Maximising Blockchain's Potential in T&T

Everyone is talking about and watching how the Blockchain is and can revolutionize the way business transactions are and will be conducted across their respective business spectrum.

I have learned much from IBM tutorials and I have my own disposition regarding Blockchain and its potential in our travel and tourism industry.

So what is it?

Blockchain belongs to the DARQ Tech, where D stands for Distributed Ledger and blockchain is a logical model to implement distributed ledger. 

What is a Distributed Ledger?

A ledger in accounting terms is a book that records the transactions.

In IT term a book is a database, so associatively it is a database that records the transaction,

it is decentralized, there is no one central repository, authority or a third party mediator performing the bookkeeping,

it is distributed, the work on this ledger and the information stored on this ledger is not localized to one system, it is distributed and shared among various participating members of the network,

the blockchain is a schema that uses various algorithm and protocols to synchronize this distributed information,

it is safe because every participating member of the network has a replicated original, i.e. one person cannot modify/delete the information and any change that is made by consensus is visible to all with traceability using timestamp and accountability using cryptographic signatures. And if one or many systems of all goes down due to a cyber attack, natural disaster or a system/ server failure the information will still be there and usable.

The system is auditable as all the transactions are recorded in an order with immutable history.

Role of Distributed Ledgers in the Travel &Tourism Industry

The travel and tourism industry has always been connected and integrated for the economic activity to take place in a participant network that spans across national and international, jurisdictional boundaries. These business networks are now coming together at digital marketplaces where the participants such as producers, consumers, suppliers, partners, enablers and other stakeholders own, control and exercise their rights, privileges, and entitlements on objects of value known as assets.

Assets can be tangible such as hotels, taxis, airline seats, and intangible, such as brand value, agreements and patents, Asset ownership and transfer among buyers, sellers, renters, agents, banks, airports etc, create transactions that create value in the business network. 

The agreements and contracts between the participants are recorded in ledgers.

A business usually keeps multiple ledgers to keep the track of asset ownership and asset transfers as well as lendings between its participants and note all the economic activity involved in the same.

Every participant has his own ledger,

These multiple ledgers leads to duplication of information, are therefore inefficient, and are prone to human error as well as terror (misuse, tampering, fraud, etc.), that causes disputes, resolving disputes equals to the loss of time, involvement of intermediaries for settlement and loss of capital, that also causes misrepresentation of data/ inaccurate data analysis causing faulty business decision leading to losses and missed opportunities in the hind.

Blockchain Solution

With blockchain, the distributed digital ledger permanently records the transaction, in a sequential chain of cryptographic hashed blocks, all these blocks are linked and chained from the beginning of the chain to the most recent block, hence the name blockchain, the chain remains true, transparent, updated and unbroken at all the time and the members of the chain can see only those transactions that are relevant to them.

The members use a consensus protocol to agree on ledger content and cryptographic hashes and digital signatures to ensure the integrity of transactions.

Consensus protocol ensures the shared ledgers are the same approved and authentic copies stored at various random unknown locations, lowering the risk of fraudulent activity and if there is any tampering, it has to happen at all subject locations at the same time exact to the nanosecond.

Cryptographic hashes ensure that any mini or major alteration to a transaction results in a different hash value being computed, which would indicate potentially compromised transaction, 

Digital signatures ensure that the transaction originated from the participants only and not the imposters.

Why do I need Blockchain

The T&T business involves complex multi-dimensional network,

this network involves millions of transactions every day worth billions of dollars,

every transaction has the potential of dispute due to deniability, and misunderstandings,

each dispute needs resolution, 

each resolution needs proof of consensus and/or validation and/or audit trail, 

each such activity costs time, effort, money, and unpleasant experiences,

every unpleasant experience compromises trust, speed, and transparency,

these compromised elements increase business risks, costs, complexities and fears

such fears lead to loss of convenience for travelers and a chaotic business environment.

The Blockchain system records transactions in their chronological order  with all nodes agreeing to the validity of transaction using the chosen consensus model, the transaction can not be altered or reversed or deleted without the agreement of all participants in the subsequent transaction, this leads to low deniability, shared responsibility, increased trust, regulatory compliance, improved transparency, increased speed of execution of agreements, reduced risks, lower costs of audits and savings over costly dispute resolution expenditures. 

In all a fearless. trustworthy, streamlined, and a harmonious business environment with a lot of convenience built-in for the travelers and the stakeholders.