With its use of a decentralized payment system, crypto has made complicated transactions, like converting one currency to another, much smoother.
Thus, it is unsurprising that there is an emergence of crypto-friendly travel booking agencies that make it possible to explore the world using the content of not just your conventional wallet but also your crypto wallets.
This emergence is referred to as crypto tourism. With that said, here is a comprehensive guide to safely traveling the world using crypto in 2024.
Why You Should Travel With Crypto
There are a couple of ways through which crypto can reduce your travel burdens.
The first and most apparent benefit is cashless dealings.
For instance, when you travel to a foreign country, you will be required to exchange your local currency for making any transaction. Often or not, this isn’t an easy process due to municipal and international regulations.
However, with digital money, you can easily carry out transactions without such protocol as long as your destination permits digital money as a medium of exchange. This ease also means you no longer need to carry large sums of cash, making you a prime target for theft.
Secondly, traveling with crypto opens you up to several discount opportunities. Several websites offer their users discounts on purchases made using digital money. Taking advantage of these websites while traveling can save you a lot of money in the form of discounts and other promotions.
Now that you know why you should travel with crypto let’s examine how!
Source: medium.com
Locate Cryptocurrency-friendly Regions
The first stage of your crypto-funded vacation is to locate cryptocurrency-friendly regions.
Even in 2024, some locations you want to visit may demand cash because they do not accept the digital currency.
Countries like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and China, are notable for either banning the trade or having little to no crypto ATMs and other crypto-friendly infrastructure. Research crypto-friendly regions that suit your taste and vacation expectations when planning the trip.
Countries like Bermuda have comprehensive regulatory bodies supporting digital currency and assets. Portugal is also renowned for being very crypto tax-friendly, and Singapore has the necessary infrastructure for exclusive crypto spenders.
Many more countries like Switzerland, El Salvador, and Cyprus can match your tourism and currency needs. You can use readily available tools like CoinMap to identify these regions that heavily use cryptocurrency for transactional purposes.
Fund and Safeguard Your Crypto Wallet
Source: money.com
The next stage is to fund your crypto wallet. Funding your crypto wallet can be quite simple depending on the wallet you use.
For instance, if you have a crypto wallet, you can easily fund your wallet by sending your wallet address to whatever exchange you use. Additionally, you can diversify your portfolio by gathering financial products such as investments on SoFi.
It would be best if you also safeguarded your wallet against any eventualities. At any time during your trip, you may lose your phone or access to your wallet, making you unable to conduct transactions.
To avoid cutting your trip short, you should enable the two-factor authentication feature, so you can quickly and easily connect to it from a secondary device and continue your vacation as planned.
Complete Your Other Arrangements
Several airlines and travel agencies that incorporate digital payment methods into their services have emerged and it’s only a matter of time before digital payments become the primary method of conducting transactions for these agencies.
As such, before starting a transaction on a website, you should conduct research on them and read reviews to help you avoid fraud.
Some airlines like Surf Air and Expedia accept cryptocurrency payments. The former for transactions involving tickets plus flight coverage and the latter for lodging arrangements.
You can also use various crypto-friendly booking agencies to locate enjoyable recreation areas, and dining establishments, all from the comfort of your home and before your trip starts.
Flight Insurance
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Traveling with crypto does not exempt you from flight insurance packages. In situations where due to an airline’s scheduling or technical issues, your flight is canceled or delayed, you can arrange to receive compensation in the digital currency of your choice.
Keeping this in mind, using platforms like Etherisc would ensure that the airline fulfills its obligations to compensate for such inconvenience, just as traditional payment methods will.
Crypto ATMs
Crypto ATMs or Bitcoin ATMs allow you to purchase cryptocurrency with deposit cash. As of January 2024, there were over 14,000 crypto ATMs globally. Today, that number will have risen.
Before embarking on a crypto-sponsored trip, researching the availability and accessibility of these ATMs in your destination is essential to prevent you from being stranded in situations where you need to exceed your budget.
Engaging With Other Digital Currency Users
No trip is complete without making new friends and forming new relationships. Crypto tourism will help you meet crypto users and enthusiasts like yourself and create lifelong friendships or make valuable connections for your business.
Source: fluentu.com
Safety Tips For Crypto Tourism
Traveling can be hectic and monetary procedures must follow rigorous guidelines because mistakes in this regard could ruin your entire vacation, as such, safety precautions are necessary.
The first safety tip is always to remember your seed phrase. This phrase is an essential wallet component you must not lose because doing so can mean permanently losing access to your wallet.
If you have your seed phrase, you won’t need to worry about losing access to your wallet even if you lose your device. It is also advisable to distribute your money among several wallets mainly because when attempting to log into a particular wallet, a problem may arise, causing you to be stranded.
If a server outage prevents your transaction from processing, you can avoid getting stuck at a vendor’s store. Instead, you can log into another wallet where you can access funds and complete your transaction.
Finally, be sure to retain accessible funds in a hardware wallet. The safest approach to moving cryptocurrency is to have the extra money in your hardware wallet because it shields you from various threats common to online wallets.
