The use of cryptocurrencies for travel is becoming more common due to the many benefits it offers. The list of travel booking sites, airlines, hotel chains and retailers accepting crypto as payment is growing daily.
So, what are the benefits of paying for your next vacation or business trip with bitcoin?
Cheap and Fast
Using a cryptocurrency for payment is inexpensive and instantaneous. You can pay for things around the globe quickly without bank bottlenecks or having to calculate exchange rates.
Privacy and Security
Unlike using a traditional bank, you do not have to provide personal data to facilitate a purchase with cryptocurrencies. Transactions with bitcoin are more private and secure. When you deposit money into a bank it is essentially not your money anymore, but belongs to the bank to manage for you. Not so with a digital wallet full of bitcoins. So long as you know the password or passphrase, your cryptos are solely under your control and no one else can get at them.
Transparency
When you pay for your travel expenses with digital coins, thanks to blockchain technology, the storage and transfer of your personal information is easier and more secure.
The intersection between blockchain and tourism has the potential to become a very advantageous combination as this technology can provide security and transparency at certain key points. For example, when a travel agency books flights and hotels for a client, it sends their data to the different companies. The blockchain can make the transfer and storage of this information easier and more secure, since responsibility is shared by an entire network. The same goes for payments abroad, increasing the level of trust between all parties.” ~ en.travel2latam.com.
An Alternate Form of ID
Horror stories abound about people who have been robbed on vacation of their identification like a driver’s license or passport. Those essential personal items along with their cash and traveler’s checks can be gone in the blink of an eye. If you are using your digital wallet you still have a form of ID and funds to pay for things.
Many Crypto Travel Options
The world’s largest cryptocurrency travel agency, Travala.com, accepts over 40 coins and tokens from Bitcoin and Ripple to Ethereum and Litecoin. They also have their own AVA tokens you can use for your next trip. With the growing number of bitcoin millionaires, Traval launched a new service, Concierge, specifically to meet the increasing demand for luxury travel with specialty services paid for by bitcoin.
Travala co-founder and CEO, Juan Otero in a recent press statement says:
“Demand for a luxury travel product within the crypto market has been there for a while, the current bull run has just solidified this, with more crypto millionaires being created almost weekly. This audience can now turn their attention away from price and instead focus on living out experiences they once could only have dreamed of. Crypto users who have made such gains are already booking these experiences with luxury travel agents, but we’re now giving them a way to pay with their favorite currency directly—we expect most will be Bitcoin- and receive the same service and experience they would with a boutique luxury travel agency.”
In addition, the German travel booking site GetYourGuide recently announced that it will be accepting Dogecoin as payment. Airline websites like Cheapair.com, Air Baltic and Virgin Galactic have been accepting digital currencies for a while and Resorts World Las Vegas will be the first casino and resort to accept cryptocurrency payments.
People around the world, especially Americans, are eager to travel again as countries loosen pandemic travel restrictions. That, along with a surge in crypto investors, makes it likely that paying for your entire family vacation with bitcoin will be a reality sooner rather than later.
