March 16, 2023

How Blockchain is changing the travel industry

Anke Hsu, Head of Business Development at Chain4Travel, delivered a presentation on how the newest technologies can drive the travel and tourism industry to new heights.

Blockchain is arguably the most talked-about technology regardless of industry, but how can new innovations in blockchain help drive positive change in travel and tourism? Switzerland-based Chain4Travel was established to answer this question, aiming to “connect the new world of travel” via the Camino consortium blockchain. 

Anke Hsu, Head of Business Development at Chain4Travel, took to the eTravel stage to reveal how blockchain is providing new use cases for travel.

Ms Hsu detailed how blockchain can help tackle fraud, which can reportedly cost the travel industry around €23.29 billion ($25 billion) on an annual basis. Using blockchains like Camino as a “community validator” can apparently help prevent the threat of fraudulent transactions.

Blockchain was also mentioned as a way to drive down transaction costs for players in the industry. “The transaction cost will go down because our goal is to enable micro transactions,” said Ms Hsu. Furthermore, the community within the Camino Network is able to govern itself, including the ability to vote on the value of the transaction fee. 

Services like Chain4Travel also help boost trust within the industry, Ms Hsu argued. The Head of Business Development claimed that TrustPilot removed approximately three million fake reviews in the past year. Blockchains help provide authenticated evidence of travel, which could be used by companies to obtain honest reviews of their services. Something like this could lead to further connectivity within the industry, and could provide a more dependable service for customers in the long-term, as honest feedback is gathered to accurately guide a company’s products and services. 

Photo: Vicky Smith, earth-changers.com