I am more than excited to discuss more on why Travel will live on…and better than ever before. I may sound all optimistic, but that is how Emperor Traveline was able to take on even the roughest of tides smoothly and with a lot of grace. As I am writing this, I am hearing more and more of Touchless travel doing the rounds everywhere from airport curbside to hotel check-in. No matter how strict the cleaning protocol is, touching surfaces and exchanging travel documents through check-in, border enforcement, security,  and boarding can still pose infection threat to both the travellers as well as staff.

Automation of the travel sector will know no bounds. That, for me, will be the new normal. Biometrics will play a vital role than ever before in the area of identity verification and their use will ensure fingerprint and hand scanners are the first routine-tests that travellers have to undergo and pass through.  Not just these, touchless options will emerge including the likes of contactless fingerprint, in addition to face and iris recognition all serving at the frontline of COVID-19 battle.

The role of touchless data entry solutions such as touchless document scanning, gesture control and voice commands can turn out to be indispensible. Great care must be taken to make sure these technologies are inclusive, and to get rid of the risk of potential biases. From Touchless Entrance Solutions including converting sliding doors to revolving doors, contactless entry, retrofitting air curtains, and integrating external access control system, there are always new ways to invest in innovation to check the spread of COVID-19 and other potential infections in the future, and ​ mitigate health risks involving Corona virus. Other takeaways include lowering building energy waste and costs, and secure and faster access to destination.