“American travel has transformed in recent decades. A nation of former homebodies has become one of zealous and moneyed international travelers, infiltrating every cobblestoned corner of Europe and rapidly filling lesser-known destinations.

Americans took a record 24 million trips to Europe in 2025. Portugal received nearly five times the number of U.S. visitors last year as it did a decade earlier. Greece took in four times as many…

Behind the shift is a supercharged U.S. economy that in the course of a generation has created a larger and wealthier class of Americans that views travel as an essential rather than a luxury. Older Americans, who are driving this new era of travel, hold about $110 trillion in wealth. They’re also living longer, and looking to make the most of those years.

That rising wealth has coincided with dramatic changes in the travel industry itself. Foreign travel has become more accessible. And social media has made it easy to envy, emulate and one-up friends’ vacations.”

From Wall Street Journal.