How Europe’s Groundbreaking Digital Identity Trials Are Set To Overhaul The Travel Experience By Automating Identity Checks And Reducing Operational Stress

Published on December 9, 2025

Europe’s digital identity transformation is set to revolutionize the travel and hospitality sectors. With the successful launch of large-scale pilot trials, the EU Digital Identity Wallet promises to streamline identity checks, automate data sharing, and enhance operational efficiency. This shift comes at a critical time when the demand for secure, seamless identity verification across borders, hotels, and airlines is growing, making it a crucial development for both travelers and service providers.

The digital identity transformation in Europe is entering a critical phase, marked by the successful completion of the EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium’s pilot project and the launch of two large-scale trials. These trials are set to revolutionize the way travelers prove their identities across borders, at hotels, with airlines, on ferries, and for a variety of digital services. The findings have brought a sense of urgency to the hospitality industry, which has long struggled with manual passport checks and complex regulations.

The Digital Identity Wallet, or EUDI Wallet, is central to these efforts, with its ability to store digital credentials such as passports, driving licenses, and payment details. This digital leap is poised to address the growing demand in regulated markets such as hotels, airlines, and banks, where identity verification is increasingly essential. According to experts, the future of travel is digital, offering streamlined processes that will reduce both the time spent by travelers and the administrative burden on service providers. However, the journey to widespread adoption is not without challenges, especially when it comes to reconciling digital identity standards.

The evolution of identity verification over the past century has been remarkable. From the advent of photo ID passports in the mid-20th century to the widespread implementation of digital systems in recent decades, the speed of progress has been accelerating. The EUDI Wallet represents the next major step in this evolution. This secure, government-issued digital identity container is expected to reshape the way people interact with travel and services across Europe.

As the demand for regulated identity checks grows, particularly in the hospitality and aviation sectors, the EUDI Wallet is set to address these needs. While passport checks have always been a staple of border control, identity checks in sectors like hospitality and airlines have increased significantly in recent years. For instance, hotel identity checks are projected to reach 3 billion by 2025, while airline checks have risen to 1.1 billion over the past decade. In contrast, border checks have seen a slight decline. This suggests that the most efficient use of digital identity will likely occur in hospitality and aviation, where identity checks happen most frequently.

The EU-funded Large Scale Pilot (LSP) projects, running from 2023 to 2025, are providing valuable insights into the real-world application of digital identity systems. The EUDI Wallet pilot program, which includes 24 countries and over 80 partners, is actively testing several major use cases in hospitality and travel, such as hotel check-ins, airline check-ins, museum age verifications, and ferry ticketing.

One of the pilot’s most significant breakthroughs occurred in Spain, where a hotel in Benidorm became the first to check in a guest using the EUDI Wallet. This pilot demonstrated how digital identity could streamline processes in line with new Spanish regulations that require hotels and holiday rental providers to collect a wide range of personal information from every guest. These complex requirements have created bottlenecks in high-traffic tourist areas, leading to errors, staff stress, and long waiting times. By automating the process with the EUDI Wallet, the pilot project allowed the hotel to handle the required data more efficiently, saving time and reducing errors.

However, despite its promise, there are gaps in the current digital identity standards, particularly when it comes to photo IDs. While the EU’s personal identification data (PID) includes basic details like names and dates of birth, it lacks a unique identifier and a photo, making it unsuitable for use in hotels and airlines. To address this, the EUDI Wallet pilot has focused on using PhotoID, an ISO-standard credential that includes all the necessary attributes of a passport. This has proven to be the most effective solution for regulated markets that need to uniquely identify their customers and comply with regulations.

The progress of digital identity adoption is uneven across different sectors of the travel industry. While airlines are ahead in terms of digital identity implementation, thanks to the work of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the hospitality sector has yet to establish a similar coordinated effort. Airlines, with their centralized governance structures, are already exploring biometric boarding systems, allowing travelers to use facial recognition to board flights without the need for physical documents. This move aligns with growing passenger demand for seamless, smartphone-based digital IDs, as highlighted by IATA’s 2025 Global Passenger Survey, which found that 74% of travelers would be willing to share biometric data to avoid queues.

As digital identity adoption accelerates in the travel sector, a key question remains: How will the hospitality industry keep pace? While airlines are already making strides, the hospitality industry must come together to push for workable standards and participate in shaping the future of digital identity. New pilots, such as APTITUDE and WE BUILD, are providing opportunities for hospitality businesses to get involved in the development of the European digital identity framework.

These upcoming pilots focus on travel, transport, business banking, and B2B credentials, with the potential to extend to hospitality in the future. Hotels that join now will have the opportunity to influence the next phase of wallet standardization, though they will need to cover their own costs. The urgency is clear: without active participation, hotels risk being left behind as airlines continue to lead the way in digital transformation.

The EU’s digital identity transformation is gaining momentum, and the hospitality industry must act quickly to remain competitive. Digital identity systems, such as the EUDI Wallet, offer significant potential to streamline identity verification processes across travel and hospitality. However, the adoption of these systems is not without challenges. To fully benefit from the digital identity revolution, the hospitality sector must work together, ensuring that it has a seat at the table as the future of digital identity in Europe is shaped.