Why do Americans not travel more internationally ?

On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 16:40:24 -0500, Dave Smith
wrote:

RJ wrote:

On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 06:16:05 GMT, lid wrote:

Why do so few Americans travel "abroad" ( overseas ) for pleasure
compared to those in other nations?

1. Lots of stuff to see in the US

True

2. Short vacations for most workers

True

3. Why visit places where (as all news stories state) you will be
hated?

Most of the Americans I know who have travelled to Europe have had
very positive experiences.

You misunderstood my point. It is about incentives for choosing to
make the trip, not how a trip will actually turn out.

RJ

On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 06:41:41 +1100, "larry" wrote:

I never made the claim we travelled more or less just that I agreed that
Americans should travel more

Who are you to tell other people what they *should* do for pleasure?

RJ

On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 20:32:29 GMT, "Julie"
wrote:


"Zane" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 18:29:51 GMT, "Julie"
wrote:

(snip)

For the same reason that you rarely read anything in their papers about
international events or happenings.

How absurd.

The rest of the world doesn't really
exist for a lot of Americans. They are not interested in the rest of the
world - only about themselves.

Nor does it for a "lot" of Australians.

Texas has roughly the same population as Australia. I'll lay odds
that the average Texan knows more about Australia than the average
Australian knows about Texas. (My justification for that "informed"
opinion is probably as questionable as yours.)

Go to their country and talk to them - the things they believe about the
rest of the world is unbelievable.

Please straighten us out --- there are a bunch of us right here.

Zane
I've been to Texas - I've spoken to the Texans - I know what they
believe!!!!!

I don't believe you.

RJ

RJ wrote:

On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 16:40:24 -0500, Dave Smith


3. Why visit places where (as all news stories state) you will be
hated?

Most of the Americans I know who have travelled to Europe have had
very positive experiences.

You misunderstood my point. It is about incentives for choosing to
make the trip, not how a trip will actually turn out.

I don't think I misunderstood your point. Those people seemed to have had
positive expectations. I have run into a lot of Americans on my trips to
Europe, and I dealt with a lot of American tourists when I was working. I
know a lot of Americans who have travelled extensively. No doubt there
are lots of Americans who are quite sure that they are in the best
country in the world and have no interest in having to set foot in the
backwaters of Europe. It's their loss.

On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 20:47:17 GMT, "PTravel"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 08:25:00 GMT, "PTravel"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .

Hunh? What legislation encourages Americans to obtain passports?

The legislation doesn't " encourage" it demands!

Although there are also other sweeping changes to the type of
passports one must now have to enter the US ( digital ) The
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 now requires
all people in The Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada to
have a valid passport to enter or re enter the US.

There is no legislation that requires Americans to have passports within
their own country. Please read the thread and stay on topic.

Thanks.
And what topic are you on? Where in this thread did anyone ever
mention that Americans needed passports to travel in their own country


The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will require require all US
citizens to have a passport to re enter the US


To re-enter, yes. No legislation requires Americans to have passports,
however.
OK, then can we assume you want to permanently stay in The Caribbean,
Bermuda, Panama, Mexico or Canada if you were to travel there?
They might not want / accept you.
Now what do you do?
Lets say, if it was applicable, your company wanted you to attend a
conference in Montreal -- Nope, sorry, can't do that because you will
not be able to get back into the country.


At present the phase in period is

By December 31, 2006 --- Requirement applied to all air and sea
travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the
Caribbean, and Bermuda.

By December 31, 2007 Requirement extended to all land border
crossings as well as air and sea travel

In article ,
lid wrote:

The per capita percentage of Americans that travel internationally for
pleasure is low compared to other western nations.

This seems strange, given the relatively high standard of living and
disposable income of Americans.

Although there has been a recent spike of US citizens obtaining
passports, thi sis mainly due to recent legislation and it is doubtful
the passports will increase the amount of travel outside North
America.

Why is the international travel so low ?

International travel takes longer from the United States than it does
from most European countries. A larger proportion of Europeans than
Americans can cross a national border without going to the time and
expense of boarding a plane. Other than those Americans who live near
the Mexican or Canadian borders, most people in the states can't hop on
a train and be in another country in an hour or two, like you can in
most areas of Europe. For example, a person who lives in Denver would
need to have to go to a lot more effort to travel to Mexico or Canada
than a person who lives in Germany would if he or she wanted to visit
Austria or France.

International travel is a luxury for most Americans because of the
distances and cost involved in the travel, not to mention that most
Americans have fewer vacation days than Europeans tend to have. This all
combines to make International travel much less frequent for Americans
than Europeans. This is why it is not hard to find lots of Americans who
have never visited a foreign country. Hell, due to the distances
involved, there are a lot of Americans who live on either coast who have
never visited the opposite coast due to the distance involved.

On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 19:44:49 GMT, lid wrote:


The per capita percentage of Americans that travel internationally for
pleasure is low compared to other western nations.

This seems strange, given the relatively high standard of living and
disposable income of Americans.

Although there has been a recent spike of US citizens obtaining
passports, thi sis mainly due to recent legislation and it is doubtful
the passports will increase the amount of travel outside North
America.

Why is the international travel so low ?

It isn't all that low. An incredible number of Americans travel
to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, et al. Or maybe we have
different definitions of "international".

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 19:44:49 GMT, lid wrote:



The per capita percentage of Americans that travel internationally for
pleasure is low compared to other western nations.

Can you travel 4000 miles in Europe and stay in the same country?
How about 1000 miles?

A more valid comparison would be to compare the percentage of Americans who
have traveled to another state to Europeans who have traveled to another
country.

"RJ" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 06:16:05 GMT, lid wrote:

Why do so few Americans travel "abroad" ( overseas ) for pleasure
compared to those in other nations?

1. Lots of stuff to see in the US
2. Short vacations for most workers
3. Why visit places where (as all news stories state) you will be
hated?

First two are important reasons.Last one applies to some,not all,countries.
I believe the answer is certainly related to the short vacations and the
fact you have less job security than Europeans.
The other is the perceived hassle of the airtrip which is wildly overstated.
Cost is not a factor in m eyes.
We fly to the US and then book tours etc to other parts of the world from
there because it is incredibly cheap because of the fierce competition.Here
in the land of OZ,Qantas is very protected and we have probably the highest
airfares in theworld.
Time pressures on Americans are much greater because of shorter vacation
times.

regards

Hatunen wrote:

Why is the international travel so low ?

It isn't all that low. An incredible number of Americans travel
to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, et al. Or maybe we have
different definitions of "international".

There are lots of Americans who can drive for a few hours and be in Canada
or Mexico, and that would qualify as international travel. By the same
token, most Europeans can be in another country within a a few hours of
travel, and many in even less than that.

However.... I have a number of European friends, and all of them are long
international distance travellers. Granted, that may have a lot to do with
why I know them. For instance, a Dutch couple I know go overseas at least
twice a year. A German family I know are always on the go. Their sons come
to Canada every year and the parents come every second year.

If Americans are not thought to be great international travellers,
Canadians must be even less travelled. Sure, lots of them go to the US,
Mexico and the Caribbean, but not to Europe, of those that I know who go to
Europe, most at first generation Canadians who go to their parents'
homeland to visit relatives.