Hitachi partners on biometric tourism service with Panasonic FRT

Hitachi and JTB Corporation have partnered to develop a digital ticketing service with biometric authentication for the tourism industry.

The tourism DX (digital transformation) software’s first implementation is in round-trip ticket planning service “tebu-Ride PASS,” which will be demonstrated from August 1  to October 31. The tebu-Ride PASS demo will take place in Shodoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.

The collaboration is intended to increase tourism and its sustainability through improved convenience for travellers, simplified payments and enabling more flexible itineraries while eliminating hassles associated with ticket purchases and admissions.

Hitachi is responsible for the design and development of the digital ticketing system, biometric authentication for shopping without an additional payment method or credential, and wireless beacons which will acquire and process user movements in real time to determine fees based on movement routes.

The biometrics are supplied through Hitachi’s biometric authentication integration infrastructure service, with integrates a public biometrics platform with Panasonic’s facial recognition, according to the announcement.

Panasonic’s facial recognition has also been deployed at Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025.

The tebu-Ride PASS service uses facial recognition at facility gates to control access and payments.

JTB contributes experience in the tourism industry that it will use to develop travel vouchers and sightseeing plans, along with promotion strategies and support for travellers.

The partners plan to target more tourism deployments and give local governments and businesses the data they need to analyze behavior patterns and demand trends for further travel DX.

Japan has been working to boost its tourism industry with biometrics and digital transformation for years, including at Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport, and for retail purchases and hotel check-ins.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric ticketing  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital travel  |  Hitachi  |  Japan  |  Panasonic  |  travel and tourism