For The Travel Industry, Web3 Says “Out With The Old, In With The New”

When it comes to certain things in life, the old version can be a pure classic. An espresso from a traditional machine vs. some plastic capsule device. The unchanged beauty of a European city center vs. a suburban string of mini-malls. The view from a mountain peak vs. the cheap imitation from a VR headset.

However, we can’t always look to the past, and what is old is not always considered “classic.” Sometimes the old version is there simply because it is waiting for something better to come along and replace it. Sometimes the new really is better, faster, cleaner, more enjoyable. Sometimes it’s okay to throw out the “old” to make room for the “new.”

The trick, as with all things, is to know when.  Some things are better left untouched because they are classic. Others aren’t broken, and maybe don’t need to be fixed. But in the world of travel, especially with traveling the world, there are plenty of aspects in sore need of improvement. We’ve experienced a massive change in everyday life the last few decades, with the internet, social media, and advanced logistics making life more interconnected and simplified.  However, this can’t always be said of global travel.  With the extra barriers of geographical borders, political systems and their laws, currencies, cultures, and overall technology levels, this same desire to integrate has been left wanting, and many travel services are still behind the standard practices of other industries (especially those more focused in a particular country or region).

Web3, with its interesting elements and benefits, may be exactly what the travel industry has been waiting for.  After all, Web3 is especially focused on decentralization, borderless currencies, trustless/smart contracts, and tokenization of products, services, and even Real World Assets (RWAs).  These are all areas where the travel industry has suffered from global complexity the most, and there is an especially interesting opportunity to apply Web3 throughout the travel industry that can throw out the old practices and usher in the new.  Let’s look at some examples of where Web3 is already working to help transform the travel industry.  At the forefront of this effort is the Web3 travel organization Camino Network; however, a transformation this large will take many Web3 partners to fully transform our current global travel system.

Booking/Scheduling

Being able to lock down a particular event, service, or product can still be difficult to do from afar. While common elements like making hotel reservations have become much easier, the ability to use a Web3 booking app can allow a smart contract to interact with future guests and ensure that reservations are accurate, logged, and without issue.  Customers are able to see their reservation on-chain, and perhaps hold an NFT or other type of token as proof of reservation. This can also lead to interesting opportunities for secondary market sales where allowed, ensuring that hotel cancellations do not end in a forfeiture but could be resold to another guest.

An example of this in action is Sleap, a Web3 platform that takes the basic hotel booking model and incorporates a Web3 layer. Users can search for hotels in a given area, and while they can pay using a standard credit card, there are major discounts offered once a Web3 wallet is added to the platform and is used to schedule the stay. In addition, the platform has its own NFT collection of highlighted destinations, with each NFT offering various travel rewards for the holder.

This same concept of booking and scheduling could be used to span into ride-sharing apps, replacing the traditional taxi experience. Depending on the location around the world, transportation can be problematic, with dubious taxi companies operating, long taxi queues, and the ability to book in advance.  Tour booking shares this opportunity, with the added bonus of an interactive app that can provide updates and information beneficial to those on the tour.

The ability to prove that you have reserved something is very important, especially when in a foreign country where you are more vulnerable to scams and want to be sure that you are getting what you pay for. Elements like paper tickets for events are quickly replaced by not just eTickets, but NFTs. As eTickets can still be scams, it takes something on-chain to show that a ticket is legitimate. Likewise, travel elements such as travel insurance can be purchased and proven through an NFT format, creating an on-chain representation of your contract and service.

Paying

Closely linked to scheduling and booking things is actually paying for them. With the taxi example above, being able to pay through Web3 tokens could be tremendously helpful in some regions, as there are limitations on the ability to use a standard western credit card as payment. Using tokenization can help greatly with this, keeping the currency borderless.

If you are paying with a borderless currency, it also solves two other key issues. First, a borderless currency doesn’t have to be converted upon payment, so the transaction is much simpler. Second, removing the need to trade out currency beforehand or during the transaction is helpful because it eliminates the harsh exchange fees and poor rates received when converting currency, saving you money very quickly. As mentioned above, the Camino Network is involved heavily in this along with reservations and does so by partnering with a growing number of travel companies globally.

On top of saving you money, the ability to simply pay with crypto instead of with cash would make a travel experience much smoother and easier, especially if the travel takes you to multiple countries with different currencies.  The “new” in this case saves time, money, and effort; it’s hard to want to go back to the “old” with this many benefits.

Exploring

Finally, there is simply the traveling aspect of exploring. Web3 can continue to take the concepts described above and apply them to many different use cases that the average traveler would encounter.  It could be as simple as sending an NFT postcard instead of mailing a physical postcard. It could be a dynamic travel agency that has booked your initial trip but can expand the trip in real time as you see new things on your travels, the app shares locations and trends with the Web3 smart contract, and the contract offers up new experiences for you to potentially enjoy.

As a last example, the element of rewards is especially transformative with Web3.  Tokenizing rewards can help users to earn, keep track, and spend their rewards, all on-chain. This can help prevent wasting expired rewards, help keep track of balances and potential prizes to redeem, and help to keep users engaged with the travel brand overall.

Looking Ahead

Throwing out the old for the sake of the new isn’t always bad, and in the case of travel services, Web3 is definitely ready to replace the old ways and prove how impactful it can be to the entire industry.  By exploring the many different use cases we see for a typical travel experience, it is clear that Web3 is what the global travel industry has been waiting for to tie it together, bring efficiency, and ensure that globe gets smaller and more welcoming every day.