Comments on: Are Americans Afraid of Overseas Travel?

By: stiti

stiti — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:37:06 +0000

I live in SF and I just got back from 10 days in Yucatan…driving down to the borders of Belize and Guatemala from Merida visiting Maya ruins and beautiful beaches and speaking conversant Spanish the whole way. I met Americans frequently. One had driven his truck from Marin County and was camping outside the ruins at Calakmul in the middle of the jungle. Others were working selling diamonds to the tourists off the ships at Mahajual (they had done this in other countries too). A whole party of Americans was hanging out at Pancho’s in Merida…they too lived and worked there. I’m happy to say I didn’t set foot in Cancun. I have been to 35+ countries over the last 30 years always on the cheap and off the track. I lived in Japan for nearly 5 years and travelled as a 19 year-old from London to Ankara…working in hotels and even a fishing boat. Everywhere I have been I’ve met a fascinating array of people…always including Americans! I think it’s a bunch of anti-American tripe to globally say that people here are insular. I’ve met Japanese people born in Osaka who’d never been to Kyoto. Many Americans I know have parents or grandparents or are themselves from different countries…at least here in California. My grandparents were from Italy and spoke Italian at home. One of the best experiences I’ve had was on the Trans-Siberian…there were several other Americans and Europeans. The French group was hilarious…four teachers from Versailles who couldn’t speak a word of Russian or English. I was a French language major at University and, to their utter humiliation, I, the American, had to translate for them as all requests and conversation with other passengers and the provodnitsas was done in the most common language of English. We spent 6 days on a side trip all together in Mongolia and yet again I (the ignorant, ugly, insular American) had to get them through their communication blackout. I realize this is just anecdotal evidence and as such is not proof of anything except that some Americans…just as some Europeans and some Asians…do travel extensively and are quite aware of the outside world.

(Report comment)

By: Maxwell

Maxwell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:46:12 +0000

Robert said:
“…Europe grows up at each others door. Here, Oklahomans are at Texas’ door. Iowans at Minnesota’s. Getting from Paris to Hamburg takes about as long as it takes to cross Tennessee by car…”

But do Texans & Oklahomans have a more “worldly” view of things than your typical European? Do they see the world as that displayed in the map to this post? What is their general “awareness” to serious worldly issues?
It is this lack of awareness (ignorance?) and too much TV (idiot box) programming that would make them less likely to travel abroad because their curiosity has been replaced with a consumerist mentality.

Going from France to Germany might take you through Italy, Switzerland, & Austria or Belgium and Holland — different cultures/customs that should expand one’s awareness and give them an appreciation for CULTURE. Driving from Ottawa, Canada to Boston, Mass every Summer as a teen did absolutely nothing for me in that regard.

Just my 2 cents.

(Report comment)

By: anna

anna — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:06:30 +0000

you’re humiliating the USA

(Report comment)

By: anna

anna — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:05:57 +0000

The world is NOT like that for the USA!!!! We think we’re #1 because we have to be proud of our country and of course it’s not true that all americans believe in Santa. Plus, Europe is not perfect.

(Report comment)

By: SteveZ

SteveZ — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:09:50 +0000

My wife and I are Americans, and we’ve been to approximately 20 countries between us. While we’ve been to more places than most people we know, almost all of our friends have been to other countries as well. However, instead of going to Europe like we do, they go to islands in the Caribbean or to the shores of Mexico. For them, a good vacation involves warm weather and sand. Neither my wife nor I enjoy lounging on the beach, but for a lot of people that’s an ideal vacation, and one that they’ll happily travel outside our borders to experience.

(Report comment)

By: leah

leah — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:32:34 +0000

For most of the current twenty-somethings, of which I am one, I can say that not traveling outside of the country is almost exclusively caused by a lack of money, not fear.

People above said they receive blank looks and questions of “Why?” when they announce travel plans, whereas everyone that I know would react with envy and enthusiastic questions if one of us announced a trip.

Even the friends that I have who make enough money to live on have to earn their vacation time through being at the same job for a number of years. Two weeks is a huge luxury, not the the American standard.

It would take me a month’s salary to buy a plane ticket to Europe, and even then I’d have to not pay rent or eat.

(Report comment)

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:03:32 +0000

That map is effing hilarious!!! I forwarded that one around… and it’s so true!

(Report comment)

By: Charles

Charles — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:12:52 +0000

I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade and I share the frustration at people not understanding the benefits of travel, but it is not really true that Americans are more afraid of travel or less interested in travel than people from other countries.

In my own experience traveling in over 60 countries (often going off the beaten track and usually not traveling with other Americans) I have met more Americans than people from any other country. I looked up some statistics to see if my experience was unusual and found that statistically Americans are great travelers.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in 2007 “64.0 million US residents traveled abroad” which was more than 1 out of every 5 Americans. According to the World Tourism Organization in that year Americans were second only to the Germans in total amount of money spent on overseas travel, and spent more than twice as much on international travel as travelers from any other country except Germany and the U.K.

If you travel in Europe of course you will see many more Europeans traveling across borders than Americans, for the reasons already pointed out. For similar reasons you will find many more Americans than Europeans traveling in Canada and Mexico. Once you get far away from Europe to neutral ground you’ll usually find more Americans than Europeans.

It’s a shame that more Americans do not appreciate the many benefits of international travel but Americans actually do more than their share

(Report comment)

By: Nora - The Professional Hobo

Nora - The Professional Hobo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:02:27 +0000

Ha Ha – the map is very funny!

On the note about Americans taking vacations (or not, as the case may be), there is some additional insight here:
http://www.wisebread.com/america-is-the-no-vacation-nation

(Report comment)

By: Robert Reid

Robert Reid — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:55:10 +0000

Love the story.

Vacation time & geography has a lot to do with it, I think.

Americans have half the vacation time as the Brits, and even less of the French. And some of those days are taken adding onto holidays, visiting family that may be a four-hour flight away.

Europe grows up at each others door. Here, Oklahomans are at Texas’ door. Iowans at Minnesota’s. Getting from Paris to Hamburg takes about as long as it takes to cross Tennessee by car.

And Americans are just in love with their cars — and they don’t like stopping for directions. “The Rockies, here we come.” And they go.

(Report comment)