2007: The Year in U.S. Passports
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 12.27.07 | 4:27 PM ET
We American travelers often complain that too few of our fellow citizens hold passports, but perhaps we can complain a little less in 2008. Reports the AP: “The State Department issued a record 18.4 million passports in fiscal year 2007, compared to 12.1 million in 2006. Thirty percent of Americans now hold passports, up from 27%.” The boost was thanks largely to new passport requirements, not because the nation suddenly awoke to the joys of international travel. And according to the same report, Americans are expected to travel closer to home over the coming year because the dollar is so weak overseas. But we have to take the good news where we can get it, right?
Related on World Hum:
* How I Scored a New U.S. Passport in One Day
* U.S. Passports in Demand: Lines Look ‘Like a Rolling Stones Concert 25 Years Ago’
* The New U.S. Passport: ‘It Is Like Being Given A Coloring Book That Your Brother Already Colored In’