bookchick

According to this, about 27% of Americans have valid passports:

http://www.thebta.org/syndicate/news.../cat_whti.html

Since the topic here is being discussed so extensively (as I live near the Canadian border), I've heard stats bandied about citing from 14% to 30% having valid US passports.

BC

J_Correa

I think the shortage of vacation time and the size of the US has more to do with the travel habits of Americans than money.

I've been with my company for 5 years and am just now starting to accrue 3 weeks of vacation a year - an increase from 2 weeks a year. I went to Germany this summer for 2 weeks. I used all my alloted vacation days for the year on 1 trip. Fortunately, I don't have to use my vacation time to go visit family at holidays and things like that, so I could.

Pegontheroad

If I were to travel to Madrid from my home in Spokane, Washington, IN FEBRUARY, it would cost a minimum of $1200 (1440 euros) for airfare and 18 hours of travel time from takeoff to landing. And that expense does not include hotels, ground transportation, meals, entrance fees, etc.

A small minority of people in my hometown can afford this kind of expense. Going to Europe is a major undertaking, not like flying from England to Krakow or to Croatia for a week.

I think you're right about more Americans getting passports because of the new requirement in re:travel to Canada. My redneck (???) brother is getting his first passport now so that he can go to Canada (3 hours north of here) for hotrod-related events.

marginal_margiela

I honestly believe that most Americans don't travel outside the U.S. is because they don't like to operate outside their comfort zone. Large number of Americans I talk to a uncomfortable traveling to a county where the language spoken is not English. They also uncomfortable eating foreign food that they can't pronounce. Some are afraid that they will not be liked because they are American.

Also, many Americans travel as a family. It is much easier to take the whole family to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Disney World, Ocean City, etc. than trying to convince little Vicki or little Johnny that they will enjoy the Louvre.

I don't agree that travel to Europe is more expensive than travel WITHIN the U.S. I know people who spend $450 a night for a hotel room in Ocean City, MD. Food and drink is also VERY EXPENSIVE at places like OC, Disney World, Las Vegas.

Michel_Paris

I don't think that I agree with the statement that travel to Europe is expensive, or that not enough holidays is the issue. I live in Canada, and our currency has been weaker than the US$, plus we get no more holidays than the US, plus...air travel inside of Canada is expensive.

But the idea of comfort zones and lnaguages is an interesting one. In Canada (view from my city in particular) we are very multicultural for one if I go to the local mall I probably hear another language 1/3 of the time, and we are very used to seeing and hearing a second language (French). And of course, trips to Florida, Mexico and Cuba are very common amongst my friends during our winters.

PalenqueBob

How many Americans own passports? (Phil Gyford: Writing)Incidentally, I graphed the statistics for US passports issued per year [updated ... Does anyone have any stats on how many African Americans own passports? ...
http://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2...ny_america.php

wombat7

I find ths statement a little difficult to swallow!
"If you are French, going to Germany or Italy is like a Pennslyvanian traveling to New Jersey or Delaware"
Unless we are talking about distance only - and even then I am not so sure

ma23peas

I found it very interesting that while traveling in England last week, very few Englanders knew their area. I've lived in Georgia, Tennessee, Washington, Colorado and Alabama. Each area I could still tell you where any area was within a 2 hour drive of our town...I just like getting to know the area. We asked for help in finding the best way to get out of London to head to Hampton Court, 3 of 4 didn't know where Hampton Court was...then going from Hampton Court to the Cotswolds..3 of 4 didn't have a clue. The only reason we found a way to Oxford was because one of the 4 we asked had a sister that lived there. Then when we hit Oxford we asked for help to Burford or confirmation we were headed in the right direction..no one had heard of Burford. Then in Burford we asked about Bruern, no one had heard of Bruern...luckily we found a man at a gas station that had a universal locator and plugged in the postal code and gave us directions. Yes, we had a map, but amazingly many of these roads are not marked as they are in the states...it was not a fluke, folks just don't seem to travel their own country, they may surely have a passport but they can't tell you how to get to Oxford, or know where or what the A-40 is.

Tara

PalenqueBob

Europeans don't always travel 'abroad' as much as we assume i think-

I went with a French girl once who had been working in Nice for a few years and had never gone to Italy, just a few miles away - I asked her why and she said she just never thought about it nor cared apparently.

Very few of my French-in-laws ever venture out of France - most take their month of August off and head like lemmings to the nearest seaside.

Very few have ever been to Germany, england, Switzerland, etc. If French were required to have passports to visit other EU countries i think few would actually get them.

wombat7

Peas- interesting point - density of population and price of gas perhaps? But must be more than that. Am always staggered by how quickly a regional accent can change - Liverpool to Manchester is about 40km and yet the accents are dramtically different

hanl

A huge proportion of French people never holiday outside their own borders. I know lots of French people who've never been out of France, particularly older people.

Paris is the exception, I think, as the residents tend to be more open minded, mobile and likely to travel further afield. And of course as travel is so centralised in France, it's much easier to get to other places if you are based in Paris.

Friends of mine who lived in Brittany used to go to Benodet every year for their summer holiday, about 15 km south of their home in Quimper!!

logos999

>A huge proportion
Really? The proportion of Germans who never go on holiday abroad must be close to zero.

logos999

Many elder guys were sent on state financed holidays all over Europe... No passport needed at the time.

PalenqueBob

If you visit seaside resorts like in Croatia or Spain or Greece there are many Germans there - not so many French but Germans i believe do travel abroad more - perhaps because they have no warm weather resorts in their own country and the weather is so funky, even in summer.

France is often called Europe's number one country for Europeans to visit - Provence being the tops. Perhaps the French have too many nice places on their door step to venture abroad. Some do go to Martinique, however.

klta

Almost 20% of Americans live in poverty. If you don't think traveling internationally is expensive, try doing it with a family of four living on 20K a year. Travel may not be prohibitively expensive to those of us on this site, but there are many others who can only dream about it. I think this lesson is a bit lost on European societies with much stronger social services systems than ours.

I'm sure that comfort level is a factor for many, but let's not discount the importance of income. I consider myself very, very lucky to be able to travel as I do. Plus it makes it that much more enjoyable.

Christina

I don't think it is social services exactly, as disposible income may not be too different. Personally, I think we do have higher expenses in the US, but some folks claim the higher taxes in Europe make up for it. I don't agree, as I think the taxes in the US are almost as high as many countries providing a lot more to their citizens (at least for those of moderate to higher income, and I don't mean vastly wealthy).

I think the main reason is just that from the US, it is very expensive and takes a lot of time to travel internationally. From many European countries, you can travel internationally and be back the same day. So, you can easily visit Belgium from France, for example, if you just want to take a day trip. Germans can day trip to France, Czech Republic, etc (and they do). So, it is much more the custom from a young age, and people get used to that. Look at the young British citizens who go to other countries just for the weekend or to have stag or hen parties and that kind of nonsense.

I don't know statistics, but it seems to me Germans travel a lot, also, as I know quite a few. They don't have that much money but do somehow think it's mandatory to go to a beach a lot (whether in the US or someplace in Europe), even when they can't afford it. But they have to leave the country to be in a very different kind of place, and it's true, the US is so varied, that you can see a lot different kinds of things without going international (beaches, mountains, deserts, cities, etc.).

nona1

I'd disagree with the person who said most British people have travelled outside of Europe. I know many Brits who have never been outside of the UK, and most of those who have, have only been to Europe (myself included). Long-haul trips are becoming more common, yes, but I doubt very much that 'most' Brits have been on them. Possibly most Brits in the poster's circle, but don't assume that applies to everyone. It is still too expensive for most people.

Jack

From 1996 to 2005 (passports are good for 10 years), the U.S. issued slightly less than 73 million passports. As the U.S. population was slightly more than 295 million in 2005, approximately 24% of U.S. citizens hold passports. As quoted, the total number of U.S. passport holders exceeds the total population of either the UK or France.

thursdaysd

jack - you're assuming that people have only one passport issued in a 10 year period. Certainly not true for me.

Jack

I'm curious as to why someone would get multiple passports before they expired. I got my last passport in 1997 and will be getting a new one next year in 2007.