A record 87.7 million Americans traveled internationally in 2017, up 9% over 2016, according to the US National Travel & Tourism Office.
But growth in international travel from the United States is limited by a simple fact: just 41% of Americans have passports. By comparison, 57% of Australians, 66% of Canadians, and as of the last UK census, 76% of people in England and Wales, held a UK passport.
The fact that 60% of Americans do not have passports causes great frustration to airlines, hotels, ground transport providers and trip operators. It means that 200 million Americans can’t buy an international flight, a hotel room or a ticket to the Eiffel Tower or Roman Coliseum. It’s as if the travel industry is fighting with one hand tied behind its back.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is one travel company that is aware of the issue. Their Hilton Passport Project is designed to put more passports in the hands of Americans and “help them realize the power of travel.”
To that end, (and to help beat the passport paperwork hassle), Hilton is hosting a Passport Concierge event at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas on June 23 and 24. At this event, like other Passport Concierge weekends around the country, visitors can get some handholding to help them navigate the often-onerous application process, with help from on-site U.S. Department of State officials.
Passport photos will be taken for free. Hilton is even providing a hair and makeup artist so applicants will look their best in their on-site passport photos.
Facilities will be available to make free copies of identification documents. For children’s applications, a spokesman noted that there will be a notary on-site who can notarize completed DS-3053 forms, should only one parent be present.
The event is one of the few times weekend application hours are offered. Once an application is completed, future travelers can fully submit it on-site. Of course, the usual fees and processing times (the State Department is quoting 4 to 6 weeks for normal processing) will apply.
The Passport Concierge event at the Anatole follows Hilton Passport Project events in New York, Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Stamford, CT and Chicago. At those events, Hilton says they engaged over 8,000 guests, took more than 3,500 free passport photos and facilitated over 1,600 passport applications.
As Hilton and its brands (Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Canopy, etc.) have many properties in the US, why would it launch such an effort? A spokesperson noted that Hilton Hotels & Resorts has 570 properties spread across six continents. In addition, having a US passport can be helpful domestically as well. In our post-9/11 world, possession of a US passport may be helpful due to compliance restrictions associated with The REAL ID Act.
Hilton President & CEO Chris Nassetta is a supporter of the Hilton Passport Project. He is also Chairman of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), helping the organization advance priorities, such as facilitating safe travel domestically and abroad.
Hilton is not the first international travel company to see America’s lack of passports as an issue. Qantas ran a program in 2017 offering a discount of up to $135 for Americans to get a passport so they could fly Down Under. Although Qantas did not disclose how many Americans took advantage of the offer, the US National Travel & Tourism Office says that 776,000 Americans traveled to Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) in 2017, up seven percent.
“We were really pleased with how well our ‘Passport Take Off’ campaign resonated with American travelers. We had great response from customers taking advantage of the $135 discount we provided to travel to Australia on Qantas – the same cost as a U.S. passport,” a Qantas spokesperson told us. “We consider anything that encourages more people to travel to Australia to be a good thing.”
Travel to Australia, or anywhere else, starts with passport ownership. According to Hilton, more than half (53%) of Americans with passports are content with their lives versus just over a third (34%) of those who do not yet have passports.
Of course, while many Americans would like to travel, financial issues often get in the way. According to a rather downbeat poll by luggage maker Victorinox, 11% of Americans have never left their own state, 13% have never flown in an airplane, and 32% don’t own travel luggage.
Understandably, Hilton focuses on the positive when nudging Americans to get their passports. Hilton’s survey revealed that "76% of Americans think international travelers (all passport holders) are different than those who don't travel internationally.” Some 29% see international travelers as more fun, 26% see them as more creative and a few (7%) see them as sexier.
Ultimately, helping potential travelers get passports will be good for business, believes Stuart Foster, vice president, global marketing at Hilton. “Hilton guests are not only traveling internationally for leisure; we’ve seen an uptick in business and large group travel expanding internationally, as well. Helping more travelers get a passport is a natural extension of our hospitality, enabling travelers to get out and see more of the world."
