GPSJ - SPRING 2025 - Flipbook - Page 42
GPSJ
TRAVEL & TOURISM
Clearing border bottlenecks
with smarter, faster digital
solutions for travel
By Andy Smith
We all want travel to be secure, safe, and easy. But as traveler numbers surge to record highs and governments
aim to unlock tourism’s full economic power, border agencies face a critical challenge: how do you handle rising
demand without compromising security?
Last week, European and global
leaders in border security,
technology, and policy meet in
Tallinn, Estonia, to tackle exactly
that.
Europe’s in-tray is full. From
large-scale migration to evolving
security threats, the continent’s
unique geographic and cultural
diversity demands solutions that
balance security with the need to
keep legitimate trade and travel
昀氀owing.
Demand is booming, are
borders keeping up?
Travel and tourism are the
lifeblood of European prosperity.
And they’re only growing. Last
year, passenger numbers across
Europe soared nearly 10%, with
capacity up by more than 9%,
according to IATA.
In response, European airports
are investing billions to expand
and modernize. Governments,
too, are stepping in to back
infrastructure improvements. But
shiny new terminals alone won’t
deliver the bene昀椀ts, not unless
border systems evolve alongside
them.
From static to smart: why
border modernization
matters
Border security can’t lag behind.
It needs to embrace the same
tech-driven advancements
shaping traveler expectations
and responding to today’s fastmoving threats.
Right now, many passengers
42
face long queues and repeated
document checks, with IATA
reporting over 70% encounter
delays. That’s frustrating for
travelers and a strain on agency
resources, especially when most
people pose no risk.
But it doesn’t have to be this
way. Digitalized, interoperable,
and dynamic borders can
transform the experience, letting
governments adapt policies
and procedures in real time,
strengthen security, and boost
their country’s appeal as a
destination for trade, tourism, and
investment.
Integration is the key
E昀昀ective border management
is never just one agency’s
job. It brings together
immigration, customs, public
health, intelligence, and law
enforcement. Siloed systems
create gaps and ine昀케ciencies;
integrated systems, on the other
hand, o昀昀er a uni昀椀ed, real-time
view of travelers and goods,
allowing faster, smarter decisions
and keeping resources focused
where they matter most.
Creating a better border
experience
By using secure digital identities
and pre-clearing travelers
before they even arrive, border
agencies can reduce congestion
and speed up processing. And
because the border experience
shapes a visitor’s 昀椀rst and last
impression, improving it also
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SPRING 2025
strengthens a country’s global
image.
Start small, scale big
The path forward doesn’t require
sweeping overnight change.
In fact, the most successful
transformations often start small,
with modular, collaborative
approaches.
Digital travel credentials (DTCs)
are a prime example. Worldwide,
demand for faster, contactless
processes is skyrocketing, with
over 60% of passengers saying
they’d pay for a DTC. In Aruba, a
DTC pilot cut border processing
time to just eight seconds, while
improving data accuracy and
compliance.
Immediate wins, long-term
gains
Governments can make
meaningful progress by tackling
immediate pain points now while
laying the groundwork for broader
transformation. It’s about asking:
what can we improve today with
minimal disruption, and how
does that 昀椀t into the bigger vision
of a fully digital, integrated, and
secure border?
Thoughtful, incremental action
builds momentum for larger
change.
European governments can
create systems that are not just
more secure, but also more
e昀케cient, adaptable, and aligned
with the needs of a fast-changing
world. Crucially, these systems
can balance the demands of
security with the economic
bene昀椀ts of growing travel and
tourism.
Andy Smith is Director for
Industry & Innovation at SITA,
the global air transport industryowned IT-tech organization
that works with over 75
governments— including every
G20 nation — to modernize
airport and border operations.
The International Border
Management and Technologies
Association (IBMATA), a notfor-pro昀椀t international NGO
committed to the safe and secure
movement of people and goods
across international borders,
held its Border Management &
Technologies Summit Europe
2025 in Tallinn in June.
Building the borders of the
future
Borders will always be about
managing risk. But by rethinking
how people, goods, and
information move across them,
Andy Smith
