| Hi everyone, it's Natalia. With summer around the corner, I'm finding myself day-dreaming about a seaside vacation, spending lazy days diving into the ocean to cool off from the warm sun. That feels like a distant reality now, but over the next few months new technology could help bring summer travel into the realm of possibility. In Europe, which accounts for half of the world's tourist arrivals, officials say mobile infection-tracing apps are set to play an important role in easing border restrictions. This week, the EU is set to include guidelines for such apps when it unveils new measures aimed at shoring up the bloc's tourism sector. Meanwhile, airports are testing remote thermal imaging to screen passengers for fevers before they board, and are mulling other technology to lessen the risk of flying. Major U.S. carriers have backed wide-spread temperature screening by the Transportation Security Administration. Restaurants in terminals are adopting contactless check-out systems. And London's Heathrow is trialing ultraviolet light sanitation to quickly disinfect security trays. On Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined a 14-day quarantine requirement for new arrivals to the country. (Not a great way to start your vacation.) But the U.K. is also testing new ways to make quarantines less necessary. For example, London-based startup Onfido is working on "immunity passport" technology. The idea, which has been floated by the British government, is rooted in the theory that people who have coronavirus antibodies would be protected against re-infection. Onfido announced Tuesday it would build the technology into mobile hotel booking app Sidehide, allowing users to verify their identity and immunity status with hotels or authorities. Any solutions—no matter how small—would be welcome to the tourism industry, which has been clobbered by the crisis and which represents about 10% of Europe's economy. But as with all technologies, there are limits to their effectiveness. The World Health Organization has said there is currently "no evidence" that people who have recovered from the virus and have antibodies are protected from a second infection, suggesting an immunity passport may create a false sense of security. While mobile contact-tracing applications could help authorities map the spread of the virus, they have limitations for travelers. Currently, the tracing apps for France and the U.K. are being developed in a way that would make them incompatible with those in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. That could make it difficult for authorities to exchange information about infections if people traveled across borders. The EU is expected to issue minimum requirements for interoperability of the apps this week. And not only is it unclear how effective these technologies will be, people will also have to make privacy tradeoffs—handing over potentially sensitive information about their health, contacts and locations—if they want to benefit. All those concerns could feel a little less urgent, though, if the flipside is a summer vacation. People could find they're willing to hand over more information than they're used to if it makes it possible to spend a few days by the sea in the middle of a heat wave. I know I might. —Natalia Drozdiak | 
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