Cybersecurity in Tourism Sector is Set to Make $2 Billion by 2025

The urgency to protect the most precious and valuable asset of the tourism industry, Customer information, went up as the recent digital transformation it has undergone left them open to cyber-attacks. GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, has estimated based on this shift that cybersecurity will be playing a major role in the upcoming years in the travel and tourism industry and has the potential to generate $2.1 billion in revenue. This is a significant rise from the $1.4 billion revenue in 2021.

 ‘Cybersecurity in Travel and Tourism – Thematic Research’, GlobalData’s latest report, reveals that the need to protect their customers’ personal data has led to the ever-growing demand for incorporating cybersecurity in travel and tourism companies.

The Thematic Analyst at GlobalData, Rachel Foster Jones states, “Travellers now expect a seamless experience whilst travelling, resulting in companies using technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud. However, this has made the sector vulnerable to cybercriminals as these technologies collect more personal and sensitive but valuable data.”

Industry regulators have started to impose fines on travel companies that fail to protect their customers’ data after a string of high-profile cyberattacks took place, placing the whole industry’s cybersecurity strategies under scrutiny. When a company fails to uphold their end of the bargain regarding cybersecurity, their company’s reputation is also jeopardized along with customers’ information.

Rachel Foster Jones continues: “Therefore, the risk of cyber-ignorance is escalating, and tourism companies need to start taking cybersecurity seriously. For an effective cybersecurity strategy, companies must keep up with new technologies and stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.

Effective cybersecurity strategies must involve contingency planning, as merely investigating an attack in its aftermath or simply meeting compliance obligations will not suffice, and instead will only lead to an endless cycle of spending. Travel and tourism companies have begun to take note, with many hiring a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to develop and implement effective information security programs."

She further added, “Hiring a CISO is a good start, but if travel and tourism companies want to prove that they are committed to cybersecurity, then they need to take this one step further. Companies should have their CISO sit on the board of directors as, currently, most corporate directors lack adequate expertise in cybersecurity. If companies are to uphold any environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials that they have, then they cannot ignore cybersecurity as it is a vital pillar of corporate governance.”