Blockchain Project Winding Tree Eyes US$7 Trillion-Dollar Travel Industry

The initiative, managed by a Swiss foundation operating on non-profit principles, represents a fundamental reshaping of distribution power. Pedro Anderson, one of the founders and COO, frames the issue directly: "There is a big problem in the online travel industry today, in which the distribution landscape in travel is dominated by a handful of companies, which manipulate the prices to their benefit, hindering competition and innovation." He adds that "Winding Tree Foundation's non-profit approach is presenting a democratic, transparent, decentralized solution to this issue."

Operating through Ethereum smart contracts and autonomous governance protocols, the platform allows hotels, airlines, and travel providers to publish real-time inventory and pricing that travel agencies and retailers access and purchase programmatically. Transactions settle instantly without intermediaries extracting fees—the network instead distributes small transaction payments to participants maintaining the infrastructure.

The Winding Tree Foundation, registered in Switzerland, develops and promotes the platform. The model arrives as industry enthusiasm for blockchain-based alternatives to entrenched reservation systems builds momentum.

Competitors are moving fast. Australian travel company Webjet, publicly listed, partnered with Microsoft on a blockchain booking system using private Ethereum infrastructure to monitor hotel availability worldwide. Germany-based TUI Group transferred its full accommodation portfolio to private blockchain technology. Russia's S7 Airlines and Alfa-Bank debuted an Ethereum-powered ticketing solution in July, automating transaction workflows. San Diego's Innfinity Software Systems is rebuilding its Innfinite corporate travel platform using blockchain, enabling travel managers and their employers to access richer data and negotiate more flexible booking terms for flights, hotels, and rental cars.