We saw a small but significant step forward in the industry’s fight against fraud this week with the formal establishment of the trade’s first Fraud Intelligence Network (Fin) and its database of more than 1,000 criminals.
The network aims to prevent serial fraud by preventing those convicted of offences in travel from re-entering the sector, and has had some early success.
Travel Weekly is delighted to have partnered with the Prevention of Fraud in Travel group to run the seven-week Secure Our Systems campaign, to highlight some of the issues posed by cybercrime. No travel company is immune from cyberattacks and we clearly all need to protect ourselves.
The challenges of operating securely in today’s digital environment were highlighted by hackers accessing the data of up to 500 million guests of Starwood Hotels’ brands, and going undetected for four years.
If Marriott International, the world’s biggest hospitality group, can be exposed in this way, how much more vulnerable are smaller, independent businesses? Fin needs to be just the start. The sector needs more initiatives, deeper partnerships and broader coalitions to combat fraud.
We need clarity on the post-Brexit landscape
It’s doubtful we will see a resolution of the uncertainty around Brexit next week, as most MPs seem ready to reject the exit deal the government has negotiated with the EU.
Assuming that is the case, let’s hope MPs quickly find an alternative course, as chaos in March will help no one. As easyJet’s Johan Lundgren told Travel Weekly’s latest Business Breakfast, we need clarity on how things will proceed.