Category: Travel

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Crypto News Crypto Wallets Economics Investing NFTs Travel

Thailand Wants to Attract Crypto Millionaires to Revive Tourism

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is looking into ways of boosting the country’s post-pandemic economy. Enter cryptos. The South-East Asian kingdom aims to attract crypto-millionaires to spend their newfound wealth in the hopes of becoming a “crypto-positive society”.

Thailand Facilitates the Use of Crypto

According to Bloomberg, Thailand is looking to attract individuals who have “become wealthy from holding digital currencies” to its shores in an effort to boost its pandemic-ridden economy. As a result of Covid-19, the tourism contribution to the country’s GDP dropped from 18.21 percent in 2019 to 6.78 percent in 2020. The Thai tourism authority will now seek to recoup some of the US$80 billion lost in revenue due to the pandemic.

The TAT has indicated that it is working with regulators and a local crypto exchange to make it easier for crypto holders to spend their currencies in Thailand. According to TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn, the authority will set up a new unit to issue its own crypto, develop a wallet and build a new tourism ecosystem in 2022.

The Governor said crypto holders may now be looking to spend their riches and added: “If they can use their currencies here without having to exchange [them], or be faced with government taxes, then it would create convenience for them.” Supasorn also noted that embracing cryptos would help the country recover its tourism sector.

Crypto is the future, so we must make Thailand a crypto-positive society to welcome this group of quality tourists. 

Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand

Crypto Acceptance Could Help the Global Tourism Sector

The pandemic has had a far-reaching global economic impact, and none more so than in the tourism sector. Despite a major global economic downturn over the past year, cryptos have surged to new heights and can now help industries recover as the acceptance of cryptos also grows.

Earlier this year, luxury hotel chain Kessler Collection announced it would be accepting payments in cryptocurrencies going forward. The announcement was made after it had taken up a partnership with BitPay, which will oversee the payment processing part of the deal.

Hand-in-hand with aiding the tourism industry, cryptos have also been deployed in wildlife conservation. The endangered Seychelles magpie robin is now available to purchase digitally in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Funds generated from sales will help finance conservation efforts for the rare bird, indirectly boosting tourism in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

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Blockchain Crypto News DeFi Travel

Decentralised Accommodation Site Grows 120 Times Faster Than Airbnb

Dtravel, a new decentralised travel platform in the home-sharing economy, has already recorded massive growth. On July 21, the company announced it had signed on over 200,000 properties in more than 2000 cities since last month’s launch.

Dtravel’s goal is to have over one million listings within its first 12 months of operation. At the current rate of expansion it has acquired listings 120 times faster than Airbnb, which took two and a half years to acquire 50,000 listed properties.

The company combines efforts from former executives of Airbnb, Expedia, and Binance-backed Travala.com. The platform aims to enhance short- and long-term stays, which can be paid for in cryptocurrency and by traditional methods.

The platform will be governed by the Dtravel Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) and users who hold TRVL tokens. Tokens can be staked to qualify for rewards, book stays and participate in platform governance.

This is done by leveraging decentralised finance (DeFi) blockchain technology to facilitate smart contracts, which cuts out the middleman and acts as the backbone of the platform.

Recently, ShapeShift crypto exchange also decentralised the company and left operations to the DAO. Australian lawmakers are in the process of establishing DAOs as their own entity.

With travel starting to rebound and a record level of interest in blockchain technologies like cryptocurrencies, Dtravel gives eager people what has been missing to date: control and ownership over their own travel experiences. By allowing guests and hosts full participation in their experiences and in the economy they are creating, Dtravel fulfils the true mission of sharing economies.

Jochem Wijnands, founder, TRVL

Dtravel already has partnerships with large property managers Ministry of Villas and In Residence. More partnerships are being finalised and will be announced soon.

Home-Sharing Economy in the Hands of the People

Among current problems with the home-sharing economy are that a handful of centralised corporations dominate it, and that it is categorised by high fees, impersonal communication mediated by companies, and a lack of crypto payment options.

Dtravel wants to solve these problems by “putting ownership, control, and decision-making back into the hands of users through blockchain technology”. By doing this it has reduced fees – which can run as high as 20 percent – down to 7.5 percent, allowing hosts to earn more per booking.

Additionally, TRVL tokens can be used to align the company with the economic interests of its users, not just those of the organisation and its shareholders.

The next generation of hosts want a true sharing economy, not a shareholder economy. Dtravel is the opposite of a centralised company; decision-making power and value within the platform are shared by members of the community, meaning hosts and guests.

Luke Kim, marketing lead, Dtravel

The Dtravel main network launch, along with the booking platform, will be ready for use by both hosts and guests by Q3 2021.

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Binance Crypto News Travel

You Can Now Book Your Hotel On Binance Mobile App

Binance has partnered with Travala to accept hotel bookings paying with crypto using your Binance Mobile App.

Binance is once again positioning itself as a major leader in crypto adoption, entering payment solutions for our everyday lives.

Press play below to see it in action!

Pay for Hotels with Binance Pay

Binance users can now book over 3,000,000 travel products on Travala.com, the first merchant to integrate Binance Pay. Whether you run an e-commerce business or restaurant, you can accept crypto payments with Binance Pay. Binance Pay’s Merchant APIs allow you to process online payments or in-person payments using QR codes, all while offering customers a seamless payment experience. 

From the home screen inside the Binance App, select the ‘More’ button, and you can find ‘Hotels’ in beta. Very exciting to have such a major player as Binance release a feature like this. Crypto is here to stay. Mainstream adoption is coming… it’s already here.

How To Access Hotels on your Phone

See the screenshots below on how to find the Hotels feature on your Biannce Mobile App.

Travala.com is the first company or service to integrate Binance Pay. Users can pay for bookings using Binance pay and get AVA rewards!

What is Binance Pay?

Binance Pay is currently in (beta) and can be accessed by anyone who has a Binance account and completed their identity verification.

Binance Pay currently supports more than thirty cryptocurrencies including: BTC, BNB, BUSD, ETH, ADA, ATOM, BCH, DASH, DOGE, DOT, EOS, ETC, FIL, HBAR, LINK, LTC, MATIC, NEO, PAX, QTUM, TRX, TUSD, UNI, USDC, VET, WRX, XLM, XMR, XRP, XTZ, ZEC, USDT, FRONT, STRAX, ONE, EGLD and SXP.

Binance Pay transactions are usually confirmed instantaneously. However, please note that due to compliance requirements, funds made to your Pay wallet account can only be utilized 24 hours after it has been received.

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Blockchain Crypto News Institutions Travel

Blockchain-based COVID-19 Passports are Now Available in New York

The Excelsior Pass, a digital COVID-19 application, is now official in New York. It uses blockchain technology to protect and validate data from users, allowing them to travel, attend sports events, art performances, and more.

The pass is a voluntary application that uses IBM’s Digital Health platform. This app will help organisations to validate user’s health credentials by scanning the person to verify proof of vaccination or negative PCR test results.

The NY Governor Andrew Cuomo announced its launch on March 26, and the app is now officially available for Android and iOS.

Blockchain-based COVID-19 passports

Although the passport is voluntary and helps to verify health credential, it will not keep records of users data. All the information is stored on the blockchain, and only users can access their personal information.

“Secure technologies, like blockchain and encryption, are woven throughout Excelsior Pass to help protect the data, making it verifiable and trusted. No private health data is stored or tracked within the apps.”

Statement from the official announcement

The Excelsior Pass was first announced on March 4 as a pilot program that could help re-open travelling and commerce all over the United States. If the passport turns out successful, other countries considering issuing COVID-19 passports could follow suit by implementing Blockchain technology.

Excelsior Pass is another tool in our new toolbox to fight the virus while allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen safely and keeping personal information secure.”

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of NY
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Australia Blockchain Travel

Blockchain Tech Could Be The Key To Possible Mandatory Aussie COVID Vaccine

As countries around the world announce that a COVID vaccine is just around the corner, Australian authorities are discussing the possibility of making the vaccine mandatory – as well as ways to gauge the progress of vaccination campaigns across Australia.

Blockchain is already being used as a tool for contact tracing while traveling in South Korea, Singapore and other countries. By establishing an unchangeable list of contacts and places visited by someone who becomes ill, the spread of coronavirus can be held in check with ease.

Vaccination against the coronavirus could also be tied to government payments, a move planned as an extra incentive for those on the fence about vaccination.

Greg Hunt, the Minister of Health has gone on record stating that once a vaccine is discovered, the Government would strongly consider applying measures like “no jab, no pay” .

“It won’t be mandatory, but it will be widely encouraged. We are one of the world’s great vaccination nations and I expect very widespread uptake.” 

The Australian government is gunning for a 95 per cent vaccination rate, a number that would exclude those unable to receive vaccinations due to medical issues. Once the vaccination campaign is underway, Blockchain would be a powerful technology to implement that would allow people to prove that they have been vaccinated and,as such, pose no risk while travelling or going about their errands.

By adding the medical details of vaccine recipients to a blockchain, government payments could continue in an automated fashion, avoiding the bureaucracy that is generally characteristic for medical databases.

Whether the current plan for vaccination will be put into practice is yet to be seen – however, Blockchain technology could become a vital part in the ongoing battle for a safe and healthy return to normal.

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Australia Travel

Travala Brings 170% Surge in Crypto Travel Revenue to Australian Tourism Economy

Australia’s international travel ban has devastated Australian tourism businesses — A new partnership between Expedia and Travala, however, could see domestic crypto travelers boost industry revenue.

Australian online travel agency platform Travala is bringing Bitcoin payments back to the tourism industry through a new partnership with international travel bookings giant Expedia. The new partnership is positioned to deliver a much-needed digital currency injection into the faltering Australian tourism industry.

Australian Travel Ban Remains in Effect

Australia’s outward travel ban, originally set to run from 18 March to 17 June 2020, was quietly extended to September 16 last month. With mid-year holiday options strictly limited to locations within Australia and, in some cases, in-state only, Australian tourism businesses are turning to domestic travelers in order to recover from a $15 billion downturn in tourism industry revenues.

Travala’s new partnership with Expedia Partner Solutions, announced on July 6, will bring cryptocurrency payments return to the travel industry and open the doors to over 700,000 hotels worldwide — including more than 8,000 Australian tourism businesses.

Using Travala, Australian domestic travelers are now able to pay for hotels and accommodation in over 30 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and Travala’s native token, AVA. Expedia has made cryptocurrency purchases available in the past, but ceased accepting digital currency payments in mid-2018.

Domestic Tourism Set to Benefit from Crypto Payments Boom

With the Australian domestic cryptocurrency valued in excess of $5.9 billion with over 300,000 active cryptocurrency users, Travala’s crypto-friendly local travel options are uniquely positioned to provide much-needed capital flow into the stalled Australian tourism sector.

Travala CEO and co-founder Juan Otero highlighted the positive impact of digital currency on tourism revenue worldwide in a July 6 press release:

“Our latest month-on-month data shows consumer confidence and the desire for travel is returning, with an 81% increase in room nights booked and website traffic up 50% week-on-week.”

Travala’s latest report data indicates a healthy rebound in the travel industry, revealing a 170 percent increase in booking revenue. Notably, 13 percent of Travala’s bookings are made in the platform’s native AVA token — which can now be used to purchase goods and services at over 500 retailers across Australia.

The prospects of international travel for Australian holidaymakers, however, aren’t looking great.  Speaking in June, Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham stated that borders are likely to remain closed until 2021.

Australia’s ongoing travel ban is expected to cause a drop in GDP of 0.7 percent, with roughly 7,200 Australian tourism businesses expected to close permanently before Q4 2020.