Does the low number of American passports shock you?

By Keith Still

In the coming weeks and months, two members of my family will be taking major ?first? trips. As we have been preparing our daughter for her first trip to Europe and my husband for his first trip to Asia, I ran across this CNN story that surprised me. At least, it surprised me at first. The report states that only 30 percent of American citizens hold passports.

If that seems to you like a pretty low number, you?re not alone. In the story, the U.S. Travel Association?s Bruce Bommarito said 30 percent is too low for such an affluent country as the United States. As I read, I nodded along. Why don?t more Americans have passports? I mean, really, my young daughter has one.

Then, I remembered. My own passport has expired, and while I have said several times over the past year that I need to renew it?I haven?t yet.

The reason? I haven?t needed it. I haven?t planned a trip abroad since my passport expired ? mainly because every time I think about …

Source: http://blogs.ajc.com/still-traveling-blog/2011/03/02/does-the-low-number-of-american-passports-shock-you/?cxntfid=blogs_still_traveling_blog

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