Laura Chadwick, President & CEO of the Travel Technology Association

House Republicans are set to introduce two new federal data privacy bills that would set nationwide rules for how companies collect and use personal data. The proposals replace more than 20 different state privacy laws and give consumers new rights to access and control their information.

This matters for the travel industry because travel companies – from booking platforms to B2B technology providers – handle large volumes of personal data across state lines every day. A single national standard would directly affect how these businesses operate, protect data and deliver seamless customer experiences.

Travel Tech has been involved in this process for more than a year, having previously submitted comments to the working group behind the draft. In light of today’s announcement, President and CEO Laura Chadwick has shared the following statement.

Laura Chadwick, President & CEO of the Travel Technology Association, responds to this news:

“A clear, consistent national privacy framework would be a significant step forward for the travel industry and the millions of consumers and businesses it serves every day. Travel is inherently interstate and increasingly digital – yet today, companies must navigate a growing patchwork of state laws that create confusion, increase compliance costs, and complicate the seamless experiences travelers expect.

“A federal standard that responsibly pre-empts conflicting state laws would provide much-needed clarity for both consumer-facing platforms and the many business-to-business companies that power the travel ecosystem behind the scenes. From booking and payments to distribution and data analytics, travel technology depends on the responsible flow of information across state lines.

Travel Tech believes all travelers should have strong and consistent federal data privacy and security protections, no matter where they live and regardless of their method of travel search or mode of transportation.”