Sean Miller, a comedian from New York, is one of the participants of the new Travel Virgin Show, which takes people abroad for the first time. He touched down in London this week
A ‘travel virgin’ who had never been out of his country before has been shocked and delighted in equal measure by the UK.
Sean Millea is a 28-year-old living in New York City who had never been out of the US until earlier this week. He is in good company. By some estimates, around 23% of Americans have not traveled internationally, while a quarter of Britons have never boarded a plane or ferry to go on holiday abroad.
Whether it’s the cost and hassle of sorting out a passport (close to 50% of Americans don’t have one currently, according to the Apollo Academy) that is putting people off, or the fact that they’re quite happy at home, clearly travel is not for everyone.
Stand-up comedian Sean had been content exploring the US, until he was given the chance to hop across an international border for the first time by Jetpac. The travel eSim brand has chosen several ‘travel virgins’ to star in its docu-series, hosted by Love is Blind’s Benaiah. When it airs, it will see newbie travelers swept away on an all-expenses-paid journey to an exotic destination.
The Mirror spoke to Sean the day after his arrival in the UK. He was standing amidst the hustle and bustle of Borough Market, digesting a laden pudding from the viral Humble Crumble and reflecting on a deeply disappointing first brush with British pastry.
“The pork pie. My friend Marshall told me to get it. I didn’t love that. It was sort of tasteless and hard to eat, you really need to put in muscle to get it open. It looked like a little castle. I did, however, like the Humble Crumble,” Sean explained. “I also don’t like the candy here. American candy is full of chemicals, which is why it tastes delicious.”
Sean was not opposed to the idea of travelling abroad, but given the demanding nature of his comedy career, he had never found the right time to do so. “I don’t ever have money like that. I have been to Florida, California and Chicago, but I’m uncultured to anywhere outside of the US,” Sean said.
While he may have found the pork pies a little underwhelming, the American in London was excited to throw himself into the culture, having grown up on a string of British classics such as the Beatles, David Bowie and Shakespeare. Visits to the Globe and Abbey Road were ticked off on his first evening.
In terms of vibe, “London feels like New York if you’re not paying attention.”
When it comes to the actual travelling process, Sean found it to be a mixed bag. “I got a passport, a few months ago on a whim, and there was some visa thing I had to get. I ended up just tapping myself out of the airport, no questions asked. It was pretty smooth,” he explained. “I did get scammed at a currency exchange. I got half my money back.”
The first episode of The Travel Virgin Show will go live on June 30. The company argues now is the right time for it, given the steady rise in travel since the coronavirus lockdowns, when people were pent up, unable to get away and desperate to get back out on the road.
According to one recent poll, 76% of Gen Z and 72% of Millennials say they’re more interested in travel than they used to be. And passport applications have surged by up to 38% in key markets like the UK, suggesting the appetite for exploration is stronger than ever.
Aditya Goyal, CEO at Jetpac. “There’s a huge group of people who are only now taking their first step abroad—and we think they deserve the same tools as anyone else. Jetpac is here to make that first time seamless, empowering, and unforgettable.”