Can NFTs help tourism?
The answer is given to us by Slovenia, which through its "I Feel Slovenia" program, has established a series of photo collections to which NFTs have been attributed.
As we know, the key feature of NFTs is their uniqueness within the blockchain in which they were created. This uniqueness gives them a certain importance in that they define an exclusive ownership.
Once purchased, that particular token refers to that wallet: it basically demonstrates ownership and consequently also all the steps it can have when it comes to buying and selling.
In a very similar form as I have arranged for Rossano Ferrari's works, where each work has a limited number of copies to which a corresponding NFT has been attributed. Similarly, the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB) has selected characteristic images and created NFTs.
Each NFT contains not just one image, but a series of images:
- 1 cover image, high resolution;
- 1 Exclusive panoramic photo;
- 4 Promotional Photographs
In line with the Slovenian Tourism Authority's green principles, the blockchain on which NFTs are created uses the Proof of Stake (PoS) validation method, which has almost no environmental impact, as no energy-intensive ASICs are needed for problem solving.
The blockchain in question is called Tolar HashNet.
As in all NFT or cryptocurrency buying processes, one needs to link one's wallet to the site. The parameters to connect the Tolar blockchain on metamask are not present, however, the site has prepared a plug-in for chrome, which is nothing but the Tolar wallet.
Once downloaded, installed and activated - remember to ALWAYS make a note of the seed phrase and keep it in a safe place - we can connect it to the I Feel Slovenia site.
Once the wallet is linked we can proceed to purchase the NFT we like best.
There are several categories within the site, including one whose proceeds are donated to the Konjice Lions Club, which is for promising young athletes.
The purpose of the project is purely promotional and places Slovenia in the Olympus of technologically advanced smart green countries and is the first country in history to issue NFTs as digital souvenirs for visitors to the EXPO 2020 exhibition in Dubai.
The project in itself is very interesting, hopefully there will be future developments.