Biometric enabled seamless travel booming: market to make $4.6B by 2029

The global market for government and commercial issued digital travel identities will generate more than $4.6 billion in revenue by 2029, according to a new report examining the major trends shaping the travel digital identity landscape.

The travel industry is at the forefront of digital identity adoption globally, according to the new 208-page Travel Digital Identity – Seamless Travel Powered by Digital Identity report by UK-based digital trust research and consulting firm Goode Intelligence, outperforming other sectors for growth with a forecast CAGR of 22 percent over the six-year period 2024 to 2029.

Travel digital identity supports digital transformation and automation programs for both government and private companies and creates a secure and convenient way to protect borders and verify a traveler’s identity throughout air, rail, and sea journeys.

Government-issued travel digital identity is being driven by the ICAO Digital Travel Credential (DTC) standard and biometric-enabled Entry / Exit initiatives, such as the EES in the EU and CBP’s Biometric Exit and Simplified Arrival. Travel digital identity delivered by commercial operations including airlines and airports, train operators and sea operators and ports manages the couch-to-gate travel journey and includes identity verification, ticketing and boarding pass issuance, security checks, baggage drops and more.

“(T)ravel is offering a blueprint in how to digitise identity and provide realisable benefits that can be replicated by other sectors,” says Alan Goode, founder and CEO of Goode Intelligence. “Travel offers a great test bed for the wider digital identity market and is a key sector for growth offering a template for how digital identity can be at the center of the seamless customer (traveler) experience.”

Travel Digital Identity – Seamless Travel Powered by Digital Identity examines global standards established by the ICAO and IATA;  ePassports backed up by ICAO’s Public Key Directory (PKD); AI-powered biometric technology; and, digital wallets and verifiable credentials that support biometric enabled seamless travel. The report also includes interviews with organizations providing technology and solutions for digital identity including Amadeus, Daon, iProov, OneID, Paravision, SITA, Tech5 and Thales.

The global travel industry recently discussed Digital Travel Credentials at the Phocuswright Europe conference in Barcelona. Participants have pointed out that digital wallets will be ubiquitous by 2035 while bookings will be linked to travelers’ DTCs.

Article Topics

airports  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital travel credentials  |  face biometrics  |  Goode Intelligence  |  ICAO  |  passenger processing