In a wide-ranging interview, Ygor Lutz, Co-founder and Chief Partnership Officer at Travizory, outlined the company’s pivotal role in transforming travel through digital innovation, biometric systems, and meaningful public-private partnerships. Speaking to VoyagesAfriq after his presentation on Travizory’s involvement in the first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup held in Africa, Lutz shared how the Seychelles has become a global model for smart border control and seamless visitor experience.
Reimagining Entry with Electronic Travel Authorisation
Travizory was at the heart of managing electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) for the event, a responsibility it already holds for all visitors entering Seychelles.
“Everyone coming into the Seychelles had to do an electronic travel authorization,” Lutz explained. “So we created a special workflow or process for the FIFA delegation and for the teams to come here in a seamless way, without paying a fee.”
To facilitate this, Travizory customised its portal to accommodate the specific needs of the event, showing how adaptable their technology can be when engaging with large-scale organisers like FIFA. But it’s more than just event logistics it’s a vision of the future.
“We changed a little bit our portal for this event.”, he said
Biometric Integration Beyond Borders
Facial recognition technology is one of Travizory’s more ambitious innovations. Lutz emphasised that tourists do not need to re-register after they are authorised by the system to enter locations such as Eden Island using their biometric identity.
“Your face can be used for other purposes if you opt in and agree , so that you don’t need to re-enroll your face, but it can be pushed to the organiser.”
This vision extends to everyday services.
“Why do you need to give your passport again to the hotel if you’ve been vetted by the government?” he asked. Instead, a traveller’s ETA credential could unlock hotel rooms, enable SIM card activation, or even rent a car all without physical documentation.
“We want tourists to spend as little time as possible dealing with processes, and have as few headaches as possible.”
Tech and Tourism: A Mutually Reinforcing Ecosystem
As Seychelles leans further into digital border management, Travizory is positioning itself as a critical player not only in security and immigration, but in tourism strategy. By capturing and analysing rich travel data, Travizory provides tourism boards and authorities with real-time insights on visitor demographics, trip duration, and spending behaviour.
“We provide unparalleled rich data sets and reports to the tourism board… to help them understand even better who comes here, for how long, and how much they spend,” Lutz explained. This data-driven approach helps authorities refine their services and better target the types of travellers they want to attract.
Backing Local Communities Through Sport
Beyond its digital credentials , Travizory sponsored the national beach football team as a way to show its support for the Seychelles community.
“We believe in youth, we believe in sport,” Lutz said with pride. “We really wanted to do something good for the Seychelles besides the funding we raise for charities.”
Faster Approvals, Smarter Systems
Travellers occasionally face delays with approval processes, an issue Lutz did not shy away from. In response, he shared plans for enhancing the approval experience through AI-driven automation.
“If the visitor ticks all the boxes, perhaps the machine can approve that person… if everything is fine, the person has been vetted, does not pose a risk : then why not approve that person automatically?”
Additionally, Travizory is working with Seychelles immigration authorities to introduce a “speed lane” for Seychellois citizens : allowing them to enter and exit using only facial recognition, without documents.
“I’m really happy to say that we’re speaking with immigration authorities to have a speed lane, a fast lane, just for Seychellois to enter and exit the country with their face only”, he enthused
From Seychelles to the Sub-Region and Beyond
Travizory’s work in Seychelles is already inspiring other countries. “From the Caribbean, from Europe, from South Africa, from Gabon, from Kenya all of these delegations came to the Seychelles because you’re so advanced with your technologies and solutions,” Lutz said.
Countries like Kenya and South Africa are following suit, with their own ETAs either launched or in progress. The European Union is expected to roll out a similar system by 2026.
“It’s the future of travel,” he said simply. “We will see more and more countries in Africa, Northern, Central, Eastern, Southern , adopting such solutions to vet people ahead of time. It’s good for all stakeholders: airports, airlines, governments, and of course, the visitors.”
A Vision Rooted in Innovation and Trust
Travizory provides more than just border control; it is a vision of an integrated, seamless travel ecosystem based on partnerships, digital identity, security, and convenience.
