Many countries struggle to attract tourists and those that do manage to get a steady inflow of visitors, often find that they tend to congregate at major attractions leaving a lot of places that are visit worthy untouched.
In some countries which have recently put in newer landmarks such as Dubai, the problem of tourists not getting the full feel of the place is even more so the case. Tourists may want to see the 160 storey Burj Khalifa, the Palm Islands or the Burj Al Arab but they might miss the lesser known cultural or historical sights in Dubai. States and territories might want to change that and draw attraction to their heritage by using newer strategies.
Blockchain can ‘gamify’ tourism
What if you could help steer tourists in a particular direction by gamifying their visit and helping them discover new places? New York based company Loyyal, is attempting to do just that for Dubai and Norway. Loyyal is working with Dubai Global Blockchain Council, run by the Dubai Future Foundation on ‘Dubai Points’. These Dubai Points will be a Blockchain based system. A press release carried by ACN Newswire said, “This program is proof that Blockchain is not limited to financial transactions but could be used in many ways, including promoting tourism," said Saif Al Aleeli, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation. He continues, "The Foundation established the Global Blockchain Council as part of its Future Agenda to explore emerging technologies, investigate their impact, and also come up with ways to regulate it.”
Sean Dennis, COO and Co-Founder of Loyyal also said in the press release, "Many tourists visiting Dubai may miss out on experiencing its rich history and culture, as well as so many of the activities or facilities on offer. Dubai Points will incentivize tourists to visit other locations that may be suited to their preferences by rewarding them with points when they visit, and allowing for dynamic redemption based on their what they value."
Scandinavia is in on the game as well
Not only is Loyyal helping push tourists around Dubai, they are also doing so in Norway. In the Scandinavian country, they have teamed up with AiSpot, a Norwegian technology company and will be creating a new loyalty cum rewards programme. AiSpot will use Loyyal’s platform and be able to provide a Blockchain based rewards programme. In this project the Government of Norway is involved as well and they are giving partial funding through grants. ACN Newswire carried a press release which quoted Per Arne Friestad, CEO of AiSpot as saying, “We believe Blockchain has the potential to innovate the loyalty management market, and we regard Loyyal as the best partner for us to implement it in the Aispot platform. We will address this loyalty module in our ready-to-go-app and platform towards both Scandinavian retail and destination. The Loyyal experience from Dubai points is exciting and we believe this is will fit very well with some of the destinations Aispot is currently working with.”
The AiSpot applications will help Scandinavian local governments in areas such as retail and tourism and may help in increased sales and loyalty.