Have you ever tried to plan a foreign journey? If so, you know that it’s not for the weak of heart. With the modern internet offering a seemingly unlimited number of ways to book flights, reserve hotel rooms, rent a car, or do it all in some sort of package, making the right choice is enough to frustrate even the calmest of travel planners. In fact, it can be hard to even find the right destination in the first place — let alone what you can actually do there.
A Complicated Mess
The worst part about traveling is the fact that one needs to double and triple check everything — clicking through multiple tabs of booking websites and scrolling past dozens of websites promoted by SEO professionals. Many of these websites charge substantial fees for simply providing their somewhat-uncomplicated service. For example, Booking.com may charge an extra 20 percent on top of the initial offering.
Other issues also present themselves to travelers, of course. These include, but are not limited to, misunderstood cultural differences. For example, Buddhist countries prohibit women from entering tourist-heavy holy sites if they are menstruating — which may cause some awkward moments. Additionally, one should never point their feet in the direction of a Buddha statue. While websites can warn travelers about destination countries’ little quirks and rules, it’s hard for travelers to remember everything.
Of course, language barriers may also prove to be a significant issue. Most major hotels and tourist-centric programs will have English-language services, but the level of English may not always be up to snuff — causing some headaches when something is needed or when something goes wrong.
Overcrowding is also an inconvenient issue, especially in places like Rome, Bangkok, or London. Many times, infrastructure is not capable of handling peak tourist season, while lesser-known destinations struggle to attract tourists to their otherwise interesting locations — creating a significant disproportion in income.
On top of all that, some people are simply out to do harm. The risk of being scammed always increases when traveling abroad, and dealing with local law enforcement is rarely an enjoyable experience. Accessing the information required to better defend yourself against local scams is a chore in and of itself.
Making Traveling Better
One project, in particular, Smart Trip, aims to solve all of the aforementioned issues by bringing travelers together into one decentralized, blockchain-powered place.
According to the project’s creators, Smart Trip is a mixture of Facebook and Booking.com, as it affords users the ability to plan their entire trip in one go — including plane tickets, transfers, room bookings, excursions, activities, etc. While doing this, it also gives them useful advice on what (and what not) to do, while advising against scams and suggesting the best restaurants, activities, etc. There is also a virtual phrasebook managed by native-speakers, as well as weather reporting, offline emergency information, etc.
Most importantly, Smart Trip offers critical social network functionality. As such, users are able to post their photos and reviews, join group chats, seek out expert opinions, etc. In essence, this connects travelers together and opens the world for everybody.
In an effort to solve any disputes which may arise between participants on the platform, Smart Trip offers an arbitration system. This system involves the platform’s most active users, who act as arbiters. It also implements the Decentralized Autonomous Organization model, which provides the most scalable and credible solution.
Finally, the Smart Trip uses blockchain technology and smart contracts to make sure all payments transacted on the platform are secure. Notes Ronald Slobodchikov, COO and co-founder:
Our goal is to create a global community of travelers. The world is becoming more and more globalized, and our solution will bring people from different countries even closer together, and make things unforgettable for them.
You can find the beginnings of the Smart Trip community on social media channels, such as Telegram.
You can also learn more about Smart Trip by reading the project’s whitepaper, where you can learn about TASH tokens, their conversion into local currencies, the issuance of TASH debit cards, the forthcoming token sale, etc.
What do you think about Smart Trip’s plans to bring travelers together into one decentralized, blockchain-powered platform? Do you think this may solve all of the issues inherent to traveling? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Pixabay.
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