Here's Where a Record Number of Americans Will Travel in 2015 Dora Hasan Mekouar - VOA News
go to original January 24, 2015

Mexico Live It to Believe It - Tourism 2015 (Mexico/Anthony.s)

Thanks to lower gas prices and a stronger dollar, Americans are expected to take a record number of international trips in the next couple of years, and more exotic locales such as Cuba and Myanmar are on their radar.

Emerging from a recession that kept many grounded for the past few years, Americans are venturing abroad again. Euromonitor International, a market research company, estimates Americans will make about 64 million trips to foreign countries in 2015.

Their number-one destination with be Mexico, thanks to that country’s proximity to the United States.

“There are a lot of cultural ties between the two countries,” said Michelle Grant, travel research manager at Euromonitor International. “But then, the country is also known for its leisure activities, lots of all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, so a lot of Americans are choosing to vacation there as well as visit their friends and family or to conduct business.”

Many of those visitors will drive to Mexico, as well as to Canada, the second most popular foreign destination for Americans. But they are also flying. About 6 million Americans caught a flight to Mexico in 2013, while 3.8 million flew to Canada. The next most visited destination is the United Kingdom, where 2.5 million Americans are expected to visit in 2015.

Many will be business travelers.

Americans tend to stay clear of countries with a reputation for instability. While they’ll still visit isolated tourist centers like Los Cabos and Cancun, Acapulco, which used to be a famous international destination, is now a no-go zone thanks to violence and instability, according to Grant.

“Americans are more aware of the things that are going on globally, thanks to the speed with which information travels now but they understand that it can be very localized,” she said. “The Mexican government has done a good job of convincing Americans that it’s safe to travel to certain parts of the country. ”

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