Page 143 - Introduction to Tourism

served by intercity buses is 3300. This compares to

about 550 airports with scheduled

airline service and to about 540 Amtrak stations.

THE AUTOMOBILE

Most of the travel in the world takes place in the

automobile. In the United States, auto travel is an
integral part of the travel industry with the vast majority

— 79 percent — of U.S. domestic person - trips being

taken by car, truck, camper/recreation vehicle, or rental

car. Affordability, flexibility, and convenience make auto
travel the most popular mode of transportation all over

the world. Because passenger car registrations

continue to increase worldwide, motor vehicles will
continue to be the dominant mode of transportation for

decades to come.

All studies show the automobile ’ s dominance, whether
the study is from the Air Transport Association, the

Highway Administration, the Census Bureau, or the

Travel Industry Association ’ s research department.
There is no doubt that the great bulk of intercity

transportation of passengers is by automobile. Data

also indicate that this has been constant for several
decades. The energy crisis that many have forgotten

(1979) made some inroads into auto travel, causing

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