Aruba to Roll Out Happy One Pass Travel Credential System After Successful Tests

Image: Aerial at Manchebo beach on Aruba island in the Caribbean (Photo via Nisangha / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Image: Aerial at Manchebo beach on Aruba island in the Caribbean (Photo via Nisangha / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Noreen Kompanik
by Noreen Kompanik
Last updated: 2:15 PM ET, Thu November 16, 2023

In partnership with the Office of the Minister of Tourism and Public Health for Aruba, The Aruba Tourism Authority has announced the successful demo of the Aruba Happy One Pass (AHOP) program and unveiled plans for the upcoming installation of the SITA Automatic Border Control Gates at Queen Beatrix International Airport.

The first of its kind, AHOP is a digital travel credential system that allows visitors to hold their data on their mobile devices and share it directly with immigration officials to create a hassle-free travel experience centered around privacy.

Travelers can now complete pre-boarding verification and smoothly cross border checkpoints without providing their physical passports once AHOP launches for all travelers coming to Aruba beginning in March 2024.

"The latest achievements for Aruba Happy One Pass signify our steady progress in transforming the traveler experience – ensuring our guests start their vacations sooner," said Ronella Croes, CEO of Aruba Tourism Authority. "Aruba is proud to continue building upon its innovative approach within the tourism industry, providing an exceptional travel experience for its visitors. We continue to look forward to the full implementation of the Aruba Happy One pass program."

Through AHOP, travelers turn their physical passports into verifiable digital credentials on their mobile devices. Additional biometric checks at immigration match traveler’s passport images via facial recognition. This process streamlines border control's flow, cutting wait times and getting travelers to their destinations quicker, while also reducing the risk of error, identity theft or fraud.

As an advocate for digital innovation in Aruba, Minister of Tourism and Public Health, Dangui Oduber envisions AHOP as a launching pad for digital transformation across the island’s tourist-focused economy and hopes to leverage it in different sectors, including hospitality, events and services. Through AHOP’s technology, Aruba is poised to offer a level of service that will propel it to the forefront of the global tourism industry.

"The emergence of digital identities means we will be able to travel from anywhere to everywhere – by air, land, or sea – without needing to show physical travel documents," said Jeremy Springall, SITA's Senior Vice-President, SITA AT BORDERS.

He adds, “This latest demonstration with AHOP represents a significant step forward in the shift towards digital travel. A critical feature of the technology is that it puts passengers first, following privacy-by-design principles that give passengers complete control of their data and permitting them to consent to sharing data when needed.”

Designed with a 'passenger-first' approach, AHOP allows passengers to hold their own data and biometrics, eliminating the need for third-party data storage – a true milestone in the industry. This feature ensures compliance with data protection laws and reassures visitors their personal information is protected and under their control.

“Adding biometrics to Aruba AHOP’s capabilities is an important step toward transforming global travel,” said Heather Dahl, CEO of Indicio, a global leader in verifiable data and decentralized identity technology. “It adds a critical element to identity verification, she added, “binding the credential to a person’s device so that we can be sure that when it’s used, it’s the credential owner using it. This provides the final element of trust to accelerate Aruba’s digital transformation of the travel and tourism experience. We are excited to see this result from our ground-breaking work with our partner SITA and where it will go next. We’d say, ‘The sky’s the limit,’ but we’ve already exceeded that.”


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