Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has launched Tourism 2.0, a blockchain-enabled marketplace that connects potential buyers directly to hotels and tour operators.
The initiative is DTCM’s participation in Dubai 10X, and will further the department’s mission to establish Dubai as the leading destination for global travel, business and events by 2020, the authority said in a statement.
As a business to business marketplace, it will allow hotels and tour operators to connect directly. By accessing hotel occupancy and room rates, operators can communicate offers and availability more effectively to their customers.
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With the rise of social media channels promoting destination travel globally, the tourism industry has seen a rise in the demand for personalised travel packages which Tourism 2.0 will further enable.
Dr Helal Saeed Al Marri, director general of DTCM, said: “By increasing the pace of digital transformation in the travel sector, Dubai is positioned to expand tourism by bringing innovative start-ups into the ecosystem, which will ultimately deliver value in terms of higher and faster visitor conversion, and greater GDP impact.”
He added: "As the pioneer in adopting the most secure and transparent virtualization technology in the tourism sector, we will be able to streamline booking processes and create democracy in travel for all.”
Dubai’s Tourism Vision 2020 has set a goal of welcoming 20 million visitors per year by the year 2020. In 2017, Dubai welcomed 15.79 million visitors, an increase of 6.2 percent over the previous year.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, chairman of the Dubai Executive Council and chairman of Dubai Future Foundation’s Board of Trustees, launched the plan among a bundle of innovative proposals for Dubai 10X at the 6th World Government Summit in February.
The Dubai 10X initiative seeks to place Dubai Government entities 10 years ahead of all global cities, across various sectors.