Digital Journey: SITA transforms the traveler experience in Latin America and the Caribbean
SITA has implemented its solutions in several countries around the world, including destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, allowing passengers to be identified quickly and safely
In recent years, Latin America and the Caribbean have established themselves as the world's leading tourist destinations. Brazil, in particular, ranked as the fifth most visited Latin American country in 2022, with 3.6 million visitors. In this context of increased travel and the number of travelers (by air, land and sea) and with the strong
post-pandemic recovery of the tourism sector, the region is focusing on the adoption of technological solutions to improve travelers' experiences and ensure border security.
Existing infrastructure and traditional manual travel processes will undoubtedly struggle to meet today’s high demand. IATA forecasts some 8 billion air trips annually by 2040. And according to CLIA, some 31.7 million people travelled by ship last year. Against this backdrop, SITA, a global leader in technology solutions, has played a key role in implementing biometric technologies, bringing significant benefits to all stakeholders – governments, airports, airlines, border agents and passengers.
The main objective of the “digital journey” is to improve security in identity verification while strengthening national defence and reducing the risk of fraud. SITA has implemented its solutions in several countries around the world, including destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, allowing passengers to be identified quickly and safely, and providing a better customer experience, faster boarding and smoother travel. These solutions have also proven to be essential in reducing costs and boosting operational efficiency for airlines and immigration processes in general, while improving security at large-scale events.
In this context, SITA offers solutions and success stories, all of which are compliant with ICAO DTC standards. Good examples include the Star Alliance biometric initiative and the Indian government’s DigiYatra programme. In both cases, the SITA Smart Path solution is used for end-to-end biometric passenger processing, resulting in a fully enhanced travel experience.
SITA Flex is another solution that leverages advanced biometric technology. It is a commonly used passenger processing platform. Similarly, SITA Border Management covers border control, risk intelligence and travel declaration. CIOs recognise the important role these technologies will play in the future in driving investment in biometrics: 70% of airlines expect to have biometric identification management by 2026; while 90% of airports are investing in significant R&D programmes in this area. There are currently more than 4,600 biometric touchpoints in airports around the world.
Another highlight of SITA’s portfolio is Digital Travel Credentials (DTC), a highly sought-after verifiable digital identity that shares passenger data, with pre-authorization, prior to arrival for streamlined border crossing.
Source: SITA.