23% may not have passports, but on the other hand, 77% DO have passports. thats a pretty good average. Many people have no interest in leaving their home state or the united states. they may cannot afford the air travel or they may be afraid to travel by airplane. Many americans are homebodies and are content with vacationing in the united states, only.

I am part of the 23%. However, I vacation outside the US on a regular basis. I travel to Canada and Bermuda, neither of which required a Passport. I understand that a change is in the air, and passports will be required. I guess I will have to break down and get one. I have a theory as to why so many Americans don't travel outside of the U.S. The United States is a very large land mass, with just about every type of geological and sociological feature that can be imagined. We have sunny, sandy beaches - Florida & California. We have major urban centers - New York and Los Angeles. We have entertainment and gaming areas - Las Vegas and Atlantic City. We have mountainous areas for skiing and climbing - Colorado and Utah. We have oceanside retreats - Cape Cod and Myrtle Beach. We have tropical islands - Hawaii. We have majestic glaciers - Alaska. We even have flatlands as far as the eye can see - Iowa and Kansas. From where I live, I can be in Boston within half an hour, on the beach within five minutes, or in the mountains within a two hour drive. I can also ride my bicycle to the location the pilgrims first landing in Plymouth in 1620, or stand on the shore that Myles Standish surveyed in the seventeenth century. I can hike in hills that were inhabited and hunted by the Wampanoags for thousands of years. (I once found a flint arrowhead while hiking in the Blue Hills Reservation.) I definitely have a desire to see the rest of the world, but I must admit that it is kind of a pain to have to get a passport. Can't we all just show our drivers license and birth certificate like I do at the Canadian border?

Keep in mind the difference in size between the United States and most European countries. The United States occupies about the same amount of land area all of Europe. As a result of this, There is a lot more to see and do inside of the US than there is in any single European nation. Then there is the travel factor. From most European nations, it is less than a day's drive to the nearest international boarder. From most places in the US it is at least a two day drive to the nearest international boarder. The distances involved in travel to get outside of the US also means that it is going to cost more to go to another country (however you get there) than it is for someone in Europe to do so. So, given the expense, time involved, and the fact that there is so much to see in the US, there is not as much incentive to go outside of the country for vacations as there is for those living in Europe (or other parts of the world). This is not meant as a dig at other countries. Other countries do have much to offer, but most people want to see various sites in their own countries before they start traveling abroad. In the US, one can spend most of their lives seeing what there is to see here. So, they don't get around to going abroad.