In accordance with the statistics issued by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism sector furnished 334 million employment opportunities in 2019, accounting for 10.65% of global employment. Tourism, one of the largest industries worldwide, contributed an imposing $9.2 trillion to the global GDP, representing 10.4% of the global GDP. However, the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a devastating blow to the industry, leading to a 50% plummet in tourism revenue across continents and a 30% decline in job opportunities. Moreover, despite undergoing digital transformation in the internet era, the industry still grapples with several issues such as the bilateral credit crisis between travelers and vendors, monopolies by leading online travel agencies (OTAs), risks of user data breaches, exorbitant promotional costs faced by suppliers, increased travel costs due to intermediaries' fees, false advertising, and concealed charges, to name but a few - all requiring amelioration and optimization.
Currently, the global tourism industry is relentlessly striving to revitalize through innovation, aimed at enhancing comprehensive benefits and industrial efficiency. It is fostering an innovative mechanism for tourism that is technology-driven, culture-based, innovation-supported, cooperation-oriented, and future market-guided. This mechanism aspires to actualize collaborative innovation in six realms - technology, organization, product, marketing, policy, and public services, thereby reinvigorating the industry's appeal to frontline talents, technology, and capital, and advancing towards the transformation into a future-oriented modern service industry. The Gen Z Travel project is a noteworthy exemplar born in this context.
After three years of enduring a downturn, innovating, and reinventing, Gen Z Travel has emerged as a trailblazer with its inventive vertical tech project, aspiring to empower the entire tourism industry through blockchain technology. The project seized the opportunity presented by the global tourism industry's robust post-pandemic recovery, fortified by significant tourism subsidies from the International Tourism Organization and various national governments.
Gen Z Travel, propelled by blockchain technology, champions the innovative mechanism in the tourism industry. Through collaborative innovation via blockchain, it creates an all-industry ecosystem blockchain. This propels the entire industry, including elements such as food, lodging, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, as well as tourism administrative departments, financial institutions, and related tourism organizations onto the blockchain. It ushers global tourism consumers towards the era of Web 3.0 digital tourism.
The Gen Z Travel project was launched by the Z Era Tourism Foundation, jointly founded by Vouch, Singapore's unicorn travel tech company, and Traveloka, Southeast Asia's largest online travel application company. The project garners support from capital investments and strategic partnerships with Expedia, Millennium International, Chan Brothers Travel, Datong Travel, Miramar Travel, and others. In addition, the Singapore government has furnished a substantial amount of tourism recovery funds, and the Hong Kong government has provided tourism subsidies for the project. The Gen Z Travel project has won accolades from world-class industry organizations such as WTTC, PATA, UNWTO, and WATA, aiming to build a sustainable, blockchain-based, win-win tourism ecosystem.
In accordance with the features of the community era, public chain era, and ecosystem era, Gen Z Travel's development strategy has been compartmentalized into three segments. The project sets off with the "Play Gen Z Plan," aspiring to build a community, establish global community consensus, and a vast user base. Subsequently, the project actualizes vertical-category tourism industry empowerment on the ZT Smart Chain, dedicated to erecting technological barriers. Lastly, by constructing a blockchain tourism ecosystem, it propels global tourism consumers towards the digital tourism era, thereby gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Moreover, the innovation presented by Gen Z Travel not only positively impacts the tourism industry but also offers a plethora of benefits for social and economic growth. By advancing the application of blockchain technology in the tourism field, we can achieve transparency and traceability of tourism information, thereby enhancing the quality and safety of tourism services. Concurrently, the project's advocacy will foster sustainable development in the tourism industry, promote digital transformation, and bolster the competitiveness and innovation capabilities of the tourism sector, all of which will contribute positively to global economic recovery and sustainable development.
The Gen Z Travel project serves as a crucial engine for the future growth of the tourism industry, forging a smarter, more convenient, and safer travel experience, rendering travel a more exhilarating and meaningful experience. Both tourism professionals and consumers stand to benefit from this innovative tourism ecosystem. Let's collectively anticipate and support the development of Gen Z Travel and jointly usher in a brilliant era of blockchain tourism!
The Gen Z Travel project will be launched globally on May 28th, commencing the community era, leveraging blockchain to empower the tourism industry. This golden opportunity to change the world is not to be missed. We extend a warm invitation to join us and together we can secure a win-win scenario in the Web 3.0 digital tourism era!