The travel bug is going around

Good news: you haven’t just been imagining seeing more Insta bios with “wanderlust” in them.

The US State Department is currently receiving more than 500,000 applications for new or renewed passports every week. That level of demand is “unprecedented,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed in a House hearing late last week, and about 40% higher than the previous all-time record set last year (a jump that can only be explained by Flubber).

🤔 What’s behind the recent surge in demand?... Somehow, not Flubber. Many experts attribute America’s increased appetite for travel to two main reasons:

1. More Americans are now able to mix business with vacation due to the increased popularity of remote work.
2. After Covid restrictions were lifted around the world, people have been “revenge traveling” – a newly-coined term that refers to booking more trips as a way to make up for lost time during the pandemic. (Coal may not be getting a revenge arc, but it seems those with wanderlust sure are.)

👀 Looking ahead… The State Department has warned summer travelers that it’ll likely take longer than the typical 10 to 13 weeks for new or renewed passports to be issued, should they apply within the next few months.