Camino / Lufthansa Systems / SWISS: Hackathon Drives Innovation in the Travel Industry
Lufthansa Systems and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) have held a Web3 Hackathon in Frankfurt in partnership with the Camino Network Foundation for new industry solutions to be developed leveraging blockchain and AI.
The 48-hour hackathon had teams from 13 travel and tech companies where they created practical, ready-to-use solutions to make the travel industry more efficient, cost effective and sustainable.
Its use cases demonstrated that these new approaches are significantly more efficient than traditional distribution channels.
The goal was to explore new ways of distributing flight and travel products via the blockchain-based Camino Network.
Teams explored new payment methods, CO₂ offsetting, access to emerging sales markets, and personalized group travel.
A jury of Lufthansa Group (LHG) experts selected the three top projects from the 13 teams participating.
The most compelling projects for the judges were The Unimoni team that presented a solution for integrating 300,000 non-IATA travel agencies in India into the Camino Network – including local payment methods and direct access to Lufthansa flight content.
The solution significantly lowers distribution costs and opens new international markets, with strong potential for expansion to other regions.
The second team was made up of SWISS and Digital Hangar team, as they impressed the jury with their concept for enhancing Travel–ID via Web3 wallet integration, allowing the issuance, exchange, and management of digital identities and real-world assets such as vouchers and digital services.
Finally, the Hotelplan team developed a group booking solution for travellers starting from different locations but heading to the same destination can book together while paying individually – more easily, quickly, and affordably than before.
Though it was Carbify that the jury named as the Winner of the Hearts. This team’s solution demonstrated how the Camino Network can support CO₂ reduction by providing full traceability of compensation activities, even down to the geolocation of each planted tree.
Mickael Woelcke, project manager at SWISS and one of the hackathon’s main initiators, said: “Beyond the many innovative use cases developed during the hackathon, it was particularly impressive to see how the teams successfully integrated Lufthansa Group flight content into their platforms in just two days.
“The commercial potential of this technology is promising – especially with faster and more efficient partner integration and significantly reduced distribution costs. It’s now up to the industry to carry these advances forward and turn them into sustainable, market-ready solutions.”
Mikael Woelcke, will be speaking at the Travolution European Summit 2025 next week on Tuesday May 13, 2025 at Events @ No.6 London. Final few tickets remain.
Pablo Castillo, CEO of Chain4Travel and initiator of the Camino Network, added: “The hackathon clearly showed how connections that used to take months can now be established within days. Compared to traditional distribution channels, the new solutions are significantly more efficient – with up to 98% cost savings, as demonstrated by Hotelplan, and up to 50% improved sustainability, as measured by Carbify’s CO₂ analysis.”
