Majority of Europeans Prefer the Use of Digital Travel Documents

Photo source: Federation of Hellenic ICT Enterprises (SEPE)

The majority of Europeans prefer to use digital travel documents for extra-Schengen travel, according to a special Eurobarometer report released recently.

According to a survey conducted on 26,358 participants across the EU examining travel habits, past experiences and future travel expectations, 68 percent said they were in favor of Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs), while 66 percent said they also preferred having a single application for the use of digital travel documents at EU level rather than one for each country.

More than half (58 percent) of the study respondents said the main advantages of digital documentation include shorter waiting times at border controls, convenient travel procedures (44 percent), and smoother international travel (43 percent).

66% of Europeans would prefer to have one single DTC application at the EU level, rather than for each Member State. 23% would prefer to have an application for each EU Member State that they would download depending on the country they are travelling to or from. Source: europa.eu

Additionally, 80 percent said they owned a smart phone which could support digital travel documentation and were ready to download relevant applications, fill out administrative forms and check in online.

Source: europa.eu

Other key findings of the Eurobarometer report include:

– 43 percent of Europeans have crossed the external borders of the Schengen area within the past five years

– 27 percent travel at least once a year to or outside the Schengen area

– 74 percent said the main reason for travel outside Schengen was for tourism, followed by visiting family and friends (15 percent), and business trips, professional or training visits, as well as attending conferences account (7 percent)

– 66 percent of EU citizens said they intend to travel to or outside the Schengen area in the future, with 9 percent intending to do so more than twice a year, and 27 percent at least once.

Europeans place a high importance on improved border security as well as on faster border procedures. Source: europa.eu

Last year, Finland volunteered to be the first country in the European Union to test run the use of a digital passport which will allow passengers to travel paper-free and hopefully accelerate check-in procedures.