Travel is considered to be the second-fastest growing industry in the world. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the industry’s growth temporarily, but with borders slowly reopening and intra-provincial travel now being permitted in some countries around the world, these numbers should increase again, very soon. The pandemic has propelled travel and hospitality industries to find new and innovative solutions to current problems it faces.
Many industry experts have shared views on cryptocurrency and its ability to become the new travel currency around the world. With many tourists opting to travel cashless and seeking new and innovative ways to pay for their trip and expenses while travelling, bitcoin and other related currencies could become the currency of choice in the next few years.
Here are a few ways travellers could use cryptocurrency on their international holidays:
Considering Cryptocurrency as a payment method
Although cryptocurrency trading is not widely accepted globally, more and more companies are beginning to accept bitcoin and other digital currencies for products and services both online and offline. For international travellers, this could evade costs of currency conversion, ATM withdrawal and transaction fees and decrease the risk of falling prey fraud scams.
Sending Money Internationally
Being able to trade with cryptocurrency internationally also means that travellers will be able to pay their bills and send money from wherever they are in the world. For example, imagine travelling in South Africa and having an unpaid utility bill in Europe which needs to be settled. Remittance may take 3-5 days and extra fees may be charged. Whereas paying with a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin could complete the task instantly and only for a toke sum.
Blockchain Technology for Travel Agencies
In travel, there is a long list of chain intermediaries, which causes unwanted delays and lag time on bookings. As a result many travel companies have suffered significant financial losses. Blockchain technology could possibly eliminate their problems, through closing the gap made by different payment systems.
Eliminating Fraud and Overbooking
Blockchain could possibly eliminate the endless problem of double or overbookings in the travel industry by preventing double-spending. Refund requests are quite common for travel agents and merchants, which means that there is always a high degree of financial loss. According to our research, once a payment is made through blockchain technology it cannot be reversed. This will automatically reduce the number of fraudulent cases encountered.
Accessibility and Convenience
Decentralization will enable millions of people around the globe to gain access to financial services, while connecting them to the rest of the world. More and more people will have the opportunity to travel because reputation-based identity systems will be able to prove their identity.
Shopping Offline Made Easy
Travellers and people in general prefer to go cashless. Carrying large sums of money around is not the safest option, especially when you’re far away from home. You may also spend large amounts of money in foreign bank charges too. It has been reported that multi-currency cards are now available. This allows travellers to evade foreign bank charges when making transactions.
Saving Money with Withdrawing Cash Abroad
With cryptocurrency as a legitimate travel currency, travellers will save on withdrawing cash when they’re abroad. Banks usually charge a levy or foreign transaction fee when withdrawing cash outside of your home country. This is not the case with crypto cards.
As cryptocurrency grows in popularity, it will gain more and more exposure, especially to those who have never experimented with crypto or given it a try before. This could lead to mass adoption on a global scale for the travel industry.