Tencent Cloud is joining forces with blockchain company ShareRing to launch a new digital identification arrangement to streamline international travel amid the COVID-xix pandemic.

As the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday, ShareRing will combine its distributed ledger applied science with Tencent Cloud's services to create a blockchain-based digital identity management platform.

Specifically, ShareRing will utilize Tencent Cloud's optical grapheme recognition and facial recognition engineering science to assistance improve its "self-sovereign identity app." In its current course, the app can be used to book flights, hotel reservations, auto rentals and a variety of other services.

In a joint statement, Tencent Deject and ShareRing said the aim of this partnership is to help Southeast Asian countries "reopen their borders to tourism and recover from the economic blow" of COVID-19.

The travel and tourism industry has been ravaged by global lockdowns, with S&P Global Ratings forecasting a 60% to 70% drop in global air traffic this year.

The companies indicated that the platform has already received interest from various government agencies in the Clan of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes 10 member states.

Blockchain technology has long been touted equally a potential value-driver of digital recognition systems. Blockchain is said to provide more secure management and storage of digital identities, which may enable seamless travel, background checks, wellness tape collection and streamlined Know Your Customer protocols.

This isn't the starting time time Tencent Cloud has been linked to blockchain product evolution. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the tech conglomerate previously built a wine traceability platform for China'due south oldest wine producer. Tencent is also backing a blockchain consortium called FISCO BCOS through its WeBank entity.

ShareRing did not immediately reply to a request for annotate

Update twenty:35pm ET 12/1/twenty: An earlier version of this story referred to Tencent. It has been updated to annotation that Tencent Deject is working with ShareRing.