The passenger experience gap between aviation and maritime isn't new. What's new is the cost of ignoring it.

Cruise and ferry passengers now arrive at terminals having cleared international airports in under two minutes using biometrics. They've pre-checked bags, received real-time gate updates, and navigated a digital journey that requires minimal friction. Then they join a manual queue, present physical documentation they've already submitted online, and wait.

For operators competing on passenger loyalty, this is no longer a secondary concern. It is a commercial one.

The pressure isn't only coming from passenger expectations. Regulatory requirements around digital documentation and port data sharing are advancing. The window for proactive digitisation - on operators' own terms, at their own pace, is narrowing.

Aviation didn't arrive at its current capability through a single technology decision. It built interoperable, data-driven passenger processing infrastructure over decades and the result is the global benchmark every traveller now carries in their expectations.

Maritime doesn't have to build the same thing from scratch. The architecture, the standards, and the operational models exist. The question is how to apply them intelligently in a maritime environment.

That's the conversation we're hosting on Tuesday 14 July - a thought leadership session bringing together senior operational and technology leaders from Insight, Smartsea, Cruise Gate Hamburg and SITA to examine where cruise and ferry terminal digitisation is going, and what the credible path forward looks like.

Joining us:
• Steven Hemmings, Client CTO, Insight
• Kris Vedat, CEO, SmartSea
• Benoit Verbaere, Director Business Development, SITA
• Jörg Jocker, Senior Director Operations, Cruise Gate Hamburg
• Moderated by Nick Chubb, Founder & Strategy Director, Thetius

What You'll Learn:

• How cruise and ferry terminals are approaching digital transformation
• Lessons maritime can learn from aviation's passenger processing and operational models
• The role of biometrics, data integration and intelligent infrastructure in improving passenger experiences
• How AI and digital technologies can enhance efficiency, security and terminal performance
• Key considerations for ports, terminal operators and technology partners as they plan future investments