SITA is to make its Digital Travel Declaration solution available to governments free of charge to support the recovery of the travel industry.
The solution allows passengers to share required travel and health documentation with governments ahead of travel. SITA hopes that offering the solution for free will help address the global challenge of submitting and verifying health documentation, which remains a major impediment to the recovery of the global travel industry.
Recent research from IATA highlighted that of 50 countries surveyed, 38 had some form of COVID-19 restriction governing who could enter. For many countries, economic recovery from the pandemic relies heavily on travel and tourism.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, travel and tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs in 2019. Inefficiencies and a lack of common standards around managing health documentation remain the single biggest obstacle to rebuilding the industry and supporting economic growth.
David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said: "In many cases, today's onerous health requirements are discouraging travellers from flying or leading to long lines at airports. As an industry-owned organisation working at the crossroads of airlines, airports, and governments, we are able to connect the dots and streamline processes around health documentation.
“Making our Digital Travel Declaration freely available to governments will be an investment in the recovery of our industry, and we hope will go some way towards addressing the challenges we all face today."
