New U.S. Tourism Strategy Calls for More Touchless Tech

From facial biometrics at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints to visas that don't require boarding foils, the new U.S. Department of Commerce strategy to boost international arrivals calls for tech improvements to better verify identities and expedite the travel process.

Among the recommended tech-oriented actions citied in the strategy are:

• The Department of Homeland Security should rework its systems to handle digital travel credentials, including touchless tech like facial recognition.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection should deploy facial comparison tech to verify visitor identities.
• Facial recognition tech should be implemented at TSA security lanes and airline boarding gates.
• Digital visa processing using foil-less visas for verifying traveler identities should be pursued.
• The State Department "should explore the direct capture of photographs for passports and visas to standardize image quality for improved comparison against travel documents, reduce the probability of false rejections, and combat fraud," the Commerce Department stated.