Cross-Border travel to grow over 50pc by 2030: WEF

The cross-border travel, as indicated by forecasts, would grow by 50 percent over the next decade and reach 1.8 billion international arrivals by 2030, says World Economic Forum (WEF) report.

“ This increase presents an opportunity for the aviation, travel and tourism industry to further harness the economic benefits it contributes to GDP and job creation globally,” said WEF report titled “The Known Traveler Unlocking the potential of digital identity for secure and Seamless Travel.”

The report says that to take full advantage of the economic opportunities this increase in demand generates, stakeholders must confront pressures on the traveler journey, particularly the increased risk and related security requirements, as well as the limited growth capacity of travel- and border-related infrastructure.

Experts suggest that the monetary and economic costs of the current aviation security system would reach unsustainable levels in the coming decades, it added.

Digital innovations in travel security coupled with multi-stakeholder collaboration would unlock solutions to the challenges of today

Traditionally, people have considered passenger facilitation and ensuring border security to be mutually exclusive, it said adding that as presented in the 2017 report on Digital Borders: Enabling a secure, seamless and personalized journey, incorporating new technologies into the process would dramatically reshape how the industry and governments manage the secure cross-border movement of people.

To do this, a cohesive vision for the future of security in travel must include user-centricity, digitization and trustful cooperation, it added.