In a first-ever summer forecast for foreign travel, AAA expects 508,000 Coloradans will be travelling internationally this summer, an increase of 3.6 percent over the 468,000 who were estimated to have traveled overseas last summer. The report includes both automobile and air travel outside of the United States, including Canada and Mexico.

According to the report, which was produced for AAA by Global Insight, Colorado travelers will spend $622 million while traveling internationally during the months of June, July and August. AAA projects a 7.2 percent increase in international spending on travel by Colorado residents compared to last summer. The report says the increase in spending is due in part to inflation and the weakness of the U.S. dollar compared to several major currencies.

"Foreign travel is still the ultimate experience for many Coloradans, and summer is the prime season to go," said Sandra Barnes, AAA Colorado Director of Travel Services. "Many Coloradans will rearrange their budgets as a result of some increases in costs. But they are still traveling abroad at a growing pace."

Nationally, AAA projects 25.1 million Americans will be travelling internationally this summer, an increase of 2.6 percent over the 24.5 million who were estimated to have traveled outside of the United States last summer. American travelers will be spending $30.7 billion while traveling internationally which is an increase of 5.7 percent compared to last summer.

"Most international travelers have made their plans well in advance and will not change them despite some cost increases," said Barnes. "Also, American's are more relaxed about traveling overseas. About 28% of U.S. Citizens now have passports."

China and India are expected to see the largest increases in travel from the U.S. this summer, with China expected to see a 13.4 percent increase (573,000 American travelers) and India up 13.1 percent (227,000 American travelers). Travel to Canada and Mexico this summer is expected to be similar to last year, with Canada expecting to see a slight drop of 0.8 percent (5 million American travelers) and Mexico likely increasing by 1.3 percent (5.8 million American travelers).

Canada and Mexico will see the largest amount of traveler spending, with American travelers planning to spend $5.6 billion in Mexico and $4 billion in Canada.

Many of the other destinations that are expected to see big increases this summer from American travelers are in Europe. Travel from the U.S. to France is expected to be up 6.7 percent (1.1 million American travelers), Ireland up 6.6 percent (337,000 American travelers), Italy up 4.7 percent (1.6 million American travelers) and Germany up 4.4 percent (724,000 American travelers). These increases are consistent with AAA's own bookings, which show a 5 percent increase in tours to Europe.

"We recommend travelers always take extra precautions when traveling outside of the country," said Barnes. AAA recommends registering with the State Department so they can better assist in an emergency; purchasing travel insurance, which can protect travelers in case of trip interruption or a medical emergency; leaving non-essential valuables at home and making a copy of passport/travel documents to leave at home with a friend or relative for easy access just in case documents are lost on a vacation.

AAA also recommends that travelers pre-purchase a small amount of their destination's currency for immediate use upon arrival. AAA offers a TipPak, which is pre-packaged with $100 worth of Euros, British pounds, Canadian dollars or Mexican pesos. Another safety precaution is to purchase a pre-loaded Visa TravelMoney card, which is not associated with any other personal accounts, and easy to replace if lost of stolen.

The Global Insight report for AAA is based on an economic model that includes data about the state of the U.S. economy, domestic spending, foreign exchange rates, historic travel data, travel inflation and other factors.

AAA Colorado has more than 525,000 members in Colorado and is an advocate for safety and security for all travelers. As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides nearly 51 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services, as well as member-exclusive savings. AAA can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com.