What are the applications of blockchain in tourism?

What are the applications of blockchain in tourism? What problems can be solved?

Big data killing, bundled fare increase and opaque information in the tourism industry have become the key pain points in the current industry. When Ctrip became a channel brand and a monopoly, the so-called decentralization gave other companies with similar channels the opportunity to decentralize channels.

At present, many technology startups are paying attention to the technology of blockchain, because it will subvert many industries, including banking, health care, education and tourism. In fact, in 20 17, blockchain startups received an investment of about1800 million US dollars.

Blockchain in tourism

I believe that everyone who goes out to travel will encounter some inconvenient things more or less. Even if sufficient planning and preparation are made in the early stage, there will still be some unexpected things that will affect the whole travel experience and mood. For example, when there is a long queue at the security check, I find that my ID card is ready at any time, and I am asked to take the initiative to give up my seat because of oversold.

Secondly, there will be fraud, which is very important. Travel agencies lose as much as 0.44% every year, and 4% of plane reservations are rejected because of fraud. All these problems cost the tourism industry $4.8 billion every year.

Blockchain can solve these problems well. The following is an application case of blockchain in tourism.

1. Identity management

According to statistics, as many as 40 million travel documents have been recorded as lost or stolen in recent years. However, through biometrics and blockchain, identities and travel documents can be recorded and kept permanently, and can be consulted with just one click. We don't have to print multiple documents for multiple checkpoints during the trip. Credit card information can also be easily stored. Airplanes, hotels and passports can simplify travelers' equipment, and government agencies are safer when dealing with tourists.

2. Smart contracts

Blockchain has been used to consolidate contracts between enterprises, and neither party can change the terms. In the tourism industry, smart contracts have a huge space. Travelers and travel agencies will record all transactions in one block; Loyalty programs and travel points can be stored in blocks; The commission agreement between airlines, hotels and booking agents will also clearly distinguish who gets the fee and when; The company agreement signed with the travel agency can be kept forever without any doubt or hidden costs.

Avoid fraud

As far as I know, about 55 million consumers booked a third-party platform that they thought belonged to the hotel last year. In fact, these websites are run by fraudsters. It not only caused direct losses to consumers, but also affected the reputation of the hotel.

If applied to blockchain technology, it will effectively solve the above problems and help consumers verify ownership and so on. In addition, due to the characteristics of storing documents and identities in blocks, travel agencies do not need to manually check whether these reservations are marked as potential fraud. Travel information can be obtained safely through blockchain, and the losses caused by fraud will be greatly reduced.

4. Overbooking

This is an old headache for tourists who may be driven off the plane because no one wants to give up their seats. The government is even taking regulatory measures to punish these behaviors of airlines. Through the blockchain, passengers will have higher security, their reservations will be safely stored in a block, and airlines will be forced to give up overselling.

In addition, tourism involves various service industries, and many different consumption points plans will be encountered during the trip. It's just that various integral systems are complex and isolated from each other, and customers don't fully understand the details. This not only affects the interests of customers, but also brings trouble to travel companies. If blockchain technology is adopted, these long-standing problems may be solved by unifying these points plans into a * * * account book and managing points with a wallet.