The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that a digital future is more than necessary to keep the world and its people moving, especially the hard-hit tourism industry. NFTs can provide unique experiences and business opportunities in a VR and AR Metaverse. One project, LynKey, is combining all these innovative solutions to shape the future of Smart Tourism.
The tourism industry is going through a disruptive moment. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that the industry needs to embrace digital solutions. It also highlighted a growing trend: that users are willing to enjoy digital-based experiences.
Metaverse projects, such as by LynKey, offer an innovative millennial 4IR solution for its global audience for a seamless and exclusive travelling experience, providing a plethora of virtual choices over its platform.
Innovative solutions coming from VR, AR, and the Metaverse will create new business models and ways to engage better audiences with their favourite tourist destinations and create new impactful solutions with artists, DJs and NFTs that bridge entertainment, tourism experiences, and create a multitude of possibilities.
And creating near-to-real and refreshing travel experiences at the comforts of their couch using Metaverse, AR, and VR is an idea that can shake the industry.
“The travel industry is witnessing a global cry-out for an overhaul of the infrastructure that had been crippled due to its antiquated features after the pandemic hit the world. It looks for a leader that can navigate through the conventional market inequalities into a realm that offers a ‘one-stop-solution’ for some of the majestic destinations on our planet. Believe it or not, there are absolutely many!” Cindy Tran, CEO and Co-Founder, LynKey, said.
Blockchain powered Tourism Experiences
Brokers, lawyers, banks, and travel agents have long been a part of the massive tourism industry. In the current market scenario, blockchain is shifting and optimising their roles and participation for local and global transactions. New and upcoming platforms can eventually assume functions such as listings, payments, and legal documentation through automated ledgers and smart contracts.
Cutting out the non-necessary intermediaries will result in more transparency for buyers and sellers. Also, they get secure transactions and certifications and save on commissions and fees charged by these intermediaries, making the transactions more streamlined and transparent.
The tokenisation of entire tourism experiences brings transparency and immutable characteristics to various features, including:
· Travel costs: tickets, inter-city travel, visa processing, access to exclusive lounges.
· Resort tours, services, and entertainment: City-guide services, spa treatments, cruises, desert safaris, scuba diving etc.
· Accommodations, hotel and resort stays: A stay of one week in a particular hotel, hotel upgrades.
· Food & beverage: Pay for meals and drinks with the convenience of using intrinsic tokens.
· Reward system: Similar to points-based rewards, the community participating within the ecosystem is rewarded for their loyalty. This could also enable the users to get preferential treatment or discounts to products and services in the ecosystem.
The NFTs way to create memorable and unique travel experiences
NFTs (or Non-Fungible Tokens) has been, by far, the most exciting way of creating a unique collectible that can not be interchanged over a blockchain. This is one of the top innovations that are increasingly gaining traction for increasing business opportunities. You can conveniently convert your unique travel experiences into NFTs.
NFTs could be developed to provide one-of-a-kind experience, linked to various unique elements. For instance:
· a luxury sea-view villa with particular features or furnishings, or
· a penthouse with pink walls and a butler on the top floor, or
· a blue yacht offering a particular luxury experience and of particular value.
In addition, these NFTs will include timestamps for each of the unique experiences, for instance, a particular date of the year. Thus, any unique tourism experience can be converted into an NFT.
This will enable travellers to create time-based unique experiences and digitise it through NFTs to represent a license to that unique dated experience. The original buyer of the NFT can easily sell this unique experience or set of experiences to another willing buyer on a secondary market without the particular hotel or resort getting directly involved.
Rewriting ‘Virtual Tourism’ experiences
Through a tailored built metaverse, Virtual tourism solutions will create complete holistic and digital experiences all over the world. Besides, it will carve out new ways to promote cities, locations and events with DJs and other personalities and players. The article is about, LynKey Smart Tourism.
One of the takeaways of the Covid-19 pandemic was, in fact, a growing demand for new digital experiences and escapism. Consequently, a ‘watershed moment’ for the capabilities of reality is being augmented by technology with AR and/or VR and other ways to promote both venues, properties and explore new revenue streams.
“Metaverse will transform the entire digital and physical experiences of booking holidays and property buying. It will augment the AR and VR reputation as a critical marketing tool into a permanent form of ‘Smarter Tourism’. AR and VR will become a critically valid form of alternative promotions, sales and travel as consumers and industry players get more accustomed to this technology. This is where various platforms are working closely with blockchain developers, creators of the Metaverse, and global tourism and property partners,” added Cindy Tran, CEO and Co-Founder of LynKey.
The Metaverse, AR, and VR are now critical solutions for countries, cities, tourism boards and hotels that have been unable to operate properly over the past year, keeping would-be visitors interested while business begins its long road to recovery. LynKey Smart Tourism
LynKey’s solutions go beyond tourism experiences and towards a complete smart-city governance. It creates smart tourism destinations with- smart amenities, thriving economy, ancillary services, and good public transport- solving issues of mobility.
Technology and Innovation intersect with global tourism for a revolution
Since the arrival of the pandemic, the disruptions have put more than 41 million jobs at risk and it is predicted that travel won’t return to normal until at least 2024. Global tourism had suffered a near-fatal blow, impacting not just in terms of the business, but also the livelihood and economic status of millions of people across the globe. According to UNWTO Tourism dashboard, the global tourist arrival rate fell to 76% (January-September 2021). Though national and mass vaccination programs have been pivotal in resuming the momentum, various current factors continue to hinder its revival. Missing being able to travel freely, or vacating with the family is still something people are experiencing worldwide.
A challenge that Lynkey, as a pioneer in smart tourism / metaverse experiences is eager to take on.
Dinis Guarda is an author, academic, influencer, serial entrepreneur, and leader in 4IR, AI, Fintech, digital transformation, and Blockchain. Dinis has created various companies such as Ztudium tech platform; founder of global digital platform directory openbusinesscouncil.org; digital transformation platform to empower, guide and index cities citiesabc.com and fashion technology platform fashionabc.org. He is also the publisher of intelligenthq.com, hedgethink.com and tradersdna.com. He has been working with the likes of UN / UNITAR, UNESCO, European Space Agency, Davos WEF, Philips, Saxo Bank, Mastercard, Barclays, and governments all over the world.
With over two decades of experience in international business, C-level positions, and digital transformation, Dinis has worked with new tech, cryptocurrencies, driven ICOs, regulation, compliance, and legal international processes, and has created a bank, and been involved in the inception of some of the top 100 digital currencies.
He creates and helps build ventures focused on global growth, 360 digital strategies, sustainable innovation, Blockchain, Fintech, AI and new emerging business models such as ICOs / tokenomics.
Dinis is the founder/CEO of ztudium that manages blocksdna / lifesdna. These products and platforms offer multiple AI P2P, fintech, blockchain, search engine and PaaS solutions in consumer wellness healthcare and life style with a global team of experts and universities.
He is the founder of coinsdna a new swiss regulated, Swiss based, institutional grade token and cryptocurrencies blockchain exchange. He is founder of DragonBloc a blockchain, AI, Fintech fund and co-founder of Freedomee project.
Dinis is the author of various books. He has published different books such “4IR AI Blockchain Fintech IoT Reinventing a Nation”, “How Businesses and Governments can Prosper with Fintech, Blockchain and AI?”, also the bigger case study and book (400 pages) “Blockchain, AI and Crypto Economics – The Next Tsunami?” last the “Tokenomics and ICOs – How to be good at the new digital world of finance / Crypto” was launched in 2018.
Some of the companies Dinis created or has been involved have reached over 1 USD billions in valuation. Dinis has advised and was responsible for some top financial organisations, 100 cryptocurrencies worldwide and Fortune 500 companies.
Dinis is involved as a strategist, board member and advisor with the payments, lifestyle, blockchain reward community app Glance technologies, for whom he built the blockchain messaging / payment / loyalty software Blockimpact, the seminal Hyperloop Transportations project, Kora, and blockchain cybersecurity Privus.
He is listed in various global fintech, blockchain, AI, social media industry top lists as an influencer in position top 10/20 within 100 rankings: such as Top People In Blockchain | Cointelegraph https://top.cointelegraph.com/ and https://cryptoweekly.co/100/ .
Between 2014 and 2015 he was involved in creating a fabbanking.com a digital bank between Asia and Africa as Chief Commercial Officer and Marketing Officer responsible for all legal, tech and business development. Between 2009 and 2010 he was the founder of one of the world first fintech, social trading platforms tradingfloor.com for Saxo Bank.
He is a shareholder of the fintech social money transfer app Moneymailme and math edutech gamification children’s app Gozoa.
He has been a lecturer at Copenhagen Business School, Groupe INSEEC/Monaco University and other leading world universities.
