I’ll Miss My Passport Stamps
Photo Credit: The European Union is phasing out physical passport stamps for travelers entering Schengen countries. Adobe Stock
Skift Take
Part document, part conversation starter, stamps are a physical reminder of where you’ve been. Their demise may be progress for some, but it's a loss nonetheless.
On Experience
Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here.Last week, I landed in Bali after a long trip from the States. I expected a scrum at the airport based on my past visits. But this time, no one wanted to see much from me. The e-gates blinked green and waved me through. It was efficient and painless, and it’s an experience coming soon to many other destinations.
Biometric gates (already the default at most major airports) will quietly take over the world. Swipe your passport, stare into a camera, pass through. Progress, obviously. But it also marks the end of something tactile and oddly poetic: the humble passport stamp.
I’m often obsessed with frictionless movement: cities with great transit, airport security checks – like in Portland, Oregon – that a
