Web3 technology may revolutionize the travel sector.
Through resales on the secondary market, NFTickets might enable airlines and events to boost their earnings.
The tourism sector is one of several businesses and industries integrating Web3 technologies into their organizational structures.
An agreement between an Argentinian airline named Flybondi and TravelX, a provider of blockchain technology for tokenizing airline tickets, was announced on Wednesday. Through Binance Pay and USD Coin (USDC), the alliance aims to make it possible for users to buy plane tickets using non fungible tokens.
In an interview, TravelX co-founder Facundo Diaz expressed his complete conviction that Web3 technologies may help the travel sector grow, not just in terms of market size but also in terms of use cases and advantages for travelers:
“In 1990, there were 1.2B of airline passengers, and the industry’s market size was valued at $250B. Thanks to Internet adoption, between 1990 and 2007, the industry grew to 2.5B passengers and a $510B market size.”
He mentioned that 2008 saw yet another rise. When using e-ticketing services was made required for International Air Transport Association members, there were 4.5 billion travelers annually and a $870 billion market for the sector.
Travelers might benefit from NFTickets, according to Diaz, because it would provide them complete control over managing and disposing of their travel assets freely and smoothly. Flyers could auction, sell, trade, and move tickets from wallet to wallet.
“Imagine being able to sell your NFTicket if you cannot travel, or sending it by text message as a gift to your mum whenever you want.”
Additionally, NFTickets may make it possible for airlines to raise their revenue by reselling tickets on the secondary market. In accordance with the revenue sharing model specified in the smart contract, Diaz said that “every time an NFTicket is resold in the secondary market, the airline earns a share of the upside.”
Speaking on his outlook for a promising future for the area, Diaz said:
“We believe the blockchain-based distribution and retailing infrastructure we are creating for the travel industry will help to evolve it into a more transparent industry, ruled by clear smart contracts without black boxes, hidden fees, or conditions.”
The ones that we couldn’t yet envisage are likely the most intriguing new use cases, he continued.
TravelX doesn’t intend to monopolize the market, according to Diaz, but it does seek to establish a precedent for the standardization of NFTickets within the travel sector.
“We just created the first layer of infrastructure, and we are opening it for the actual travel industry and new players, like Exchanges, DeFi protocols, or entrepreneurs, to connect and/or build new solutions on top of it.”
Because of its “performance, security, cost, and scalability, but primarily because it is an environmentally friendly blockchain, considering its proof of stake, achieved the status of being carbon negative,” he explained, the blockchain company is constructing its infrastructure on the Algorand network.
Currently, TravelX, a U.S.-based startup, is concentrating on airline inventory distribution because it is the most difficult sector of the travel industry that can be improved. “TravelX is in negotiations and working with more than 60 airlines from Europe, the Middle East, and the United States for them to integrate TravelX’s standard and infrastructure for their inventory management and distribution,” stated Mr. Diaz.