WTTC and Government of Aruba partner for the world’s first air and non-air seamless journey pilot using biometric technology

SOURCE: traveldailynews.com

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and the Government of Aruba announce a new partnership to launch the world/s first pilot that links aviation and non-air destination services that will transform the traveller journey by using biometric technology to create a seamless secure and easy travel experience from flight to car rental and hotel check-in while also improving border security and business efficiency.

According to the latest WTTC research, the Travel & Tourism sector contributes 10.4% of global GDP and 319 million jobs to the world. With an investment in new aviation infrastructure, including runways, terminals and new technologies such as biometrics, WTTC estimates that between 12 million and 31 million additional Travel & Tourism jobs could be created across the world by 2028.

The ‘Aruba Happy Flow’ is the world’s first seamless passenger facilitation that was launched in 2015 and will be extended with this pilot to include car rental and hotel check in. It will enable travellers to move more efficiently, faster and more securely through every part of the travel experience, using biometric technology throughout the entire traveller journey with pilot participants.

Due to launch in 2020, the Aruba Happy Flow hotel and car rental extension will allow travellers to trial the application of biometric technology at every stage of the travel process, from arrival, border management, collecting the car rental and checking in at the hotel. With support from WTTC, the global body that represents the private sector of the Travel & Tourism sector, under its Seamless Traveller Journey initiative, representatives from several industries within Travel & Tourism, such as airlines, airports, hospitality and car rental, will be able to jointly test different technologies, that interconnect and work to improve the experience for the traveller.

The Aruba Happy Flow as launched in 2015, is the result of a cooperation between the Government of Aruba, Aruba Airport Authority, KLM, Royal Schiphol Group, the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, the Koninklijke Marechaussee and Vision-Box.

Happy Flow passengers provide their identity only once when travelling, with the data then processed securely, satisfying organisations and governments agencies throughout the journey. The traveller would then pass through the checkpoints during the journey, using only their facial recognition, making it a completely touch free process.

For this innovative pilot, extending the Happy Flow with a car rental and hotel, travellers arriving at Aruba’s Reina Beatrix International Airport will be able to use this breakthrough biometric technology provided by Vision-Box. The participating hotels in this pilot are Divi Aruba Resorts and the Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort, and with the local Hertz Car Rental franchise in Aruba as the car rental partner.

SOURCE: Travel Daily News (https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/wttc-and-government-of-aruba-partner-for-the-worlds-first-air-and-non-air-seamless-journey-pilot-using-biometric-technology)