7 Reasons Why Americans Don’t Travel

Posted by Gary Arndt on December 27, 2007
Filed under: Features

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If you have traveled even briefly outside of the United States, you will soon arrive at a conclusion which many before you have reached: American do not travel.

Not to the same degree which Europeans travel at least. No matter where I’ve gone, I’ve found more British, Australians, Germans and Dutch. I’m not talking about percentages either, but raw numbers. The United States - a nation of 300 million - often has fewer travelers in a given place than the Netherlands, with a population of 17 million. Many Europeans are shocked to learn that most Americans don’t even hold a passport.

If you ask Europeans why this is, the immediate answer they will give is vacation time. Europeans on average receive three to four more vacation weeks per year than the average American. This is certainly part of the reason, but it only compares averages. In a country of 300 million there are still millions of people who have European amounts of vacation. The population of people in the US who get five weeks of vacation per year is probably equal to or greater than the entire population of the Netherlands, so it really doesn’t explain why you see more Dutch than Yankees abroad.

While vacation time is certainly part of the equation, the real reason isn’t quite so simple. Here are seven reasons I believe Americans don’t travel:

#1 - North America is Huge

The collective size of North America is larger than that of non-Russian Europe. When Europeans visit another country, geographically, it isn’t that much different than visiting another state or province in North America.

The diversity of regions in North America is also much greater than in Europe. You can visit tropical regions in the Everglades, deserts in Death Valley, mountains in Colorado, grasslands in the Great Plains, high deserts in Oregon, fiords in Alaska, Polynesian culture in Hawaii, Latino culture in Puerto Rico and coniferous rainforests in the Pacific North West, all without ever using a passport.

That list doesn’t even include Vegas and Disney World. To visit the equivalent in Europe would require visiting several countries and, until the recent integration of the EU, required several border crossings.

Sunset Over a Greyhound Bus
Sunset Over a Greyhound Bus / © safaris

#2 - Americans Don’t Need a Passport

Until recently, Americans didn’t need a passport for most travel. Prior to the changes made after 9/11, there was no need for Americans to have a passport to visit Canada, Mexico and most of the Caribbean. That is a large area and quite a few countries to explore without ever needing a passport.

Now that passports are needed for any border crossings this may change. It is funny that Europe and North American are moving in totally opposite directions in this respect. Europeans can now travel farther without a passport while Americans and Canadians cannot.

#3 - Americans Value Time Over Money

Europeans and Americans place substantially differing value on time and money. Many Europeans who came to America did so expressly to work. It should come as no surprise we value work and leisure differently.

Europeans get more time off, yet earn less money, while Americans earn more, yet have less time off. It is a trade-off.

What isn’t often mentioned is that even though Americans have less vacation time, one third of all Americans still have unused vacation time at the end of the year. Why? Many employers will compensate employees in cash for unused vacation hours.

If Americans really were itching for more vacation, you would probably see it appear in more negotiations and you would see more Americans use up the time they have. Again, Europeans and Americans have different preferences.

Another fact often ignored is that American vacation rates are higher than those found in Asia, where you see even greater preference towards work. Globally, Americans are closer to average than Europeans.

On the Beach in Oahu, Hawaii
Lounging in Oahu, Hawaii / © tata_aka_T

#4 - Americans Take Their Leisure Time in Shorter Bursts

Americans at all income levels are much more likely to own a cottage or second home, recreational vehicles (snowmobiles, ATVs and boats, etc.), and to take vacations by car than Europeans.

Given space and income levels in Europe, that isn’t an option for most Europeans. Hunting, fishing, and camping are all more popular in the US where there are much more open spaces and wildlife than in Europe. All of these activities take much less time and are closer to home.

#5 - Americans Lack a History of Living Overseas

Europeans have been running colonies for hundreds of years. During that time, it was very common for entire families to live, work and grow up overseas. By contrast, America is relatively new at the overseas living game, and it has only done so in an era of jet travel, where you can return home or only be gone for relatively short stretches.

There are thousands of British who grew up in places such as India, Kenya, South Africa, and Hong Kong. Comparable American spots were relatively small places such as the Panama Canal Zone and Guam.

#6 - America is More Diverse

Another factor often overlooked by Europeans is that Americans don’t have to travel as far to experience different cultures in the US. The United States, particularly in large urban areas, is an ethnic smörgåsbord of people from around the world. Even major European hubs can’t approach the diversity of cities like New York and Los Angeles. Once you escape large urban areas in Europe, diversity decreases dramatically. Even smaller communities in the US can have populations of recent immigrants.

#7 - Americans Pay More for College

Americans typically accrue a great deal of debt in the process of paying for their higher education. This necessitates the need to start earning money immediately after graduation (or not) and curbs any chance of taking a year off to travel.

For many, the prime years they can spend long-term traveling is in their 20s, and for many Americans, that time is spent working off loans.

Likewise, the idea of a gap year between high school and college has never really caught on in the US. Many students are eager to start college, especially if they endured a highly competitive process to get accepted. The issue of debt can extend well into their 30s when they have already settled down and started a family, further dwindling their opportunity to travel.

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Gary Arndt is an American freelance travel writer, photographer, podcaster and blogger. You can follow his adventures at Everything-Everywhere.com.



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Comments

Mike
December 27th, 2007 - 9:59 am

Gary, I suspect you’re going to receive a number of heated and very opinionated responses to this piece. Thanks for sharing!


Rice
December 27th, 2007 - 3:48 pm

I loved this article - so much that I had to subscribe today! I am always shocked to speak to someone at my work, in the middle of December, and find out that they still have unused vacation days. I think that many Americans don’t recognize travel as a regular source of entertainment, but rather as an extravagance or a “special treat.” If only they would count up the money they spend on movies and dinners on a monthly basis, I think they’d find that travel is more plausible and affordable than they had previously thought. Cheers and happy trails! Check out my website if you get a moment.

http://www.theALTERNAtraveler.com
Travel stories, advice & recommendations for the ANTI-TOURIST.


Scribetrotter
December 27th, 2007 - 6:32 pm

As I’m spoilt for choice, please allow me to take issue with #6.

More diverse than Europe, eh? With a single language, a single system of education, no foreign policy differences, the same TV channels, only two political parties…

I live in France, one country, no borders, with such a huge diversity it nearly defies description. Normandy, Brittany, Alsace, the Basque region, the Pyrenees, Provence - different people and ethnic origins, different food (even the cheeses are different!), different attitudes, highly diverse landscapes…

Lest anyone call this an exception, lets take Spain. Catalonia, the Basque country, Andalusia, Castile, Galicia… each with its own language, food, history, art (and in some cases even government).

Both of these countries are small compared with the US, which makes the diversity all the more comparatively relevant.

My small town of 5000 people (the nearest ‘city’ of a few 100,000 is nearly an hour away) has a large Muslim Turkish community, a good-sized group of Moroccans, a number of Spaniards, dozens of Swiss, some Brits…

Exactly which lack of diversity did you mean?


Gary
December 27th, 2007 - 8:44 pm

The diversity I am speaking of is immigrants.

America has way more immigrants than Europe. That statement should not even raise an eyebrow of controversy. The anecdotal examples you bring up is just noting that there are some immigrants in Europe, but that is nothing like the levels or diversity of immigrants you see in the US.

The fact that there are sub-groups of Spanish and French says nothing about immigrant movements and nothing to the diversity that may influence people to travel.

Despite recent movements of North Africans and Turks to Europe, you still do not see the diversity that you do in the US. The only reason recent Muslim groups stick out is because they are the exceptions to otherwise homogeneous populations in Europe.

I really don’t think that is even a controversial statement. The US is a nation of immigrants. Europe countries are not.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi.....County.jpg

Take Germany for example. The latest data I could find shows that 8.9% of the current population are foreign born. In the United States it is 12%. Of the rest of the population, in Germany they are almost all native Germans. In the US, they are almost all descendants of immigrants who arrived just a few generations before.

Also, there are far more languages spoken in the US than you realize:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....ted_States

While English is the working language of the country, immigrants and native languages bring the total spoken to over 300 languages. Three states have official second languages (New Mexico-Spanish, Louisiana-French, and Hawaii-Hawaiian)


Scribetrotter
December 28th, 2007 - 9:56 am

Gary, while I can agree the US is a nation of immigrants, I don’t agree with your assessment of Europe.

In Switzerland, for example, 19.3% of the population is of foreign origin; in Luxembourg, it’s 37.3%. The population of an additional 11 countries in Europe is more than 10% immigrant.

Now, to languages. The European Union has 23 official languages, although to be fair, it does have twice as many people as the US. Tiny Switzerland has four official languages; Slovenia has three, depending on the region, as does Belgium; Ireland has two; that tiny little rock, Malta, even has two. And that doesn’t even begin to take into account each country’s minority languages. Also, according to the BBC, over 300 languages are spoken in London’s schools alone…

As far as ancestry is concerned, I have no doubt Americans have a highly diverse ancestry. But so do Europeans, whose hugely varied and ancient history is one of shifting borders and waves of immigration and conquest.

So for each fact that denies Europe’s diversity, another confirms it. This is neither good nor bad, just fact.


Eva
December 28th, 2007 - 11:01 am

Great post, Gary.

I was often frustrated during my year in the UK to find people correctly noting the smaller numbers of Americans who travel, and then suggesting that it was a symptom of disinterest, ignorance, arrogance, etc. There is a lot more going on here.

One thing I always argued about with my British friends was cost - although this is starting to change with budget transatlantic carriers getting into the mix, the cost of a trip to Europe from North America is FAR higher than the cost of a trip to continental Europe from Britain. Many of my Canadian friends don’t have passports (they’re getting them now because of the new US border laws) and have never been to Europe, and that’s largely down to cost. (As well as time, cheaper/passport-free options here, everything you mentioned.)

As for the diversity debate, I was very surprised to see your statement questioned, too. I thought it was accepted fact that Canada and the US (and increasingly, Australia) have the most diverse populations in the world. It’s not about official languages, it’s about languages spoken, variety of countries of origin, sheer numbers of foreign-born residents. (India has only one official language, English. But would that make it less diverse than Belgium?) This is not an insult to Europe, it’s just a statement of fact. The histories of our population movements are radically different. You only have to visit Toronto, Vancouver or New York, and compare it to Geneva, Rome, Madrid, Paris, Vienna, whatever, to see the difference.


Gary
December 28th, 2007 - 11:44 am

What does foreign born to someone in Luxembourg mean? French and German? Moving a few kilometers over the border isn’t really same same as Africans, Asians, Europeans and Latin Americans all living together.

By that logic, most of the state of California is “foreign born” because people moved there from other states.


Amanda
December 29th, 2007 - 4:11 am

Really interesting post, Gary! My query’s about #5 - “Americans lack a history of living overseas” (because Europe was the great colonizer, etc) … following that trail, Australians would lack a history of living o/seas too, but are a nation of huge travelers, and 5% of the population are spending extended amounts of time o/seas at any one time. And just walk into a good bar in any city and you’ll find an Aussie … :-)


Gary
December 29th, 2007 - 7:53 am

They get it from the British :)


Lola
December 30th, 2007 - 1:48 pm

Great piece Gary! The fact that most Americans get 3-4 less weeks of vacation is a significant issue.

I recently wrote an article - 8 Ways to Stretch Your Short Vacation Days to give some tips to those who only get 12 days or so per year.

I believe productivity will actually increase if people are given more time off to rejuvenate and travel the world.


lissie
December 30th, 2007 - 5:28 pm

America is huge - I don’t think so - the whole of Texas fits in NSW in Australia and NSW is not even a huge state by Australian standards! Its expensive to get to Europe ROTFL - you’re practically next door- its nearly 30 hours flying from east coast Australia to Europe - even further for NZers! Americans always seem to be very inward looking - they were 2 years late for WW2 after all! Australians are becoming more so too but that’s more recent and they still travel a lot. One of the disadvantages Americans genuinely have though is that its hard to get a working holiday visa to other English speaking countries -I guess that’s because of the American revolution


Eva
December 30th, 2007 - 7:13 pm

Lissie - read more closely before you Roll On The Floor Laughing.

First of all, Gary said “NORTH America is Huge” - referring to the fact that until recently, Americans could travel to Mexico, Canada, and large parts of the Caribbean without passports, as well as of course the whole US of A.

But since you brought it up… Texas is one of 50 states, NSW one of 7 (plus the ACT). The total area of the USA is 9,826,630 sq km, while the total area of Australia is 7,686,850 sq km. If you want this to be a competition - which it doesn’t have to be - then Australia loses. Add in another 10 million square kilometers for Canada, plus a large chunk for Mexico, and that is (was) a gigantic passport-free zone. Even if you added Russia into Europe’s Schengen Zone (NOT going to happen anytime soon) North America’s might still be bigger.

Responses like yours are what always bothers me about this conversation - people from elsewhere seem determined to prove that there is some sinister undertone to America’s travel deficit. Just because flights are expensive from Australia too, doesn’t mean that Americans don’t worry about the cost of travel.

I was surprised to see from your site that you are an adult - knee-jerk anti-Americanism without any basis in fact is childish.


Patrick
January 2nd, 2008 - 8:05 pm

Very interesting posts. You know, I think it’s so true that Americans would rather make more money than to take vacation days. Not only that, but it’s quite expensive to travel internationally, as well as nationally. Also, it’s so difficult to find really good hotels at a reasonable rate that fits my needs and personality. Speaking of that, you guys should check out this site: site: http://www.roomforyourimagination.com. It’s has some really funny videos, and I think it showcases the whole point of hotels–to fit your personality and your style. My favorite video is from room 223 called Labels. It’s so hilarious! Gymnasts bouncing around on beds is good too! You need to go check it out! These videos are awesome…I work with them so I have the inside scoop! It might make you want to travel more!


Julia Rosien
January 3rd, 2008 - 12:18 pm

I think it’s funny that everyone’s jumped all over Americans and left Canadians out of the discussion.

Unfortunately Canadians can dig in their heels about travel just as much. While we like to think we’re evolved and much more cosmopolitan to our counterparts to the south, many, many Canadians only venture off home soil to trek the I-75 south. Many never leave their own home province. Until recently many Canadians shunned passports as well - it simply wasn’t necessary.

I do love that travel can mean many things to many people though. And our diversity - even among fellow travelers - is what makes it all so interesting.


Tristan
January 4th, 2008 - 6:29 am

I found this article very interesting, but I think a number of the entries are wrong and unnecessary. The simple truth is that the great majority of Americans do not look outside of their country for something more, but are happy with where they are and what they know.


Dan
January 7th, 2008 - 11:47 pm

#3 Sounds like it’s backwards, if Americans are trading some of their measly 10 Days leave for money doesn’t that suggest they value money over time?


Shelly
January 9th, 2008 - 2:04 pm

As an Australian who has lived in the US for 15+ years, I found the article intriguing. The arguments about the size of North America and cost of flights to Europe implies US citizens travel here, but many in fact do not. Living in upstate NY, I met people who had never been to New York City. Living in Texas I met many people who had never been east of the Mississippi and others who had never been to California. Having said that, i have never been to Ayers Rock….


Eliza Amos
January 9th, 2008 - 10:49 pm

(Tristan–The truth is NEVER simple.)

I grew up in a working class family–teachers, government workers, law enforcement, etc. The vacation/financial aspects are HUGE.

Take my dad. He’s a big dreamer who has always wanted to go out of the country, but actually has ONCE–to the former USSR during the historic Baltic revolution–in my entire 32 years of life.

Why? MONEY.He’s not greedy, spending his cash on big houses and Hummers. He’s scraping by.

And Americans get absolute CRAP for vacation time. If you don’t have firsthand experience with this, then I would ask that you consider a compassionate stance. Because it sucks.


AJS
January 17th, 2008 - 11:26 pm

From my experience from living both in Canada and the US, the Americans don’t travel for a couple other reasons;

1) Comfort; it seems that the American culture does not like to be out of its comfort zone. Why do you think tropical resorts still offer spaghetti, hamburgers and all you can eat buffets? Americans need their luxuries to come with them, which is why the RV culture is almost entirely American.

It goes further than just the comfort of their stomachs and the bottoms; American is a very non-bilingual country. Yes there is a large Spanish population in the country but for the majority of people that can afford to travel abroad they only speak English. Growing up half my life down there and staying in touch with old school mates I know they really do not push bilingualism in schools and in culture like Canada does.

The reason why McDonalds became so popular in the US was not because of its delicious nutritious menu selection, it was because an American from one side of the country could travel to the other side where food is different and strange and still find that delicious pieces of pseudo-meat between two pieces of bread. American’s need their security blanket.

2) Fear Mongering; The Americans in general are afraid. They are afraid of different people, different religions and different creepy crawlies. This fear is perpetuated by American media outlets which broadcast mistruths and over exaggerated non-news stories about “dangerous” things. Americans eat this type of media up. I love to travel and yet every time I mention a destination outside of the “homeland” that I plan on visiting, my Americanized father will regurgitate some news story of dangerous gangs in Central America or radical Muslim fundamentalists in Morocco.

Now I do not go out of my way to put myself into dangerous situations so I do my own research and typically the stories that he has referenced were years and years ago and/or a very isolated incident within a certain area of a country. Now I do not blame him for his prejudices; he is merely looking out for my safety and is grossly misinformed by his information sources.

I typically rather reference Canada’s Foreign Affairs essential information for Canadians abroad website which has a 24/7 operation/crisis centre constantly updating information about current affairs within said countries. (I have a friend who works there) http://www.voyage.gc.ca/consular_home-en.asp

The information seems to be non-partisan and very up to date.

My parents went to Paris for two weeks. In my opinion Paris would be a very safe destination and would even cater to the required comforts of spoiled Americans, however on my Parents return my mother had a wonderful trip and had story after story whereas my father could not complain enough about his terrible experiences and stated for the record he will not be going back again! When I rooted down to the problems it seemed the French either did not accommodate to his American taste in food or the transportation systems were not easy to understand. I asked him why he even left the country if he was expecting the same food and same languages.


Nick
January 18th, 2008 - 12:10 am

#6 IS CLEARLY WRONG!

America has nothing like the diversity of all of Europe!
This is a ridiculous assertion!

How could you possibly say that, for example, Alabama is more different to Connecticut, Norway!


Andrew
January 18th, 2008 - 1:43 pm

Sorry, “non-russian” Europe? What other kind of Europe is there?

You can’t state it’s more diverse, and then only in a comment state you meant by immigrants. Europe obviously has more diversity in terms of nationalities, languages and cultures.

#3 is in total contradiction, as stated earlier. If you choose money over vacation (by not using), then you can use that money for that ‘expensive’ flight to Europe.

I agree American’s should travel more, but please, not to Venice where I sat in St Mark’s Square, and you asked me where McDonalds is.


Martin MacKenzie
January 21st, 2008 - 2:45 pm

I agree with Eliza Amos.

The time and money aspects ARE huge. Neither do we live high on the hog, so to speak. I supposedly have four weeks of vacation and was only allowed to take two by my employer. I do not work for a company that returns unused vacation time in money when we can’t use it. These things are not uncommon in the US of A.

Another angle that no one has mentioned is that current exchange rates between most currencies and the dollar are largely unfavorable. My family and I would love to travel to Scandinavia, Scotland, and Australia but current conditions and circumstances make that impossible.

However, I’m not giving up yet!


BW
January 30th, 2008 - 4:56 pm

Vacation time is 0ne of the things I miss since being in the USA (4 years) and Puerto Rico (1+ years). From the UK originally and miss all those vacation days.

But the point about the exchange rate is also valid - went back to the Uk last year and it was so expensive (flights, food etc.). Still it was worth it to get back home, even for a short time


Marion
February 1st, 2008 - 1:32 pm

“Another fact often ignored is that American vacation rates are higher than those found in Asia, where you see even greater preference towards work.”

Is this a comparison to the more affluent Asian countries like Japan, or Asia as a whole?