How to use NFTs for tourism

Did you know that almost 1 out of 12 jobs out there is in the tourism sector? And although the industry took a hit due to the pandemic, things are rapidly changing for the better. With so much weight in the global GDP, eyes are always focusing on what technologies can be used to accelerate growth. So let’s take a look at how to use NFTs for tourism to create better experiences. For all parties involved: travelers, businesses, and local communities.

Yes, those “pretty pictures” can be extremely useful in many fields – and tourism is definitely one of them.

NFTs are one of the hottest subjects for 2021 and 2022. While many of the discussions are focusing on the value of NFT artworks and how much they have been sold, this technology is much deeper than that. For tourism, NFTs’ value stands in their functionality more than it stands in their collectability. But the latter will not be eliminated from this discussion as it has an important role here as well. 

But before going further and focusing on the benefits NFTs bring to the travel sector, let’s reiterate what NFTs are and what makes them so powerful. 

What are NFTs?

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique digital records that can’t be altered or changed. They are the representation of a physical or digital good and the code itself holds proof of the item’s ownership and history. 

NFTs are stored on the blockchain, and cannot be altered or hacked (or, at least, it’s incredibly hard to). But at the same time, the network’s members have access to this digital record, and information is passed with each transaction, transforming it into a powerful tool.  

Travel is all about the experience. But at the same time, the travel industry relies on technology more than it’s seen to the eye. Until now, the technologies would solve particular issues and would rarely actually be interconnected. The result: fractionated data and fragmented experiences. But this is about to change.

Using NFTs  for marketing

Powered by the buzz created around them, NFTs are a great marketing tool used by companies around the world. The uniqueness of these digital artworks, powered by their secure public record, makes them very appealing to collectors.

An example here offers Marriott International and its “The Power Of Travel” campaign. The company partnered up with digital artists to create three unique artworks. The winners were picked randomly and won the NFTs together with 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that could be used within the hotel chain. 

These campaigns are extremely efficient for newsjacking, bringing the event in front of large audiences. But as we can see from this example, the NFTs can give exclusive access to multiple benefits, or rewards, and this takes us to the next benefit of using NFTs for tourism.

Loyalty programs as NFTs for tourism and hospitality

nft tickets

With high acquisition costs and thin profit margins, recurring customers are extremely important in tourism. And the existing loyalty programs can be powered up with the help of innovative technologies like NFTs. 

Similar to an existing loyalty card, an NFT can be used to accumulate brand points within the ecosystem. Only this time the NFT is available for resale in a transparent and safe manner, and the issuer can take a cut from these transactions in the form of royalties. 

Unlike traditional loyalty programs, an NFT can be the gateway towards multiple ecosystems, allowing businesses to collaborate. Who benefits from this? Every stakeholder. Customers can use the same “loyalty card” in multiple locations. Businesses have access to large audiences. Local authorities can jump in to create customer journeys, acting like the binder that holds everything together.

Gamification through NFTs

Gamification is one of the most important aspects of a vacation. Except if you’re planning to lounge by the pool for a full week – something we all dream of once in a while. But let’s see how to use NFTs for gamification in tourism.

Imagine going into a new city and visiting some local museums. The local authorities can issue an NFT ticket that gives you access to all of the local attractions. 

Each time you use it, the system records the information. Once you visit 3 locations, you automatically receive an add-on granting you access to a local play. Visit 5 locations and win a “proof-of-travel” NFT that gives you a 50% discount on the local festival. NFTs are based on smart contracts, remember? We can now easily create the experiences we’ve always dreamed of for our guests. 

NFTs are the perfect tool that mix gamification and loyalty programs. Each action taken by the tourist can be followed by a “reaction” within the system. You can create different “activity maps” that unlock access to unique perks. And each of these actions can result in a unique NFT for your guests to collect. As we have mentioned at the start of this article, NFTs prove their value through their utility and collectability. 

Collect travel memories through NFTs

How many magnets do you have on your fridge? I for one have quite a few – and these are just the ones that survived multiple moves and various accidents. What if instead of filling up your fridge with a limited number of magnets you could fill up your digital wallet with an unlimited number of NFTs? (at least) one for each place you have ever visited.

Photo by Sunguk Kim on Unsplash

The collectible trait of NFTs makes them perfect for those looking to collect memories from each of their trips. You can create your own collections and store them safely. Each time you want to revisit those memories, they’re just a few clicks away.

What makes them even more valuable is the impact they can have on the local economy. These artworks can be inspired by local heritage and created by local artists. And the smart contract that governs them can be set up so that a small cut returns into the local economy each time a piece is bought. Perpetual royalties to support the local economy. 

And this takes us to the next benefit. One that is too complex to be fully covered within an article. But the one that will forever change the tourism industry for the better. 

Supporting the local economy through NFTs

Royalties can be set up with NFTs, meaning they can be programmed so that multiple parties benefit from a payment. You buy a collectible NFT, and x% goes back to the local creator. Or to a local organization supporting different causes. If you pay $2 for such an item you may be inclined to think that a 5% cut going back to the community doesn’t mean much. But the power stands in numbers. 

And things can be way more complex than this. As we said at the beginning of this article, NFTs are digital records that can represent physical or digital goods – basically anything we can think of. Even share within an art gallery owned by the local community. Or a restaurant. Local businesses can rely on NFTs to attract private investments from their peers. 

The smart contract will enforce rightful payments toward each party that supported the business. This is a new, easier way for local communities to stand together and deliver services and products to visitors. 

Booking and registration through NFTs

NFT ticket utility

You probably already know how NFTs are used for ticketing, not let’s take a look at how the hospitality industry can use them for bookings as well. Ca Di Dio, a hotel in Venice, leveraged the technology before opening its doors to tourists. The NFT issued by the hotel included a stay and its most prestigious room, a private dinner, and a boat transfer to the hotel. This project implemented by Tripscommunity is a great example of the utility that can be held by NFTs. For tourism, this means that customers can book their stay through NFTs, but also purchase additional services and experiences as well.

The booking can include access to a spa, a private dinner like in the above example, and even access to a local event. All the information is securely stored on the blockchain, making the transaction transparent. And what happens if the client is forced to cancel the trip? This NFT can be easily resold by the initial owner, automatically updating all the information for all parties involved. No need to cancel the package and issue a new one – the entire experience can be transferred to a new owner while the authenticity of the ownership and of the transaction are guaranteed by the network.

NFTs – the new way of paying

You read that right. NFTs can be a payment tool and tourism can benefit from this. We’ve just seen the multiple values it can store, and purchasing power is no different. Consider it as a preloaded debit card, governed and secured by transparent rules. But unlike your typical debit card, this one is also your hotel booking and your loyalty card. 

There are two main issues that stop people from spending when traveling abroad:

  1. Exchange and ATM withdrawal fees 
  2. Vendors are not onboarded into the banking system and tourists cannot pay with their credit or debit card. As many westerners are sometimes reserved in using local ATMs due to potential fraud and/or high fees, travel budgets remain unspent.

And as hard to believe as this may be, using NFTs as a payment tool solves both of them. You’re no longer dependent on one single system that processes the information and sets up the rules. You can use your digital wallet anywhere in the world and any business, no matter how small, can accept payments from you. Fast, secure payments, are essential in tourism.

Final words on how to use NFTs in the tourism sector

Have you read this article as a list of independent benefits NFTs (can) bring to the tourism sector? Now imagine that each benefit is part of the same experience. One NFT to rule them all.

You hear about hotel marketing stays through NFTs. You take a look and see that you actually always wanted to visit that city, so you book your stay. And here is where the magic starts. From here on, imagine that you are using that hotel reservation in the form of an NFT – and that the above subtitles are checkpoints throughout your journey. This is the future of travel.

At Oveit, we’re helping event organizers create immersive experiences through our NFT ticketing tool. But we feel that NFTs have the power to transform tourism, for travelers and local communities alike.

How to accept crypto payments for events and venues

Being part of the event management industry, we had the chance to work with visionary leaders from all over the world. Working with such partners has always forced us to adapt and innovate, making sure that Oveit is the ticketing tool they (and their communities) are looking for. And crypto payments make no difference. 

But it’s time to say that crypto payments should become a thing. The market itself evolves at a speed never seen before: according to a report from Crypto.com, by the end of 2022, there will be 1 Billion crypto users! That’s a 10X increase in the span of just two years!

This opens new possibilities for businesses in general and event organizers in particular: accepting crypto payments to easily onboard this new generation of customers and event attendees. 

But the rapid growth in popularity has its shortcomings. There are still many myths around the industry and accepting crypto payments, especially for event organizers, may seem like a hard thing to do. But it shouldn’t.

That’s why we made it easy for events and venues to accept crypto payments for tickets. Here’s how you can accept crypto payments for your events with Oveit.

How to accept crypto payments through Oveit

Open an account with Oveit. 

Our event management software helps thousands of event organizers create full experiences. Sell electronic and NFT tickets, check in attendees, and set up a cashless payments system – no coding required.

Connect your payment processor. 

We work with Crypto.com and Utrust to accept crypto payments and with PayPal and Stripe for fiat currencies. We work on direct payments, meaning each time an order is confirmed, money goes straight into your account.

Set up your event in minutes.

Our easy-to-use solution helps you get started in minutes. Set up ticket categories, registration forms, and add-ons, invite team members and create your own event economy with Oveit Pay. Our real-time reports will help you get an overview of your experience.

Publish your event, share it with your community, and get paid right away.

You can easily embed the registration form on your website or send registration links to your customers.

Yes, selling tickets for crypto has never been easier. But while the technical implementation is frictionless, you may ask yourself why you should accept crypto payments for your events. To answer this question, we’ve prepared a short list of the benefits of doing so. Based on our experience, customers prefer to have multiple payment options, and crypto payments have gained more traction in the last two years.

Why accept crypto payments for your events?

Easy to implement

The days when accepting crypto payments was a time-consuming chore are fortunately behind us now. Nowadays, businesses from all over the world can easily accept crypto payments – without the need for any technical background. 

Our crypto payment processor partners will help you get paid in various coins, taking care of all the complicated processes that may take place in the background. All you need is to create a merchant account and connect it to Oveit. Afterward, each payment will go straight into your account, without having to wait until your event is over in order to get access to your earnings.

Crypto payments have lower transaction fees

It may sound hard to believe, but accepting crypto payments is actually cheaper than working with fiat currencies. Over the last few years, the crypto market benefited from incredible investments. In both financial capital and manpower, thus creating an infrastructure meant to serve its users.

While the traditional payment processors’ fees are, in general, between 2 and 3% + a fixed amount, the norm for crypto processors tends to be just 1% of the transaction. This will help you better budget your event and have total control over your money, without having to spend enormous amounts on unnecessary fees.

Instant payments from anywhere

Events are international gatherings. Over the last few years, we’ve had a chance to be part of hundreds of events in different parts of the world. And one thing is certain: events gather like-minded people. Regardless of how long they have to travel to be part of these extraordinary experiences. By accepting crypto payments you allow attendees from all over the world to easily secure their place. Without having to worry about local currencies and high exchange fees. 

As more customers tend to avoid fees related to the classical banking system, crypto payments will allow anyone, from anywhere, to easily purchase tickets for your next gig.

Accepting crypto payments gives access to new customers

Customers that are looking to pay with cryptocurrencies represent a new segment, one who otherwise may not be tapped into by your business. According to Forrester Consulting, US-based businesses that started accepting crypto payments attracted new customers, 40% of which were new customers that spent, on average, twice as much as credit card users. It’s safe to say that allowing attendees to buy event tickets for crypto will allow you to interact with new audiences.

Global cryptocurrencies have a total value of $2 trillion (as of 2022), and accepting crypto payments will allow you to tap into the wealth created by them.

Early adopters will help you spread the word

Accepting crypto payments can also be a marketing hook. Each new technology has seen its share of early adaptors. But none had the ability to create such loyal fans as blockchain did. And although it’s safe to say that blockchain and cryptocurrencies are heading towards mass adoption, the enthusiasm has not faded. In fact, we see a continuous increase in both enthusiasm and user base. And events related (directly or indirectly) to Web3, blockchain, and NFTs benefit from this wave of passion.

Allowing customers to easily purchase event tickets for crypto will make them spread the word about their experience; not once we’ve seen it with our existing customers. For both crypto payments and NFT ticketing

Final words

Decentralized payments become more popular each day. New customers are onboarded in the crypto world, encouraging more businesses to accept different payment methods from their customers. And based on the adoption rate seen today, it’s expected that by 2030 almost half of US citizens will own cryptocurrencies (43%). And these numbers will be considerably higher in countries with poor local economies.

The future is already here – especially in the event management industry. As more and more customers, especially those from the younger generations, are looking for alternative payment options, we hope that this article helped you get a better understanding of how to accept crypto payments for your events. And why you should start today.

NFT ticketing and beyond

To mark its 160th Anniversary, the Romanian Post launched an NFT collection of 160 digital stamps available for purchase. And Oveit was there as the technology partner, ensuring that anybody interested could easily purchase the NFTs.

The entire event is built around the number 160. 160 years since the Romania Post was established through a Royal Decree, 160 digital stamps were minted as NFTs, each representing a year in the Institution’s history, 160 Euros is the price of one NFT. However, this number has another significance as well. 160 Euros is the cost for a hospitalization day at HOSPICE Casa Sperantei, the humanitarian organization helping those suffering from incurable diseases.

All earnings resulting from the sale of the NFT collection are going to HOSPICE Casa Sperantei, the collection having an entirely charitable purpose.

We were honored and extremely happy to be part of this project. We’ve always treasured innovation and made our best to create software solutions that help others. That has an impact on the communities that our partners are serving. And this project checked all the boxes.

Distributing the NFTs

The 160 NFTs have been divided into two categories: 10 of them, representing years of significant importance in Romania’s History, have been selected for an open auction. Of course, the starting price for the auction was 160 Euros. The rest have been sold online, for a fixed amount, here.

Using Oveit to sell NFTs

Oveit was initiated as an event ticketing software, developing more complex solutions like cashless payments software, digital wallet, or NFT ticketing. This helped us understand that one of the most important parts of developing powerful software solutions was to make them easy to use.

The National Post needed a technology partner to make the NFT acquisition as flawless as possible.
Payment. When trying to reach broader audiences you need to take into consideration several potential concerns. And payment can be one of those concerns. To make the collection available to a larger audience, we’ve activated payment with both crypto and fiat currencies. Yes, with Oveit customers can easily pay with fiat currencies for NFT tickets (or NFTs serving any purpose for that matter).

Buying an NFT with Oveit

As mentioned, we focused on creating a solution that allows customers to buy NFTs as easily as possible. The whole experience can be embedded into any website, allowing you to customize the buying process.

Just like ordering an e-ticket, customers can select the desired amount and proceed to the next steps. Being built on top of a registration system, Oveit allows you to collect relevant information from your customers, helping you better understand their wants and needs. Once these steps are completed, the customers are redirected to the payment page – but not before allowing them to select how they want to pay for their NFTs; through fiat (through Stripe or PayPal) or cryptocurrencies (through Crypto.com).

Once the payment is confirmed, customers are redirected to a confirmation page where they can connect their wallets. As Polygon is our technology of choice, we provide two options here:

  1. if the customer has a MetaMask wallet, the system will automatically connect the NFT to their wallet
  2. if the customer uses a different wallet, all they have to do is enter their wallet address in the designated field.
demo confirmation page – Oveit NFT ticketing

When the wallet is connected, the minting process starts. The minting is done by Oveit, with the help of our partners, and it doesn’t require any extra steps from you or your customers.

Having the NFT is minted, Oveit sends an email to the buyer. The email will offer more information on the collectible and has direct links to Rarible and OpenSea, allowing the buyer to check the artwork. A step-by-step tutorial on how to claim an NFT issued with Oveit is available here.

What’s next for Oveit NFT ticketing?

We are happy to see more and more event organizers, artists, and businesses using our NFT ticketing feature. Technology has the power to transform the entertainment industry. We feel that all ticketing will become NFT ticketing.

Oveit’s NFT ticketing tool helps you:

  • easily create and safely sell NFT tickets
  • get access to secondary market sales through royalties
  • set up smart contracts that allow revenue to be fairly distributed amongst all parties
  • sell merchandise together with the NFT tickets
  • connect virtual and in-person experiences by using collectible tokens
  • Join the Web3 revolution and create the next big thing in experiences
    …and so much more.

However, our experience showed us that there is a huge untapped market, as the process of buying an NFT may be considered difficult by some. This is why we are now working on a solution that will allow anyone to buy and use an NFT; even those that don’t own a digital wallet.

Oveit announces partnership with deep-tech company Humans.ai

The partnership is the next step forward, as part of the company’s strategy to move towards Web 3.0 and the Metaverse by incorporating experiential digital art in the form of AI NFTs.

Oveit’s live stream shopping platform Streams.Live has also revolutionized the retail process for its clients in Europe and the United States in the past year, by changing the buying behavior. Online merchants have been able to connect much more authentically and in an interactive way with their target audience, using live online video sessions that simulate a personal experience.

Continuing to disrupt the live stream shopping experience, Oveit, which has become well known for its cashless payment solutions for events and venues, as well as solutions for access control and registration for virtual and live events, is developing new products to help its users stay connected by bridging online and in-person events with collectible tokens and creating experiential art with events tickets as AI NFTs, with the support of Humans.ai’s innovative technology.

“We believe the future of commerce is experiential and social. Artificial intelligence powered NFT ticketing for events will become the gateway to an unforgettable experience that now can be tokenized and held forever.”, said Mihai Dragan, COO at Oveit. “The AI NFT tickets will unlock more possibilities for Oveit, as we are rapidly moving towards Web 3.0 and the Metaverse with our solutions. Through our partnership with Humans.ai, event tickets will become so much more than just access codes. They will take the form of never before seen experiential digital art, in addition to ensuring access credentials and unique perks for events, empowering organizers to generate new revenue streams.” added Mihai Dragan.

Oveit’s AI NFT tickets will allow attendees access to both in-person and digital experiences, also holding special perks, created especially for events and a way of transforming unique moments into digital assets. The NFT tokenized tickets will enrich the experience with forever-lasting digital assets that will continue to bring in royalty long after the event is over.

“We are excited about working together with Oveit and helping them create, mint and sell AI NFTs as the next generation event tickets in the form of unique digital assets that can be used or sold through digital worlds, enriching their customers’ online experiences. The AI NFTs we are developing together will be much more than tokenized tickets, they will take the form of experiential art, allowing attendees access to both in-person and revolutionary digital experiences.”, said Sabin Dima, Humans.ai’s CEO.

Deep-tech company Humans.ai leverages blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to enhance the standard NFT and expand its functionality, transforming it from a static art form to an interactive and intelligent asset class capable of encapsulating neural networks or segments of a person’s digital DNA. The technology, named AI NFT, represents a new type of NFT that enables people to use their biometric data to create artificial intelligence solutions that are kept ethical by complex governance, consensus, and verification mechanism. Humans.ai’s unique consensus mechanism, Proof-of-Human, will be integrated to demonstrate there is a real human behind every transaction, making it more secure and trustworthy.

The first movie in the world released as NFT film frames

The Wishing Tree: Childhood Memories 

The Wishing Tree: Childhood Memories, a Romanian production directed by Andrei Huţuleac after a script by Mihai Mănescu, Matei Dima, and Andrei Huţuleac is the first feature movie in the world released as NFT film frames. The project is implemented by Oveit and Minternational Affairs. 

The Wishing Tree: Childhood Memories is the first Romanian fantasy family film released in the last 30 years in Romania. It is a film destined for the young ones, as well as for the whole family, with an immediate impact on the lives of those who suffer. The film, inspired by real events, tells the story of Mara and her friends, who set out on a fantastic adventure leading into the world of one of the most famous Romanian children’s books: Childhood Memories written by Ion Creangă. 

The movie will be released in Romanian theaters starting 25 March 2022. All the funds generated by the film will be donated to the HOSPICE Casa Speranţei (HOSPICE House of Hope) Foundation, the largest NGO in Romania, that’s offering free palliative care for adults and children suffering from an incurable illness. 

The Story of the World’s First Movie Released as NFT Film Frames

The collection is made out of 12.432 NFTs which are actual film frames from The Wishing Tree: Childhood Memories film. 12.432 is the number of home care visits made by the medical teams of HOSPICE Casa Speranţei in 2021. 

The cost of an NFT is the Ethereum (ETH) equivalent of 250 lei (≅ $56), a sum that represents the cost of a home care visit. 50% of the revenues will be donated to HOSPICE Casa Speranţei and their services. You can purchase the NFT and contribute to the help offered unconditionally to incurable ill children and adults by accessing https://oveit.com/copacul-dorintelor/

NFT stands for “Non-Fungible Token”. Goods can be fungible or non-fungible. Fungible goods are those which are determinable by number, measure, or weight so that they can be substituted for each other in the performance of an obligation. Money represents fungible goods. NFTs are non-fungible goods, i.e. individually determined goods that cannot be replaced by other goods. They are unique.

All NFT holders will be whitelisted for the next NFT collection, “Alpaca”, representing Mișu the (P)alpaca, the HOSPICE Casa Speranței mascot, a symbol of involvement, of small gestures that lead to a greater good and of good deeds done with a smile. We will also be announcing soon more benefits for NFT holders.

About Oveit:

Oveit is a tech company with its headquarters in Austin, TX, USA. The company offers NFT solutions and smart contracts for events and online shopping. Oveit is a Crypto.com partner for crypto payment processing from 2020. In 2021, the company became an international Polygon partner for NFT ticketing and live shopping for NFT, through its solution Oveit NFT.

So far, Oveit has released cashless payment solutions for events and venues, as well as solutions for access control and registration for virtual and live events. For its products, Oveit was nominated as „one of the most important innovators in the world regarding disruptive technology” by the World Organization of United Nations Tourism in 2019.

About Minternational Affairs:

Minternational Affairs (or MintAF) is one of the first agencies worldwide that conceives and implements NFT projects. The company also offers consultancy and implementation support for NFT projects initiated by tertiary parties that require  MintAF’s expertise. 

About HOSPICE Casa Speranței:

HOSPICE is the largest foundation in Romania offering free palliative care services. The organization runs two hospitals in Braşov and Bucharest, a socio-medical center in Adunaţii Copăceni, as well as mobile teams in Făgăraş and Zărneşti, for the care of patients diagnosed with incurable illnesses. HOSPICE has developed complete palliative care services, offered in day centers, in patient units, outpatient units, as well as in the patient homes and in the partner hospitals. In its 30 years of existence, HOSPICE has brought comfort and hope to approximately 45.000 children and adults suffering from an incurable illness.