“Unprecedented demand”
It seems that American wanderlust may be at an all-time high, with the State Department currently receiving over 500,000 passport applications every week in a period of “unprecedented demand”, as Secretary of State Antony Blinkin put it.
As a result, any planned summer breaks may require more administrative effort than usual if your current passport’s expired — the State Department said the process of getting a new one is set to take 10-13 weeks as the volume of applications, at times, even outstrips last year’s record-breaking rate by over 30%.
Revenge Travel
The concept of “revenge travel” really took off in 2022, as people booked getaways and vacations to make up for lost time caused by Covid, though globetrotters and holidaymakers don’t appear to be done yet. Indeed, thanks in part to a strong dollar, even inflation won’t quell the collective desire to explore, with nearly 50% of Americans reportedly planning to travel more than they did last year.
Passport issuing figures are beginning to reflect this new-found enthusiasm, after a steep drop-off during the pandemic. In 2020, the Department of State issued just 11.7 million passports, a 15-year low point, though that rose to 15.5 million in 2021 as the world gradually began to open back up. Last year things were more than back to normal, however, with a record ~22 million passports issued to help satisfy the increased appetite for travel in America.
