The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the leaders of the global travel and tourism private sector, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have begun working together through a public-private partnership to strengthen U.S. borders, increase security and improve the traveler experience through the entire journey by making travel more efficient and seamless for passengers with the use of technology.
Both WTTC and CBP are committed to the application of facial biometrics in the travel journey as a means of maximizing security while ensuring legitimate tourists can visit the country to create jobs and drive economic growth.
Through its Seamless Traveler Journey initiative, WTTC is working to bring the entire sector together – via a harmonized approach, interoperability, and some common standards – to use facial biometric technology in travel and tourism, which can be applied on a country-by-country basis throughout the travel journey. Research indicates that nearly one million jobs could be created in the U.S. travel industry by using biometric technology throughout the entire journey, which will drive growth and efficiency.
WTTC announced earlier this week a pilot program that will first see travelers on round trips between Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and London using biometric technology to conduct all airline security, airport and border processes before accessing car rental and hotel check-in using the same biometric information.
As the guardian of the United States’ borders, CBP has a complex mission to secure the nation from dangerous people and goods, while at the same time facilitating lawful travel and trade to support economic prosperity. Based upon its commitment to innovation and public-private partnerships, CBP built a facial biometric matching service to support airport and airline stakeholder integration for biometric exit and other passenger services to enhance the customer experience. CBP is committed to its privacy obligations and has taken steps to safeguard the privacy of all travelers.
Currently, CBP is testing biometric exit at 15 major airports across the United States. The facial recognition verification process takes less than 2 seconds, with a 90 percent matching rate. CBP has also implemented facial comparison technology for arrival processing at 14 locations, which includes four Preclearance locations. The new simplified arrival process enables increased security, faster throughput, and better efficiency.
“Through the work of CBP, the United States is leading the implementation of facial biometric technology, which is universally recognized as the best solution for a seamless experience for the traveler and for increased security,” said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of WTTC. “Partnerships, like this one with the U.S. CBP, will help the travel industry to transform the experience for the traveller and to ensure that travel becomes more efficient for passengers and more secure for border agencies, while respecting individuals’ privacy and data security.”
“CBP is excited to have the support of the WTTC as we align efforts to expand a seamless travel experience through the use of facial biometrics,” said CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. “With its global reach, the WTTC can encourage other countries to join this partnership with the goal of providing travelers a safe, consistent, end-to-end travel process around the world.”
