US travel giant AAA reported Friday that 25.1 million Americans are expected to be traveling internationally this summer, an increase over last summer's 24.5 million despite aweak US dollar; the increase is partially attributed to the fact that more Americans now have passports, thanks to new passport rules for Mexico and Canada travel. Spending by Americans in other countries this summer will increase 5.7 percent to $30.7 billion primarily thanks to the weakness of the US dollar, which creates a poor exchange rate, and inflation.
The number of American travelers to China is expected to increase by 13.4 percent (573,000 American travelers) and to India by 13.1 percent (227,000). Visits to France will increase 6.7 percent, and Ireland, Italy and Germany will see small jumps. The largest volume of US international travel will be to Mexico.
