How Crypto Could Totally Change The Way We All Travel

NFTs have become quite an integral part of the worlds of art and the internet. They help authenticate ownership of unique files and are purchased with cryptocurrency like Ether and Flow, which are then recorded into an online blockchain ledger. Some are predicting that soon the travel industry could be impacted by NFTs as well.

The application of NFTs could mean making trips abroad a lot smoother than they currently are. Dustin York, associate professor of communication at Maryville University in St. Louis says: “If passports could be backed by blockchain, that would be a huge change when it comes to security and identity theft.”

You can also easily add in vaccination proof to a digital token, according to Juliette Levy, a credit markets expert and professor at University of California in Riverside. She adds: “Vaccine-passport NFTs may make this technology much more prevalent.”

Some airlines, airports, and even events like the Kentucky Derby have already gotten on board with the idea of NFTs as digital keepsakes, and destinations could be next on the list.

According to York: “If you travel to a particular beach, you could receive an NFT as a bit of memorabilia that you could show off on Instagram or in a digital album.”

Matthew Bailey, founder of travel site Must Do Canada, says that NFTs are a way to help support wildlife rehabilitation. While on a trip to Bolivia’s Senda Verde refuge, he offered NFTs to Viento, a spider monkey, and Canelo, a howler monkey, on a popular site for token commerce called Opensea.

Each animal is represented by a digital file and is listed at .10 Ether, which is worth about $420 as of now. Bailey said that half of the purchase price will be given directly to the refuge.

In addition to the travel sector, restaurants are also looking into using NFTs. Quality Eats has created an NFT-backed cocktail, aptly named Into The Ether. An anonymous buyer on Opensea bought the secret recipe and also the rights to a free round for every visit for .75 Ether, which comes out to about $2000. As York says: “Really just about anything can be made into an NFT.”