The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) of Jamaica today announced that kiosks, supplied by air transport and government IT solutions provider SITA, will use sophisticated biometric checks to process passengers quickly and securely. Passenger throughput at the borders is expected to increase by close to 60 percent.

The growing use of mobile technology when planning travel has spawned a new class of traveler – the Digital Elite – those who own and use two different mobile devices: smartphones and tablets. And this Digital Elite group of travelers is growing faster and spending more on vacations than less-connected travelers.

In the past week, several airports in the Americas announced they will join the ranks of 25 regional airports currently offering expedited border control processing to international travelers via automated passport control (APC) kiosks.

Iberia and Samsung have come together to provide a smarter way for travelers to show their boarding passes at the airport. That’s right; passengers can now simply flash their boarding passes via their Samsung Gear 2 and Gear Neo smart watches at the airport checkpoint.