Cybersecurity in Travel and Tourism – Thematic Research

The global cybersecurity revenue in the travel & tourism industry was $1.4 billion in 2021. The travel and tourism sector is becoming increasingly digitalized, embracing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and the cloud.

The travel industry holds hugely valuable and sensitive data on every traveler. If these data points are not well protected, there are significant risks for the customers, who could have their data stolen. Several high-profile companies within the sector have made negative headlines due to poor cybersecurity. Cybercriminals exploit the vulnerabilities within a cybersecurity strategy, so a rigorous approach is central to effective risk management. To tackle cyber threats, a company’s cybersecurity strategy must involve contingency planning, outlining immediate actions, post-breach responses, and an understanding of the company’s current cyber risks.

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What is the impact of cybersecurity on the travel & tourism market?

The travel and tourism sector is one of the most susceptible to cyberattacks. With attacks becoming more common and increasingly sophisticated, the risk and impact of cyber-ignorance are escalating. The different layers of the travel and tourism value chain handle huge amounts of personal data and involve numerous individuals susceptible to human error, interacting with millions of customers in cyberspace. Therefore, given the growing sophistication of attacks, simply thoroughly investigating cybersecurity strategies in the aftermath of a cyberattack or focusing on meeting compliance obligations will not suffice.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in cyberattacks, and organizations had to react rapidly to significant operational and financial challenges. Dependence on online communication and payment systems accelerated because of the pandemic, which led to an increase in demand for digitalization. This has spurred various companies to streamline operations, shifting business models to become more digitalized and increasing the threat of cyberattacks.

Companies with poor risk management can expose their business to numerous threats that could significantly jeopardize an organization’s future viability. A rigorous cybersecurity strategy is central to effective risk management. This is noteworthy as the survey also showed that respondents from the travel and tourism industry felt that risk management was the most important of the corporate governance factors. An ineffective strategy can result in criminals hacking and exploiting sensitive data, putting the business, employees, and consumers at risk.

What are the key cybersecurity value chains?

The key cybersecurity value chains can be divided into three segments: hardware, software, and services.

Hardware

With chips now being used in mission-critical servers and safety-critical applications, protecting chips from cyberattacks is becoming more critical and more expensive. Systems vendors such as Apple and Amazon are increasingly designing their chips rather than buying commercially developed devices and intellectual property (IP) created by third-party developers.

Software

The software element of the cybersecurity value chain comprises the following areas: identity management, network security, endpoint security, threat detection & response, cloud security, data security, email security, application security, unified threat management, and vulnerability management.

Services

The services element of the cybersecurity value chain comprises the following areas: managed security services, post-breach response services, and risk & compliance services. Services are typically outsourced because of the complexity of addressing cybersecurity-related issues, such as staying on top of vulnerabilities, identifying & responding to threats, and meeting compliance requirements.

Which are the leading travel & tourism companies that are deploying cybersecurity?

The leading travel & tourism companies that are deploying cybersecurity are Accor, Air France – KLM, Booking Holdings, Despegar, easyJet, Hilton, JR East Group, LATAM Airlines, Marriott International, Melia Hotels International, Qatar Airways, Southwest Airlines, TUI, United Airlines, and Wyndham.

Which are the specialist cybersecurity vendors in the travel & tourism market?

The specialist cybersecurity vendors in the travel & tourism market are Ekran System, F-Secure, VigiTrust, ITSEC Group, and TitanHQ.

Market Report Overview

Scope

• This report provides an overview of cybersecurity in travel and tourism.
• This report explains why cybersecurity will continue to grow in importance for the travel and tourism industry.
• This report outlines how an effective cybersecurity strategy is crucial for the traveler experience.
• This report provides examples of what companies and organizations in the travel and tourism industry are doing in reaction to this theme, and how they create differentiation.

Key Highlights

The travel and tourism industry is highly exposed to attacks due to the wealth of personal data it stores. The lodging sector is the third most targeted by hackers, according to the Trustwave 2020 Global Security report. Worth $1.3 billion in 2020, cybersecurity revenues in the travel and tourism sector are forecasted to reach $2.1 billion by 2025.

The travel industry holds hugely valuable and sensitive data on every traveler. If these data points are not well protected, there are significant risks for the customers, who could have their data stolen. Such breaches can damage a company’s reputation. Several high-profile companies within the sector have made negative headlines due to poor cybersecurity. Cybercriminals exploit the vulnerabilities within a cybersecurity strategy, so a rigorous approach is central to effective risk management. To tackle cyber threats, a company’s cybersecurity strategy must involve contingency planning, outlining immediate actions, post-breach responses, and an understanding of the company’s current cyber risks.

The travel and tourism sector is becoming increasingly digitalized, embracing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud. As the digital ecosystems of companies grow, they become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. The industry is fragmented, with direct suppliers sharing data with third-party intermediaries, increasing the number of potential entry points for attackers to exploit. Data is most secure when all companies across the travel and tourism value chain invest in all layers of the cybersecurity value chain. Collaboration is vital, and companies must ensure that all of their vendors also have suitable measures in place. It takes only one vulnerable device to compromise an entire network, impacting the reputation of a business and damaging both the companies they work with and customers’ security.

Reasons to Buy

• To understand cyber risk and its current and future impact on the industry.
• To understand how key challenges that the travel and tourism sector is facing have accelerated the need for greater cybersecurity.
• To identify the leading adopters and specialist vendors of cybersecurity.
• GlobalData’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. It has a proven track record of identifying the important themes early, enabling companies to make the right investments ahead of the competition, and secure that all-important competitive advantage.