Will Blockchain Disrupt Travel Distribution and Settlement?

Will blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, become a major disruptive force affecting all aspects of the travel value chain? The rise and fall of Bitcoin have some critics writing it off as a failure, while others still believe cryptocurrency will have a major global impact on financial services. A bigger issue is how the underlying blockchain technology will change industries. Blockchain permanently records a transaction in an open, distributed, encrypted, verifiable ledger, and provides direct payment to the seller, eliminating the middleman in the transaction. It greatly reduces the settlement time for transactions. The travel industry may have more middlemen than any other sector, and therefore the blockchain technology will likely have a major disruptive impact on the way travel suppliers and intermediaries do business. This article discusses the elements of blockchain technology and explores how it may transform travel commerce.