The Aruba
Tourism Authority will launch its digital travel credential for all travelers
coming to the island nation beginning in March 2024.
The credential
enables arriving visitors to complete pre-boarding verification and pass
through border checkpoints without providing a physical passport.
The system
has been created in partnership with SITA and Indicio and launched
as a test in late March.
Aruba calls
its credential the “Aruba Happy One Pass” or AHOP. Through AHOP, travelers can
turn their physical passports into verifiable digital credentials on their
mobile devices and, through biometric checks done by SITA’s automatic border
control gates at the Aruba airport, are matched to their passport images via
facial recognition.
“Adding
biometrics to Aruba HOP’s capabilities is an important step toward transforming
global travel,” said Heather Dahl, CEO
of Indicio.
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“It adds a
critical element to identity verification, binding the credential to a person’s
device so that we can be sure that when it’s used, it’s the credential owner
using it. This provides the final element of trust to accelerate Aruba’s
digital transformation of the travel and tourism experience. We are excited to
see this result from our ground-breaking work with our partner SITA and where
it will go next.”
Aruba has
been one of the first countries to experiment with and now implement this sort
of process, which enables travelers to hold their own data and biometrics, eliminating
the need for data storage through a third-party. The system streamlines border
control’s flow, cutting wait times while also reducing risk of error, identity
theft or fraud.
"The emergence of digital identities means we
will be able to travel from anywhere to everywhere – by air, land or sea –
without needing to show physical travel documents,” said Jeremy Springall,
senior vice president of SITA at Borders.
"This latest demonstration with AHOP
represents a significant step forward in the shift towards digital travel. A
critical feature of the technology is that it puts passengers first, following
privacy-by-design principles that give passengers complete control of their
data and permitting them to consent to sharing data when needed.”
Aruba’s minister of tourism and public health, Dangui Oduber, said he envisions
AHOP as a “launching pad” for digital transformation across many sectors on the island such
as hospitality, events and services.
During a Center Stage session at The Phocuswright Conference, Oduber,
Dahl and SITA director of digital identity, Michael Zureik, spoke about the
work they are doing together. Watch the full discussion below.
Digital Identity Becomes Reality - The Phocuswright Conference 2023