The first layer 1 blockchain for the travel industry is live: who & why should care about it

In this article, I am breaking down why developers, travel service providers, and travelers need to pay attention to Camino Network, especially now that the blockchain is live.

Forget the tech jargon and fancy explanations. I’m making this as digestible as possible. If just one of you has that “aha” moment while reading this and decides to join the network, dive into learning, or start building in this fresh web3 travel ecosystem, I will consider it a win!

What is Camino Network

Consider Camino Network as a new secure and open version of the Internet for the travel industry exclusively, where only verified entities can provide and exchange services with each other and with travelers.

There are multiple reasons why such a system should have been established many years ago. In a few words, these are data protection, overcomplicated communication, low security, high costs, and general interconnections of travel systems that lack innovations.

If you truly want to understand these reasons, find some 20 minted of your time watching the video below. For people out of travel tech, it is mind-blowing.

A blockchain without validators is like a football match without a referee. While the game can still be played, there is nobody to enforce the rules, which is leading to confusion, disputes, and unreliable outcomes.

Today (May 2023) there are close to 20 companies plugged into the Camino blockchain to bulletproof all the systems. The other 60+ will be gradually joining.

The concept of validation and consensus is described here.

After the soft launch, the first transactions are running on the network making it possible to say, that the new web3 travel ecosystem is live.

Empty Internet full of opportunities

The current state of the ecosystem is close to the Internet in 1998. It works, but few people and companies really understand it and start building the first products. Hence, this playground is very attractive to developers especially once who have already had a plunge into the blockchain/smart contract thing and realized how profound these technologies are.

As mentioned above, Camino Network already has over 80 validators and 120 supporters. These are all companies from the travel industry. Some of them lack expertise in web3 product development. So for any developer passionate about travel and blockchains, it is a unique chance to start building meaningful solutions for existing businesses making the whole industry more efficient.

If you are hooked on such a perspective, give it a try. Your next application on Camino Network can be a cool new Airbnb or Tripadvisor.

• Read the docs and GitHub
• Join Discord and ask questions (the community is responsive)
• Process all the data and start building

New business models

According to lots of articles and studies (one, two, three, four, five), personalized travel is a new big thing for the industry. And many companies big and small are looking at various solutions to start building personalized travel products to satisfy the demand.

Small companies and individual guides managed to get the closest to really personalized travel products. They can afford a lot of manual and analytical work. Taking into account all the preferences of the travelers, processing them, and suggesting options, which fully correspond to the request, they literately tailor the services.

I know this system very well from the inside. Before switching to web3 and travel space, I was a solopreneur creating such products in Prague (Czechia) for travelers from around the world. My unique value proposition was exactly the personalization of experiences.

The whole process was quite complex and time-consuming, but it was well compensated financially and emotionally with happy travelers and grateful reviews:

• To know facilities to be accountable for the recommendations
• To find the tourists interested in such services and collect their preferences
• To process the data, age, interests, season, calendar, events, distance
• To suggest a plan and make adjustments if required
• To deliver the services according to the plan

As you can see it is a huge amount of manual work if you really want to tailor something unique and focused on the personality of the client.

Camino Network will help to optimize and scale these complicated processes with the technologies, enabling new travel products and business models. Such a solution is based on travel footprints collected in a digital form and shared with the platforms by travelers.

Today there is enough infrastructure for the first experiments to be made. The most curious and forward-looking companies see this green light to seize a chance. They start re-establishing their brands and adjusting products to the needs of the new wave of conscious and tech-savvy travelers. FOMO might be strong and dangerous for you personally and for your business. To avoid it start exploring the web3 travel ecosystem today:

• Request the lite paper here
• Educate your team about Camino Network
• Join preferred social channels to connect and ask questions

Tech-savvy travelers

With the growth of the network and with the first applications and platforms being launched on Camino travelers will start playing a significant role in future development. Today technologies are commoditized. Therefore successful digital products can only be built on the bases of research, data, and feedback from the users.

So if you feel the pains that industry suffers from, if you want to contribute to a more efficient and sustainable future of travel, this is no better way to do so than to join the community:

• Take part in the educational program
• Learn yourself and educate friends
• Stay curious and supportive

TLDR;

The travel industry is this enormous, slow-moving beast, weighed down by countless systems, legal hoops, and financial constraints. It is no wonder change feels like a snail race. But here is the kicker: Camino Network is paving the way for real, impactful progress, and every single one of us can play a part.

Whether you are developers, businessmen, or travelers, we can all take action leading by example the industry to the new efficient future of travel.

P.S. If you are now vibing with Camino Network and getting what it is all about, do me a favor — drop a comment and let me know which part of the article clicked for you. It is the best feedback I could ask for. It helps craft the story around this incredible project that I am super passionate about.