Cryptocurrency Adoption in Travel and Tourism – an Exploratory Study of Asia Pacific Travellers

Blockchain technologies are predicted to substantially transform the
tourism industry. At present, cryptocurrencies are the most advanced
application of public blockchains that promise benefits such as a
universal means of payment and minimal fees through the removal of
intermediaries. In the tourism industry, though many tourism vendors
have been accepting cryptocurrencies and the potential of using
cryptocurrencies in travel-related consumption has been intensively
documented, existing knowledge about travellers’ intention to use
cryptocurrencies for payment purposes is limited. Traditional models do
not account for the idiosyncrasies of cryptocurrencies and are therefore
less appropriate to foster the understanding of travellers’ adoption of
travel-related payments. To fill this knowledge gap, an exploratory
study was conducted with 161 travellers from the Asia-Pacific region
who have previously consumed travel-related services with
cryptocurrencies. Their previous usage experiences are analysed and
reported. Through harnessing the correspondence analysis, several
technological contingency factors were identified, as well as positive
and negative perceptual antecedents. Additionally, their levels of
satisfaction and intention to re-use the technology in future trips were
investigated. Based on these findings, several propositions are
suggested for guiding future research on travellers’ cryptocurrency
adoption in the travel and tourism contexts.