The travel and tourism industry is worth nearly $1.6 trillion globally, and blockchain has the potential to disrupt how the industry works for both customers and vendors.
Although the growth of the industry has been exponential, there are still many issues to be resolved. Currency conversions, transaction fees, and fraudulent charges can cause financial headaches. The surplus of information and documents such as flight tickets and hotel reservations adds further stress. Blockchain can be a solution in these contexts, revolutionizing the travel industry and, potentially, the idea of travel itself.
Airlines Accepting digital currencies
The Taiwanese airline FAT recently announced that it will accept certain digital currencies as payment for tickets, following airlines such as Latvia’s AirBaltic and Japan’s Peach Air. This will provide customers with as many secure and convenient payment options as possible. Singapore Airlines have also announced a blockchain-based loyalty scheme, enabling members of the program to spend their air miles at retail partners.
Cutting out the Middleman
Vietnam-based travel tech startup Concierge states that up to 50 percent of a transaction’s value goes to booking services. The startup is creating a decentralized travel booking marketplace through blockchain, cutting down transaction costs for customers and streamlining the entire travel booking process.
Virtual Market Systems
The Dubai government is set to improve their tourism industry by creating a virtual B2B marketplace for its travel industry, using blockchain technology. This will provide visitors access to a “highly safe, transparent and real-time” local tourism inventory, with the aim to boost tourist numbers. It will simultaneously give smaller businesses the opportunity to draw in customers, and encourage more companies to join Dubai’s tourism sector, thus increasing employment opportunities.
Bridging the Information Gap
Cool Cousin is a startup trying to gather authoritative information for travelers about their trip and travel itinerary. Using blockchain technology, Cool Cousin offers travelers diverse and affordable premium services that create a new source of income for locals around the world, without compromising the content’s trustworthiness.
Where We Fit In
Industry 4.0 will create substantial efficiencies for companies all over the world. However, a lack of device security and standardized data exchange makes implementation difficult. The Augmate Connect Infrastructure Platform plus IOTA’s blockchain-less tangle and micropayment approach unifies the tools and processes for the fourth industrial revolution. This is accomplished through secure transactions that aggregate and create accessible (yet tamper-proof) records. We are building blockchain futures in industry.
Click the link here to read more about our unique platform, and how it can help your company engage with the fourth industrial revolution.
