrency and its numerous benefits into the travel sector.
In this article, we’ll delve into five fascinating ways crypto can be used to overhaul the travel industry and how blockchain can revolutionize tourism.
What’s more, we’ll also be revealing the best way for you to get on board with crypto if you desire.
Now, let’s start exploring the world (of crypto)!
What Is Crypto Tourism?
First, let’s delve deeper into one of the most important topics of this guide. What is crypto tourism, and how does it work?
In the face of rising inflation and economic instability, the realm of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies has seen enormous growth and expansion in recent years. As a result, crypto is becoming more widely accepted amongst vast swathes of society who have seen the numerous benefits of using it. Amongst these sections of society are tourists and tourist firms.
Business-savvy tourism companies saw the potential in the burgeoning community of crypto enthusiasts. They began to set up organized trips centered around cryptocurrency tourism that ranged from cruise vacations to package holidays. Often, these vacations feature crypto events, lectures, workshops, etc.
So, put simply, cryptocurrency tourism is a term used to define a form of travel service that is designed almost exclusively for people who are passionate and actively engaged in cryptocurrency. Naturally, it’s usually possible to pay for the entire package holiday or excursion entirely in cryptocurrency to make it additionally attractive to crypto enthusiasts.
Crypto tourism is a type of travel service that caters exclusively to cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It frequently entails organizing scheduled travel excursions that may be paid for in digital currency or include bitcoin lectures or lessons as part of the tour.
Amongst the wider crypto community, many travelers are attempting to target highly successful crypto traders or figures who are massively popular in the sphere, such as Vitalik Buterin, for example.
As well as paying for their vacation with cryptocurrency, crypto tourists will often take trips to countries where crypto plays a prominent role in society, such as El Salvador. When it comes to additional purchases such as food, souvenirs, drinks, and plane tickets, the tourism company will often try to ensure everything is able to be bought with digital currencies.
In contrast to conventional tourism, which often centers around fun and relaxation, crypto tourism is often defined by some serious aspects too, such as cryptocurrency conferences, workshops, exhibitions, networking events, and panel discussions.
How Can Blockchain Be Used in the Travel and Tourism Industry?
So, that’s the concept of crypto tourism covered. Now, let’s talk about blockchain. In this section, we’ll delve into four fascinating ways that blockchain can be successfully implemented in the travel and tourism sector to truly take it into the future.
Travel Loyalty Programs for International Travelers
Across the travel industry, it’s common for frequent travelers to be given access to loyalty programs to encourage them to stick with one particular airline or hotel etc. Managing all of these loyalty programs can be a nightmare, but not with blockchain.
Blockchain can make the entire process of creating and managing loyalty programs far more simple and more straightforward. As a result, frequent travelers can seamlessly access their loyalty accounts, stay up to speed with what they’ve earned, and much more.
Travel loyalty programs are also plagued by fraudulent activity. Blockchain can combat this enormously.
Payments That Are Secure and Traceable
And last but not least is one of the most important parts of the travel industry: payments. From hotels to airlines, this is the foundation of survival for vital factors of the travel sector. Despite this, many payment processes in global travel are outdated and tiresome.
Blockchain technology can not only streamline payment processes and facilitate cross-border transactions, but it can also open the gateway for travel companies to take crypto payments in the form of major, well-established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Exciting times, right? If you’ve never made crypto payments before, there are two things you need to know. First, do your research and understand what you’re getting into. Second, make sure you buy through a popular and prominent crypto platform. The following crypto website, for instance, offers free registration and beginner-friendly services.
Identification Services
From passports to verifying travel tickets, the travel and tourism sector places a huge reliance on services for identification. Truth be told, some current processes are really struggling to keep up with demand.
With blockchain, many innovative people are calling for it to be implemented with the potential to one day become the travel industry standard when it comes to identification services. For example, fingerprint scans and retina checkers verified through the blockchain can make things like passports completely obsolete and a thing of the past.
If implemented correctly, many predict that the implementation of blockchain technology could see an end to tedious waiting times at airports, especially in processes such as check-in.
Tracking and Tracing Tourist Luggage
If you’ve ever lost your luggage on vacation, you’ll know how much of a bad experience it can be. The sad reality is that luggage vanishes very regularly. It’s a fact that over 1 million pieces of luggage are lost annually. Why? Well, usually, it’s because of the number of times it needs to change hands on an average journey.
This is where blockchain technology can come in to help. When a tourist’s bag is checked in for international travel, it will often change hands between multiple disconnected firms, making the risk of loss surge. Through the blockchain, baggage tracking data can be seamlessly shared between these firms through a decentralized ledger.
Case Studies of Crypto Tourism in Practice
It all sounds great in theory, right? But it all means nothing until we see it in practice. Luckily, there’s an abundance of case studies of crypto tourism that we can look at to see how it looks in theory.
The first example of a famous crypto travel excursion is the 2017 Coinsbank blockchain cruise. The cruise was a fine blend of fun, relaxation, and crypto education. The travel event was inherently international and attracted crypto enthusiasts from more than 18 different countries.
And it was more than just enthusiasts on board this crypto cruise. It was also attended by experts from some of the biggest names in the crypto industry from the likes of Ledger and Bitcoin.com to Unocoin.
Secondly, were several travel businesses based in New Zealand. These companies provided a way for their crypto-loving clients to pay for travel packages, services, and more with their chosen digital currency.
Thirdly, we’ve also seen crypto travel planned for a range of intentions. For example, some crypto tours have been set up by various platforms to globally promote initial coin offerings (ICO). There’s also crypto-specific lectures, conventions, fairs, and conferences arranged by crypto promoters, blockchain industry figureheads, and similar.
What Kind of People Are Taking Advantage of Crypto Tourism?
Crypto tourism appeals to an enormous spectrum of potential clients. As a previously mentioned example, those who are successful or well-known in the crypto industry and seeking to book exclusive crypto travel packages and pay for them using decentralized currencies are the prime clientele.
However, it’s also increasingly appealing to people who can see the numerous benefits of implementing blockchain and crypto into global travel. And that’s not all.
As we put the 2020 pandemic behind us and more countries began to reopen their borders to global travel, crypto is making a resurgence in the travel industry. For example, it’s estimated that more than 21% of international travelers in the USA intend to pay for upcoming travel services using cryptocurrency.
To Sum Up, Crypto Tourism Is About to Depart to New and Exciting Destinations. But How Do You Get on Board?
And so, to sum up, whilst the number of people participating in crypto tourism may not be huge in the grand scheme of things, it’s growing incredibly fast. As the benefits of blockchain are realized across the travel sector, it will likely become even more widely accepted, and the price of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum will likely surge as a result.
See: The Bitcoin Family: Still on the Road—After Three Years!
To recap, blockchain and crypto implemented across the travel sector can bring with it an array of benefits such as
- International travelers, tourists and travel-related businesses being granted a new and exciting way to make and receive payments for travel services.
- Through events like crypto cruises that bring international crypto enthusiasts, industry experts, and more together, it provides the chance for an unrivalled learning experience.
- It can streamline the world of global travel by enhancing airport experiences, tackling the staggering global losses of luggage, and making cumbersome aspects of travel a thing of the past.
But despite the incredible benefits of crypto and the blockchain, significant risks are also involved. Decentralized currencies are unregulated, and their value can rise and fall in a matter of seconds. This can lead to phenomenal gains or brutal losses. Always do your research before investing in cryptocurrency for the first time, and ideally, seek out the advice of a licensed financial professional to understand what you’re getting into. Invest responsibly and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
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