Many companies and industries are incorporating Web3 technologies into their business structures, and the travel industry is no exception.
On September 21, Flybondi, an Argentine airline, announced a strategic alliance with TravelX, a blockchain technology company in charge of tokenizing airline tickets. The association intends to allow travelers to purchase airline tickets as non-fungible tokens through Binance Pay, using USDC as payment for transactions.
Speaking with Cointelegraph, TravelX co-founder Facundo Díaz shared that he was fully convinced that Web3 technologies could allow the travel industry to expand, not only in market size, but also in terms of use cases and benefits for travelers:
“In 1990 there were 1.2 billion airline passengers, and the size of the industry market was valued at $250 billion. Thanks to the adoption of the Internet, between 1990 and 2007, the industry grew to 2.5 billion passengers and a market size of USD 510 billion”.
He explained that in 2008 there was another increase. When it became mandatory for members of the International Air Transport Association to use electronic ticketing services, travelers grew to 4.5 billion annually and a market size of USD 870 billion.
Diaz believes that NFTickets could be beneficial for travelers, because it would allow travelers to auction, sell, exchange, and transfer tickets from wallet to wallet, giving them full control over the management and disposition of their travel assets freely and seamlessly:
“Imagine being able to sell your NFTicket if you can’t travel, or text it as a gift to your mom whenever you want.”
Additionally, NFTickets could allow airlines to increase revenue through secondary market resales. Diaz told Cointelegraph that: “Every time an NFTicket is resold on the secondary market, the airline collects a percentage of the profit based on the revenue sharing model defined in the smart contract.”
Speaking about his vision for a bright and exciting future for space, Diaz stated:
“We believe that the blockchain-based retail and distribution infrastructure we are creating for the travel industry will help it evolve into a more Transparent industry, governed by clear smart contracts, with no black boxes, hidden fees or conditions.”
He added, “But probably the most interesting new use cases are the ones we can’t even imagine yet.”
TravelX also hopes to set a precedent for standardizing NFTickets within the travel industry, but has no intention of monopolizing the market, Diaz shared.
“We just created the first layer of infrastructure, and we’re opening it up for the actual travel industry and new players like exchanges, DeFi protocols, or entrepreneurs to connect and/or build new solutions on top of.”
He explained that the blockchain company is building its infrastructure on the Algorand network, due to its “performance, security, cost and scalability, but mainly because it is an environmentally friendly blockchain, considering its proof-of-stake protocol, it achieved the status of being carbon negative.”
For now, TravelX, a US-based company, focuses on airline inventory distribution, which is the most challenging area that can be positively impacted within the travel industry. Mr. Diaz shared, “TravelX is in negotiations and working with more than 60 airlines in Europe, the Middle East and the United States to integrate TravelX’s standard and infrastructure for their inventory management and distribution.”
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