WTTC welcomes ICAO’s new PKD: digital verification of travel documents enters a new phase
The World Travel & Tourism Council, WTTC, has supported the introduction of a new-generation Public Key Directory system, developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, describing it as an important step forward toward safer and smoother international passenger traffic. It is a technical infrastructure that enables faster and more reliable verification of electronic passports and other digital travel credentials, and thus more efficient passenger processing at borders, airports, and by other authorized participants in the travel chain.
ICAO announced that the new-generation system was officially launched on 27 March 2026, while WTTC said on the same day that it sees this step as a turning point for security and the facilitation of cross-border travel. According to WTTC’s statement, the new platform enables secure real-time verification of digital travel credentials and fits into the sector’s long-term vision of a “seamless traveller experience”, in which security and process fluidity are aligned rather than opposing goals. That balance has in fact been one of the key issues in recent years for governments, airlines, airports, and the tourism industry, especially after the strong return of international travel.
What PKD actually is and why it matters
ICAO’s Public Key Directory is not a new concept, but the new generation of the system arrives at a time when international traffic is rapidly going digital. PKD is a central repository through which states and other authorized institutions exchange the data required to verify the authenticity of electronic machine-readable travel documents, among which e-passports are the most important. In practice, this means the system serves as a global database of public cryptographic keys that border authorities, carriers, and other authorized actors can use to confirm that a document was indeed issued by the competent state and that the data on the chip have not been altered.
ICAO explains on its official website that the security and operational advantage of e-passports exists only if the chip is actually checked at the border. If such verification does not take place, the electronic passport loses much of its advantage compared with a traditional, non-electronic document. That is precisely why PKD plays a key role: it enables the digital signature stored on the passport chip to be verified in a standardized, internationally interoperable way. This reduces the scope for forgery, strengthens trust among states, and speeds up the passenger identification process.
It is also important that, according to ICAO, e-passport verification itself does not require the exchange of the passport holder’s personal data. At the center of the verification is the authenticity of the digital signature and the integrity of the document, not the transfer of private personal information. In discussions about the digitalization of borders, this is precisely one of the more sensitive points: technological progress brings greater efficiency, but at the same time raises the issue of privacy, data protection, and the level of surveillance over travellers. ICAO’s explanation shows that the system architecture is designed to separate document authentication from unnecessary exchanges of personal data.
The new generation of the system and what changes as a result
In its launch announcement, ICAO states that travellers, airlines, airports, and governments will benefit from the new generation of PKD, because cross-border travel should become both safer and more efficient. In practice, the main change is the possibility of more modern, faster, and more flexible verification of digital travel credentials, including scenarios in which travel documents are linked with biometric processes and automated passenger processing systems. This is especially important for airports that are already introducing automated lanes, self-service passenger check-in, and various forms of biometric identification.
WTTC emphasizes exactly that element in its reaction: real-time credential verification, stronger security, and faster border crossing. In political and economic terms, this is an important message because the tourism sector has long warned that outdated border systems are becoming a bottleneck to growth. Passenger traffic does not grow linearly in just one segment; traveller expectations, the number of security checks, regulatory requirements, and the need for data exchange between states and the private sector are also increasing. If the technological infrastructure remains on old models, the result is greater congestion, slower flows of people, and higher operating costs.
The new PKD platform is therefore not seen only as a technical upgrade, but also as part of the broader transformation of borders. In that transformation, physical document inspection is increasingly complemented by digital processes, and the role of the travel document is gradually expanding from simple identification toward a digitally verifiable set of credentials that can be used securely in multiple stages of travel. This includes pre-flight check-in, verification of entry rights, passage through automated border points, and potential connectivity with future digital identities for international travel.
The link with digital travel credentials and biometrics
One of the reasons why the new generation of PKD has attracted so much attention is its connection with the concept of digital travel credentials, the so-called DTCs. In its guidance, ICAO states that the purpose of DTCs is to enable a digital representation of a travel document, which can temporarily or permanently serve as a substitute for a conventional passport, depending on the regulatory framework and the degree of implementation. In other words, the direction of development is moving toward a model in which the physical passport does not disappear overnight, but an increasing part of identity and travel status verification shifts into the digital environment.
For such a step forward, a trust infrastructure is crucial. Without internationally recognized and technically standardized exchange of public keys, digital credentials would remain limited to isolated national or commercial experiments. That is exactly why PKD is important: it provides the basis for states and authorized partners to verify the authenticity of a digital credential in an interoperable way. When biometrics are added to that, for example matching a traveller’s face with data linked to a valid travel document, the possibility opens up for part of today’s manual checks to move into automated and faster processes.
But that does not mean that all issues have been resolved. Biometric integration can speed up passenger processing, but at the same time it requires solid legal frameworks, transparent rules of use, and clear boundaries around who collects, stores, and processes biometric data. That is precisely why professional discussions about “seamless travel” are always accompanied in parallel by discussions about surveillance, proportionality, and travellers’ right to privacy protection. The new PKD platform does not by itself resolve those issues, but it removes one of the fundamental technical problems: how to confirm securely and credibly that a digital travel document is authentic.
Why WTTC strongly supports this direction
WTTC’s support is not surprising. For years, the organization has advocated border modernization and the digitalization of the passenger process as a precondition for the further growth of global tourism. In its latest statement, WTTC says that by 2035 the global travel and tourism sector could reach 16.5 trillion US dollars in contribution to world GDP and account for 12.5 percent of total global employment. In the same context, WTTC and SITA estimate in the Better Borders report that smarter border management could bring an additional 401 billion dollars in GDP by 2035 and create 14 million new jobs in G20 countries, the European Union, and the African Union.
Such estimates should be read cautiously, because they are based on models and assumptions about future policies and investments. Even so, the message is clear: borders are no longer seen only as a security filter, but also as economic infrastructure. Slow procedures, disconnected IT systems, and manual processes do not mean only longer queues, but also lower destination competitiveness, weaker connectivity, and less utilized tourism and business potential. For countries that depend on international traffic, whether through tourism, business travel, or transit, border efficiency becomes part of overall investment and development policy.
WTTC further highlights on its website that safer and smoother travel, with the application of innovative technologies such as biometrics, can stimulate economic growth and job creation without abandoning security standards. This is also a politically sensitive thesis, because public debate is often framed as a choice between “more security” and “more speed”. The travel sector is trying to show that technological modernization can deliver both, provided that it is standardized, interoperable, and internationally coordinated.
Growth in international travel intensifies pressure on borders
The timing of the launch of the new PKD platform is also important. At the beginning of 2026, UN Tourism announced that international tourist arrivals in 2025 increased by 4 percent compared with the previous year, following a strong recovery in 2023 and 2024. That trend confirms that global travel is stabilizing at a high level, but also that infrastructural, security, and operational pressures are not decreasing. As the number of travellers grows, every delay at the border, every slowness in document verification, and every mismatch among national systems become more visible and more costly.
That is precisely why digital document verification is no longer treated as an additional convenience, but as part of basic transport infrastructure. Airports facing peak loads need systems that can process large numbers of travellers without lowering the security standard. States, on the other hand, want reliable confirmation of the authenticity of documents, especially at a time when security risks, geopolitical tensions, and migration pressures are increasing. The new generation of PKD fits into this broader context: it is a tool that simultaneously serves both security policy and the logistics of the international movement of people.
For travellers, the biggest change may not be visible in the name of the system, but in the travel experience. Shorter delays at border points, less need to repeat the same checks, and better aligned digital processes are the most direct effects that the industry wants to achieve. But the real extent of these changes will depend on how quickly states, airports, and carriers adapt their operational and regulatory systems to the new standards.
How widespread the system already is and what that says about acceptance
ICAO’s list of participants shows that PKD already brings together a broad circle of states and institutions. The official list published on ICAO’s website contains 107 participants, including Croatia, which joined the system on 1 April 2019. That fact is important for two reasons. First, it shows that PKD is not an experimental technology, but an already existing global infrastructure that is now entering a new phase. Second, the number of participants suggests that there is broad international understanding that verification of electronic travel documents is possible only if it is based on common rules and shared trust.
At the same time, presence in the system itself does not automatically mean the same level of operational application in every country. In some places, the technology is deeply integrated into border processes, including automated e-gates and biometric systems, while elsewhere participation primarily provides a foundation for future interoperability. That is precisely where one of the challenges of the coming years lies: the technical standard may be global, but the speed of implementation depends on domestic investment, legislation, administrative readiness, and political priorities.
Croatia’s presence in the system therefore does not in itself mean that all elements of the new generation of PKD will immediately be visible to every traveller at all border crossings. But it does mean that the country is part of the international infrastructure that is necessary for the future expansion of digital travel processes. In the European and Schengen context, where interoperability, automation, and secure document verification carry special weight, such inclusion gains additional importance.
Advantages, but also limitations, of the new digital phase of travel
Although the statements by ICAO and WTTC are highly optimistic, it is realistic to expect that the transition toward full use of digital travel credentials will be gradual. One reason is technical: states and operators must align their systems, procedures, and equipment. Another is legal: any use of digital identities and biometrics in international traffic must be aligned with national and supranational rules on privacy, data processing, and administrative procedures. The third is political: the level of trust among states, as well as the willingness to standardize part of the process at international level, are never only technical issues.
It is therefore more likely that the new generation of PKD will initially be felt mostly through stronger reliability of back-end document verification and the gradual expansion of digital scenarios in air transport. The complete replacement of physical passports with a universal digital solution is not yet an immediate reality. But what is already changing now is the architecture of the trust system on which such a future can arise. In that sense, ICAO’s decision to modernize PKD and the support it received from WTTC are important signals that international traffic is entering a phase in which the boundary between the travel document, digital identity, and automated verification is becoming increasingly blurred.
For the tourism industry, airlines, and airports, this is above all a question of capacity and competitiveness. For states, it is a question of security, sovereignty, and interoperability. For travellers, meanwhile, the key measure of success will be simple: will travel become faster, safer, and less burdened by bureaucracy. The new generation of PKD does not yet provide all the answers, but according to the official announcements of ICAO and WTTC it represents one of the more important steps toward a system in which a digitally verified travel document becomes just as important as the physical passport itself.
Sources:- ICAO – official announcement on the launch of the new generation PKD system on 27 March 2026, with a description of the system’s purpose and expected effects on travel security and fluidity.- WTTC – statement of 27 March 2026 in which WTTC supports the new ICAO platform and presents its position on real-time verification of digital travel credentials.- ICAO PKD – official overview of the Public Key Directory system and explanation of its role in the authentication of electronic machine-readable travel documents.- ICAO ePassport Validation – official explanation of the e-passport verification process and clarification that validation does not require the exchange of the passport holder’s personal data.- ICAO PKD Participants – official list of PKD participants, including the information that Croatia joined the system on 1 April 2019.- WTTC Research Hub – overview of the Better Borders report on the role of smarter border management, digital technologies, and visa policies in economic and tourism growth.- WTTC and SITA – publication with key estimates from the Better Borders report, including projections on additional GDP and new jobs by 2035.- WTTC Seamless Traveller Journey – overview of WTTC’s positions on safer and smoother travel through the use of biometrics and digital technologies.- ICAO High-Level Guidance on Digital Travel Credentials – ICAO guidance from June 2024 on digital travel credentials and their place in future international transport.- UN Tourism – publication from January 2026 on the growth of international tourist arrivals in 2025 and expectations for 2026, as context for growing pressure on border systems.
Find accommodation nearby
Creation time: 2 hours ago