Despite the volatile movements of the cryptocurrency market, industry-wide intrigue and interest in the potentials of blockchain technology have been on a steady climb. The travel industry is one that has been quick to adopt the use of cryptocurrency to take advantage of its ability to push transactions globally.

Within the travel industry, hotels and airlines have traditionally been obligated to work with third-party organizations like global distribution systems (GDSs) and online travel agencies (OTAs) to ensure that their services are accessible to potential customers. These middlemen platforms have added invisible costs to travelling that the consumers have had to realize without necessarily being aware of it.

Blockchain technology is important in that it has the potential to remove these intermediaries and provide a system with less overhead costs. Additionally, because cryptocurrencies are global, it plays perfectly into the travel industry where many international transactions take place. By incorporating global digital assets, travel agencies and booking platforms can reduce the fees usually taken by banks and intermediaries for international transactions.

However, there are still obstacles to implementing the use of blockchain technology in travel. For starters, because most consumers are not familiar with blockchain technology and how it works, they may choose to stay with a platform they are more familiar with even if the blockchain-enabled one offers better prices. Consequently, creating a user-friendly and accessible experience is absolutely necessary for any crypto-supported travel companies that want to gain a sustainable user-base.

For this reason, the adoption of cryptocurrency in the travel space will start with existing platforms or those dedicated to providing a seamless user experience. Corporate Traveler, an established, UK-based subsidiary of Flight Centre Group has just announced its acceptance of bitcoin as a result of increasing demand from clients. As one of the UK’s largest business travel providers, this is a significant move towards adopting the use of cryptocurrency and digital assets in the travel industry.

Travala.com, the leading blockchain-based travel booking site, is also playing a vital role in this industry. With successful systematic growth since its launch in 2017, Travala.com is changing the future of online travel by providing an easy to use booking platform combining decentralised technologies and tokenized incentive structures. Travala connects consumers directly with the best-value wholesale providers in the travel industry. The next-gen online travel agency allows users to choose from over 567,928 properties in 82,311 destinations saving an average of 15%. Users can pay in fiat or a range of cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, LTC, TRX, XRP, and BCH to name a few.

Additionally, Travala uses a native token (AVA) to provide a robust token-powered incentivization economy that rewards users based on their participation on the platform via bookings, referrals or hotel reviews for example. By using a blockchain network that validates every review for authenticity, Travala is also creating a trustworthy ecosystem of travelers to help customers navigate their next trip in a transparent manner.

While the use of blockchain technology in the travel industry is still relatively new, it is showing promise as a tool to democratize the booking of global travel.