The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned that prolonged border delays linked to Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) could put up to 41 million visitor arrivals and $45.4bn in visitor spending at risk.
Research commissioned by WTTC found that around one-third of travellers from the UK, US, Canada and Australia would be less likely to visit the Schengen Area if border queues regularly reached three to four hours.
The findings are based on a survey of more than 2,500 travellers across the four markets and applied to visitor forecasts for 2026.
Among respondents, 39% of UK travellers said they would be much less likely to travel to the Schengen Area if delays exceeded three hours, followed by 33% of travellers from both the US and Canada and 27% from Australia.
Despite concerns around delays, the research found strong support for the new system, with 65% of respondents backing EES after learning about it. However, 55% said they had little or no awareness of the scheme and 49% were unclear about what would be required when entering or leaving the Schengen Area.
Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of WTTC, said: “The introduction of EES is an important step forward in modernising Europe’s borders and strengthening security. Our research clearly shows that travellers support digital and biometric border systems and understand the long-term benefits they can deliver.
Guevara acknowledged with any major transformation, there would inevitably be “teething problems” during the rollout and said the focus should be on ensuring governments, border authorities and the travel sector work together to minimise disruption.”
She added: “The good news is that solutions already exist. By making greater use of digital pre-registration tools, improving traveller communications and ensuring operational readiness at border crossing points, Europe can reduce friction and deliver the seamless experience travellers expect.”
WTTC is calling for wider adoption of digital pre-registration tools, improved traveller communications and greater operational readiness at border crossing points ahead of the rollout.
