Should every industry build its own blockchain ecosystem?
[gpt3]rewrite
Blockchain holds many promises for the economy of the future. We envision DeFi platforms, DAO-controlled ecosystems, the Web3 metaverse, Play-to-Earn games and NFT-powered marketplaces. All of this is incredibly important, and is getting closer to a mainstream reality every day. However, this looks at blockchain applications in a blockchain economy. A number of platforms have been developed with unique use cases, from real estate NFT ownership, to self-sovereign identity solutions, to a notary-style clerk. But how often have we looked at a layer-1 blockchain that represents an entire industry?
It’s a new concept, but one that should be considered. If an entire industry developed a thriving ecosystem that combined the benefits of competition with the efficiency of smart contracts, representing a full range of industry services in one place – wouldn’t that have enormous value for businesses and customers alike? It would be even more relevant if the industry in question was extremely complex, with various elements strongly dependent on each other. An industry where the customer experience today was very disjointed, opaque and took significant investments in both time and money.
Fortunately, we can examine this exact use case in detail, because it’s about to happen. A large, global travel industry consortium has come together to create a full-spectrum travel blockchain to create efficiencies between services, better organize travel business partnerships and to create a seamless planning and travel experience for customers, wherever they travel in the world.
Let’s take a deep look at the Camino Network, a travel-based blockchain that is very much by the travel industry, for the travel industry. We will look at the history and creation of the chain, what problems it solves for its partners and how it transforms the customer experience. Finally, we will speculate on what other industries would benefit from a similar model.
Camino Network Motivation and origin
If you’ve taken any type of travel in the last 30 years, you know that the travel industry is disjointed, complex, confusing and not at all smooth. Unfortunately, even with great improvements in technology, the task of creating a vacation is time-consuming, stressful, and feels much more expensive than it should be. Travelers can opt for all-inclusive tours, but these too are often overpriced and offer very limited flexibility for those who want to visit specific locations and create their own list of adventures. This is a global industry with nearly $6 trillion in annual revenue, but the technology to make it easier hasn’t improved as much as expected. Yes, there are websites where you can see a collection of flights, hotels and more, but this is a far cry from all the travel, accommodation, experiences and everything in between that goes into planning a trip. The average trip can take over 20 hours to plan, sifting through dozens of websites, and travelers often use 7-8 different apps to plan and experience their trip. From a user perspective, the system has remained broken and backward. Unfortunately, the situation is not much better for companies, which are constantly trying to develop partnerships, consortia and networks so that users can more easily find and order them. But with a global backdrop, finding a common basis for a platform has not been successful.
Camino Network is the brainchild of tourism veterans Ralf Usbeck, Thomas Stirnimann and Pablo Castillo. Together, they formed Chain4Travel in late 2021, acting as a facilitator to first set up the Camino Network, and then release it as a DAO to the travel community. Their goal was to unite those travel companies around the world who want to work together, create efficiencies in the planning and booking process, and have a platform where these interactions can easily take place.
What does Camino do?
Camino Network is a Layer-1 blockchain that caters specifically to the needs of the travel industry. It is important to note that this chain is not a platform that provides services to travelers, but rather the architecture set up for travel companies to build dApps and smart contracts to interact with each other and create seamless travel experiences with travelers. The chain was specifically designed to be handed over to the travel community in a way that would ensure that the direction and control was not maintained by investors, but by actual travel companies. To do this, they have a three-tier system for the community:
- Users (these will be the end customers) can read data from the chain and interact with smart contracts (i.e. buy products and services)
- Partners, after undergoing KYC/KYB verification, can deploy their own smart contracts on the chain, which essentially allows them to set up shop, establish partnerships and serve users.
- Unlike many chains, the node validators cannot be someone who stakes tokens for the purpose. Partners (travel companies) can apply to become a validator by depositing the platform token (CAM), but must then be approved by the applicable validators to join them as a consortium member. This ensures that the consortium will be controlled exclusively by the travel companies that are active and invested in the ecosystem’s success.
An improved ecosystem for both companies and customers
A dedicated blockchain for the travel industry would be a very interesting experiment, and one to watch closely. What happens when a global industry establishes its own ecosystem, with a single token to act as a seamless currency? What happens when P2P interactions are made easy and travel companies can collaborate to provide services from the perspective of a traveler who wants to plan a trip? And what happens when a traveler can find a single source to plan and book their trip, with transportation, lodging, experiences and everything else they need represented in the single marketplace?
Can other industries benefit from this?
We will see how the Camino network develops, but it is likely that the roadmap they have established could benefit many different industries. There are many industries that are global, disjointed, have no central guidance and have no coordinated power to interact effectively. Using the power of smart contracts, a common token and an industry-held DAO, we can witness the birth of a new trend in global economics.
Packaging
The Camino network has given not only the tourism industry, but all industries something to think about. Although it has already established a chain and token, and 80+ validators from the travel industry, there is more to come as the partners begin to launch countless dApps on the chain and interact with travelers worldwide.
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