It’s certainly not breaking news that Americans don’t like to travel abroad.
According to the US Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, only 30% of Americans – the US has a population of over 308 million – hold passports, compared to 60% of Canadians and 75% of Brits.
Tourism experts agree that America’s lack of interest in international destinations while favouring domestic travel without the use of a passport can be put down to three points: ethnic and geographical diversity within the country; the work culture; travel time and cost.
“I’m sure you have great Irish traditional music in an American pub,” Joe Byrne, Executive VP of Tourism Ireland, points out, “but you don’t have the Lakes of Killarney.”