Blockchain is becoming a part of every industry and it is going to change things in tourism as well. In this article, we will try to figure out the impact of this technology on the way we travel.
The decentralized distributed technology has laid quite an impact on every industry in the last few years. It has gone beyond being a fintech solution and now making its place in every domain. Blockchain brings transparency and security both without slowing down the pace of transactions. It ekes out the best results for every business and makes solutions more than just adaptable. In recent years, Decentralized Apps or Dapps have been introduced in every industry and tourism is one of them which is going to be highly benefitted with it.
Table of Contents
- 1 BTW, what is blockchain?
- 2 How can blockchain streamline the tourism industry?
- 2.1 Blockchain in the Tourism Industry
- 2.2 Feasible Decentralized Applications in the Tourism Industry
- 2.3 Secure and Fast Payments
- 2.4 Making Stay and Transportation Easier
- 2.5 Maintaining Transparency
- 2.6 Luggage Management
- 2.7 Distribution of Rewards
- 2.8 Three decentralized applications already functional in tourism:
BTW, what is blockchain?
It is a technology that stores transactions on an open-source network. Each entry is saved in an encrypted form and they are distributed in blocks that constitute a chain, which is why the network is called blockchain.
The salient attribute of this technology is that it is decentralized which means the data that blocks contain get disseminated across the network. Different nodes relay the information into the network they remain anonymous as well. Each node keeps the copy of data and gets secured with the help of smart contracts. The entire process of saving and transmitting data in the blockchain network makes the transactions safer. The blocks keep the data secure, indelible and inalterable.
How can blockchain streamline the tourism industry?
Three biggest benefits of using blockchain
With its groundbreaking mold, blockchain offers some great features that can be very useful to the Blockchain for tourism industry.
- Data Security
Nodes make sure that the data gets decentralized through and it reaches its recipients with an anonymous environment. All the points of data transmission are secured through the ledger.
- Immutability
There is a complex set of algorithms which avoid alterations in data contained in the blocks. The data stored inside blockchain do no go under any changes at all.
- Decentralization
The processing of information cannot be tampered in blockchain because of its mold of decentralization. Moreover, it distributes the information in a blockchain that makes it hard to trace.
Applications of blockchain
Blockchain has propounded some unique tools and applications whose likes were not even imagined before. Here’s a bunch of them which are useful to various domains including tourism.
- Smart Contracts
These are digital contracts that are used for securing the information. These are contracts which allow the middlemen to involve banks and other institutes at a very lower price.
- A Single ID
The best thing about using blockchain-based apps is that it can be used only with one digital ID. There are various applications which are already working in other industries and quite a few projects are going to get introduced in tourism as well.
- Cryptocurrency
That is the most pioneering product of blockchain technology and it has emerged as a much better alternative to fiat. It gives you the best output of blockchain and takes very little time to get transferred. It is a great option for remittances as well and there as well a worldwide campaign building to convince governments to authorize the usage of cryptos.
Blockchain in the Tourism Industry
Blockchain can bring some seriously positive results if implemented in the travel business. It will be very advantageous to travelers as well as the service providers. With this technology, you would be able to make secure payments and it rids you of the hassle of waiting for hours on exchange outlets to get local currency. It is the most effective solution which could be adopted into the tourism industry and it will make globetrotting very convenient around the world. Several applications and platforms have been launched to facilitate crypto payments for bookings of hotels, flights, and cabs.
Feasible Decentralized Applications in the Tourism Industry
Efforts are being made by the blockchain developers to make this technology adaptable to every industry and tourism gets its fair share. There are some interesting merits that this technology gives to this industry:
Secure and Fast Payments
When you are travelling, you need to make sure that you have your money safe. There are enough miscreants that try to loot the tourists and it becomes very easy when you are carrying cash. With blockchain technology, such malicious attempts can be thwarted very effectively. Travelers can make payments only to authorized service providers which would take the accurate amount with no extra charges.
Using cryptos you can make payments easily to carriers, hoteliers and all the retailers across the globe. You do not need to carry cash in your bag which means there is no worry about getting robbed in unknown territory. The centralized digital systems that facilitate fiat payment also make your credentials traceable which is another risk that you do not want to take while traveling. Decentralized apps make payments swift, safer and anonymous.
Making Stay and Transportation Easier
With decentralized apps, you get to circumvent all the middlemen that usually infest the hotel and transport businesses. Blockchain allows you to pay the service provider directly without any interference of intermediary. It means that you can go about hiring cabs and booking hotels by paying. It also gets you all those services within minimum time.
Maintaining Transparency
Service providers often use fake reviews to allure customers. With blockchain, they cannot hide the genuine reviews which are posted by the veritable customers. It renders their reviews indelible and immutable which consequently makes choo getting robbed in sing the service provider easier for you. This particular feature makes the entire service industry more transparent.
Luggage Management
It is essential to keep your luggage safe when you are traveling to a different region. Blockchain helps in keeping the track of your baggage and makes it easily traceable even if it is lost. And you can use such applications throughout your travel at different locations. The locations tracked by GPS devices get saved in such applications and help you find them easily.
Distribution of Rewards
Loyalty cards and rewards are used by many customers these days. On centralized systems, they can be easily accosted by hackers and once you lose them, there is no way for retrieval. Thus, using a blockchain app for keeping and using rewards is the best idea. The processing of points also becomes very easy and secure with such platforms.
Three decentralized applications already functional in tourism:
- Winding Tree
This project is focused on giving a reservation platform which would work on blockchain. It would help in getting rid of middlemen in the process of booking and would reduce the price by 20%.
- ShoCard and SITA getting robbed in
This project would ease the process of identification of individuals in hotels and other checkpoints. It re-introduces identity management in a decentralized mold and makes the overall procedure very quick and more assertive.
- Trippki getting robbed in
This one focuses on creating a loyalty program over a blockchain network. It allows the point holders to interact with the service providers and redeem them without the inclusion of intermediaries. Points will be redeemed in form of crypto tokens and it would make the process more transparent.
Challenges that need to be sorted
All in all, all the projects are either on blueprints or being tested for their efficiency. The precise impact of blockchain in tourism is yet to be determined. Right now, its reach is very limited and its outcome has not been observed.
According to the experts, there are two major challenges in implementing blockchain in tourism. The first one is personal identification which needs to be sorted as soon as possible if we want to see blockchain working for travelers. Keeping information on a decentralized network also makes the management of different entities difficult. At the same time, the information is accessed by many individuals and it is a considerable risk. Since there have been instances of tokens getting stolen from wallets, it is the issue that needs to be resolved.
Another challenge that needs to overcome is the standardization of all the applications. Blockchain does work as a core technology but it does get modified and personalized by the companies adopting it. That impacts the efficiency of the distributed ledger and makes it quite similar to the centralized mechanisms which can be customized the way you want.
It would still take some time to gauge the impact of blockchain on this domain. Tourism is one of the primary sources of revenue for many countries and making changes in it will impact the lives of many. However, in the next few years, we would probably see some notable changes.
