Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Are Americans scared to travel abroad?
Over at Nomadic Matt's Travel Site, Matt takes Americans to task for their well-known reluctance to travel abroad, citing the oft-repeated statistic that only 15% of Americans own passports. He attributes the dearth of US travel abroad to a number of factors, including American fear and ignorance of the rest of the world, but I'm not sure these go very far in explaining the real reasons behind the phenomenon. So why don't Americans travel more?
For starters, Americans only receive (or demand) about two weeks off in vacation time per year, compared to a month or more in many European countries. Now, perhaps this is the fault of the American worker, who doesn't value his or her leisure time enough to demand more vacation time, or maybe it all goes back to the famous Puritan work ethic. Either way, I simply don't think it's true that Americans are afraid to travel to, say, Australia or China.
But Matt disagrees: "Americans are just scared of the world. I mean really scared. Maybe even petrified. In this post 9/11 world (even before it), Americans have been taught the world is a big scary place. There are terrorists outside every hotel waiting to kidnap you. People don't like you because you are American. The world is violent. It's poor. It's dirty. It's savage. Only Canada and Europe are O.K. but, if you go there, they will still be rude to you because you are American." This is course the stereotype, but do lots of Americans still feel this way?
So if Americans aren't scared, why don't they travel abroad more? Well, America is also one of the most varied, multi-cultured countries in the world, so perhaps Americans don't feel the need to travel beyond their borders. From natural wonders like the Grand Canyon, the Florida Everglades, and Denali National Park, to vibrant, multi-ethnic cities like New York, Miami, Chicago, and San Francisco, Americans can see a wide range of people and places without ever crossing a national border.
It's entirely natural and expected that Americans don't travel as much as, say, Germans, because (and I hope I'm not stepping on any toes here) America is a larger and more varied place. Add to that the extra cost and time it takes Americans to travel abroad, and I'd say we're getting close to an answer.
Matt also points to cultural ignorance as one of the reasons behind the relative lack of overseas travel. This explanation has special appeal to any American traveler (like myself) who's ever been to Prague only to return and hear the question, "So, did you learn any German?"
Matt calls it cultural ignorance, and he may well be right. But I prefer to think that Americans are simply comfortable with their lives as they are and don't feel the need to travel abroad. And perhaps they've (okay, we've) been chanting "We're number 1!" for so long that they've forgotten what else is out there. Admittedly, my preferred explanations-- comfort and incuriousness-- may not show Americans in the best light, but it's a lot better than calling them scared and culturally ignorant.
Bottom line: I wish my fellow Americans would travel abroad more, but only for the same reasons I wish more Moroccans and Russians and Indians would travel abroad more: because the world is an endlessly interesting, stimulating, and eye-opening place, and seeing more of it only makes us better.
Filed under: United States, Budget Travel
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
boo radley Oct 17th 2011 10:32PM
i think you hit the nail on the head with this one. i have travelled a lot, and what i can't understand about europeans is why THEY can't understand that america is big enough to provide us with a lifetime of travelling if we want it, and that most of us actually LIKE our lives! europeans often like to pretend they are travelling for the diversity and culture. but really it's because of factors like: a lot of european countries are cold and rainy and they MUST get the hell out to keep from getting to depressed; it's really cheap and easy to travel in europe; europeans don't have the same ideas about self sufficiency and creature comforts as americans (as they seem to have no problems with lots of communal living situations that might be abhorent to many americans past a certain age); they do not value money the same way that many american's do (as i've met MANY europeans who will spend 2-5 grand a year to go on a vacation without batting an eyelash); most european countries are a bit monotonous/poor/unimaginative to be able to hold even their interest for too long (they don't understand that in america, if you don't like idaho, you can move to california and totally change your life). and i guess the hardest thing for most of them to swallow is that, while they are extremely interested in what's happening in america, the average american is just not that interested in what's going on in europe - mainly because many haven't ever really needed to be.we are often comfortable and content in our own lives, and many of us actually LIKE working a lot (since we are earning money for ourselves, rather than to support others in getting lots of holiday time and "free"healthcare. many of us like starting from scratch and seeing what we can excel at and create for ourselves. we like being able to explore ourselves multidimensionally without needing to leave the country if we wish. we like exploring our own vast landscapes and diversity. we like being at home! is this a crime?