The Real Reason Travel Companies Should Embrace Blockchain

Travel should be seamless. But behind the scenes, the industry is a maze of outdated systems. Payments between airlines, hotels, and travel agencies move at a snail’s pace, booking systems can’t talk to each other, and refunds take weeks.
The problem isn’t just inefficiency—it’s costing businesses millions in unnecessary fees, disputes, and operational overhead.

Blockchain is changing that.

In this episode of Blockchain Beyond the Hype, CEO of Camino Network, Pablo Castillo, and CEO of Kumo, Sakib Mirza, discuss how blockchain is reducing costs, speeding up transactions, and connecting this fragmented industry.
Let’s break down the key pain points in travel and how blockchain is solving them.

Problem #1: High Payment Costs and Delays
Travel companies deal with multiple currencies, intermediaries, and regulatory hurdles. Each transaction goes through banks, payment processors, and financial networks—each taking a cut. For airlines, settlement costs are particularly high, especially in regions where banking infrastructure is weak or unreliable.

Blockchain Solution: Instant, Cost-Effective Settlements
Blockchain allows direct payments between parties using stablecoins or digital currencies, bypassing banks and reducing fees. With blockchain, cross-border payments become as fast as sending an email, and businesses regain control over their cash flow.

Problem #2: Outdated Systems
Most travel companies operate on legacy systems built decades ago. These platforms are fragmented, running on different standards, databases, and APIs, which makes real-time data exchange nearly impossible. If a flight gets delayed, rebooking and compensation still involve manual processes and customer service bottlenecks.

Blockchain Solution: A Shared, Secure Infrastructure
Blockchain creates a unified data layer that all industry players can access securely. Airlines, hotels and travel agencies can interact seamlessly, reducing friction in bookings, cancellations, and claims.
A flight delay? Compensation could be issued instantly via digital wallets.
"Imagine getting an airline notification about a flight delay, and instead of just an apology, your refund or travel credit is already in your digital wallet," says Pablo Castillo.

Problem #3: Limited Loyalty Program
Frequent flyer miles and hotel points lose value when they’re locked into a single brand’s ecosystem. Many travelers never reach the tiers needed for real rewards, and points often expire before they can be used.

Blockchain Solution: Tokenized, Transferable Loyalty Points
By tokenizing loyalty programs, blockchain lets travelers spend, trade, and combine points across different airlines, hotels, or even retail stores in duty-free. This creates a more valuable and flexible system, where customers can actually use their rewards instead of letting them expire.
Singapore Airlines has been using blockchain for its KrisFlyer loyalty program since 2017, allowing travelers to spend miles in over 200 retail outlets. This model is now gaining traction across the industry, and the sooner businesses adopt it the more they win in the long run.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: "Blockchain for Travel: How to Address High Payment Costs, Outdated Systems, and Fragmented Operations" — now available wherever you get your podcasts.

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