Washington D.C., United States, August 19, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX / Today, Trade & Travel (T&T) announced that the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, has joined T&T as a “Leading Voice.” WTTC Members will have an opportunity to engage with technology companies participating in T&T’s inaugural accelerator, focused on enhancing passenger screening and safety in the trade and travel industries.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, WTTC has been a leading advocate for innovation and partnership as the travel and tourism industries grapple with the public health challenges posed by restarting travel across the globe. WTTC continues to advocate for the acceleration of technologies such as biometrics that can improve the traveller experience and meet the demand for travel in a safer, healthier manner. In addition to participating in the T&T program, WTTC will be offering the companies a reduced rate for WTTC membership.
Helena Bononi, WTTC VP Membership & Commercial said, “We are delighted to be working with Trade & Travel on this initiative, one which we are sure will be of great interest to our Members. The enhanced use of technologies such as biometrics, throughout the traveller journey, will become even more important now as we begin to move towards recovery. COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the global Travel & Tourism sector, and these technologies will play a vital role in restoring consumer confidence, whilst protecting public health and paving the way to the return to safe travels.”
Patrick Flanagan, CEO of Pangiam stated, “WTTC brings the breadth of the travel and tourism industries to bear for our accelerator companies. WTTC’s experience, leadership and input is a valuable addition to the T&T process and will help inform on policy and market trends.”
Meagan Metzger, CEO of Dcode, said, “Finding private sector tech companies that can address trade and travel needs and that also know how to work in those highly regulated markets is easier said than done, and WTTC will play an important role in helping our companies showcase their capabilities to industry leaders across the globe.”
In May, Dcode and Pangiam announced their commercial partnership to de-risk and accelerate emerging tech companies that can advance trade and travel. Trade & Travel combines Dcode’s proven go-to-market acceleration strategy with Pangiam’s decades of expertise in security and innovation in the U.S. government and trade and travel industries.
T&T’s inaugural program started on August 11th and focuses on passenger screening and safety, with the goals of expediting the safe and efficient resumption of travel and leveraging technology to better protect the global trade and travel ecosystems in the future.