Loyyal – blockchain-based loyalty and rewards platform – has partnered with Dubai Future Foundation to create “world’s first” tourism incentives program powered by blockchain and smart contract technology, the company announced yesterday.

Partnering with several global companies, such as Digitus and SquareCircle, Loyyal allows tourists  to collect reward points based on the places they visit, and the activities they participate in. They can then redeem those points with participating companies either in Dubai, or back home, Greg Simon, chief executive of Loyyal, told Bank Innovation.

This participation exemplifies the need for blockchain in government programs, and we are going to certainly expand. We are a B2B company, and the great thing about using blockchain for rewards is that they don’t have to be centralized. With our tech, we can allow a broader group to have a multi-brand coalition. So if I am running a rewards program, I have the choice to either run it on my own smaller brand network, or run it on a bigger scale [redeemable with other brands], but lose the brand value. Loyyal allows you to do both.

The announcement came in yesterday, during a keynote address at Dubai’s first Blockchain Technology Conference.

New York-based Loyyal was also among the five blockchain startups to partner with Deloitte on developing a new core banking system. “With Deloitte, we are going to approach their clients in the case we think that client can benefit from a loyalty program.,” Simon said. “In the first three weeks of the partnership, half a dozen very large multinational companies approaching, including financial services, have already approached us on this.”

The startup is now in the “scaling” phase, with plans to double its team by yearend, Simon said.