Research on the applications of blockchain technology within tourism industry in Vietnam: Proposed model in Phu Quoc Island

Abstract

In recent years, blockchain technology has garnered interest from a diverse range of industries and areas, mostly due to its enormous possibilities for transforming the way data is stored and utilized, enhancing security and transparency, and facilitating transactions. In light of the rapid advancement of blockchain technology and the trend toward increasing the awareness of its benefits in the tourism sector, the Vietnamese government, particularly Ministry of Culture- Sports and Tourism, has made significant efforts and played a pivotal role in trying to establish an ecosystem, facilitating blockchain technology to gradually integrate into tourism activities. This contemporary study was conducted to ascertain the level of government interest in fostering an environment conducive to the adoption of blockchain technology in Vietnam. To begin, the author collected secondary data on the number of seminars held and sanctioned by local governments in Vietnam about the use of blockchain technology in tourism since 2018. Second, fifteen tourism specialists who work in resorts, travel agencies, and tourism-related enterprises on Phu Quoc Island were chosen to collect primary data using a mix of open- and closed-ended questionnaires. The Delphi technique was used to evaluate the data collected in order to estimate the outcome of a future scenario involving the establishment of a blockchain system on Phu Quoc Island. The findings indicate that local governments are likely to be interested in expanding the legal framework for access to blockchain technology, and tourism organizations are willing to incorporate blockchain technology into their current operations if the legal framework allows for this new technology. According to the findings, there are two distinct views on which business scope should be prioritized first. For example, hotel and resort representatives prefer to integrate booking and luggage checking first, while travel agencies prefer automatic commission allocation for travel parties involved in the entire tourism procedure.