Dubai Announces the Launch of Blockchain-Enabled Marketplace Tourism 2.0
Dubai, which is one of the hottest travel destinations in the world is embracing the blockchain technology for its tourism industry by launching the new ‘Tourism 2.0’ - a blockchain-enabled marketplace that allows potential visitors to directly connect to hotels and tour operators.
Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) announced this initiative along with the participation in Dubai 10x, which will further give a push to the department’s mission in promoting Dubai as the leading destination for global travel, business and events by 2020, said the concerned authorities in a statement.
The ability of the blockchain technology to securely store data which at the same time can be publicly accessible seems to have seems to have encouraged DTCM in using it.
The new blockchain-powered business to business marketplace will allow tour operators and hotels to directly connect with each other. By having the real-time data regarding hotel-occupancy and room rates, tour operators can communicate regarding different offers and availability more effectively to their customers.
Dubai will be leveraging the use of social media platforms to promote itself as a travel destination providing personalized travel packages to customers as a part of the Tourism 2.0.
Director general of DTCM, Dr. Helal Saeed Al Marri said: “By increasing the pace of digital transformation in the travel sector, Dubai is positioned to expand tourism by bringing innovative start-ups into the ecosystem, which will ultimately deliver value in terms of higher and faster visitor conversion, and greater GDP impact.”
He further added: "As the pioneer in adopting the most secure and transparent virtualization technology in the tourism sector, we will be able to streamline booking processes and create democracy in travel for all.”
Dubai Tourism Vision 2020 has set a goal of having 20 million visitors per year. Last year in 2017, Dubai registered 15.75 million visitors marking an increase of 6.2 percent over the previous year.
However, this is not for the first time that we are seeing the enthusiasm of Dubai for using blockchain technology. Last year, the Dubai’s real estate industry also promoted and leveraged the use of blockchain and cryptocurrencies by allowing customers to make huge payments at very low transaction costs.
In addition, blockchain technology has been finding its use in a number of applications these days in storing government data, financial transactions and also maintaining hospital records. The blockchain is tamper-proof and not controlled by a single authority. As a result, it thus brings in more security and peace-of-mind to its users.