Wealth. Prosperity. Mobility.
You might not have noticed it, but our standard of living is rising, and it’s happening with surprising speed.
I want to give you a statistic to prove this point.
In 1990, only 5% of Americans held a passport.
However, by 2024, that number had jumped to almost 50%.
This is an astonishing change, and it’s happened in less than 40 years.
Source: USAFacts
What fascinates me is what this says about the United States:
- In 1990, international travel was still unusual for the average American.
- For most families, the world they inhabited was overwhelmingly domestic. America itself was enormous. Families could ski in Colorado, holiday in Florida, trek through the Grand Canyon, drive the Californian coast, or spend Christmas in New York. And they could do all of this without ever crossing an international border.
- But over the years, things changed. Air travel became cheaper. Incomes increased. And a rising middle class became aspirational, embracing global travel.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
I find the result to be quite remarkable:
- Since 1990, America’s population has grown by almost 40%. Yet the number of passports has soared by over 2,000%.
- This cultural shift is profound. Once upon a time, a passport was considered a luxury item carried by diplomats, businessmen, and adventurers. But today, a passport feels totally ordinary. It’s as boring as a driver licence. Almost everyone has access to one.
Now, as global travel surges, demographics are playing a role. According to The Wall Street Journal, it’s the baby boomers who are leading the way. They are spending big, and it’s no surprise why:
Baby boomers collectively have more wealth than any other living generation, and they are splurging on travel. They are living longer, have more free time and are in better shape than their parents and grandparents. As the first of the boomers hit their 80s, there is also a greater urgency to see as much of the world as they can.
Source: Axios
When it comes to tourism, the trend looks positive. Except for a brief interruption during Covid, American outbound travel has been climbing steadily:
- So I’ve been watching one tourism-related company. It has built a platform to capitalise on the hunger for travel, and it seems poised to capture the upward swing.
- Could there be more growth to come?
Your first Quantum Wealth Report is waiting for you:
