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Old 06-29-2019, 12:58 AM
 
Location: Tucson/Nogales
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So, so many American foreign travelers, I've talked to, seem to head for Europe first, then it's off to Asia, and then, it's South America, or not at all. And, not surprisingly, it's the major tourist mecca, Machu Picchu/Cuzco that they go to first in South America.
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Old 06-29-2019, 05:32 AM
 
Location: Cebu, Philippines
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For one thing, the air fares are higher than Europe and Asia. And most people to to more-developed countries first, until they feel more confident on their own.

My order was Europe, South America, West Asia, Africa, East Asia, Australia.
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Old 06-29-2019, 06:00 AM
 
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I left Africa for my 7th and final continent.

Actually South America was my 2nd continent, even before Europe, which was my third, I guess I'm an outlier!

My order was:

North America (born there)
South America
Europe
Australia
Antarctica (worked there 3 times and had to go through South America to get there twice)
Asia
Africa
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Old 06-29-2019, 06:45 AM
 
Location: Cebu, Philippines
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High cost of Australia was a deterrent' But passing through Bangkok, it was very cheap to add on Darwin, so that is where I "did" Australia.
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Old 06-29-2019, 07:50 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cebuan View Post
High cost of Australia was a deterrent' But passing through Bangkok, it was very cheap to add on Darwin, so that is where I "did" Australia.
I "lucked out" for my OZ trip. I was working at the University of Arizona at the time, and we would shut down for a week and a half for Christmas/New Year's so I didn't have to use a ton of PTO for my travels.

Anyways, I was able to use my United FF miles, only 50,000 miles at the time, to book a round trip ticket from Tuscon to Sydney via LAX for 3 weeks during the peak time of the peak season (Christmas/New Year's) back in 2006/2007. It's now 80,000 miles for the cheapest ticket from North America to Australia on United!

To this day it is my best FF redemption, getting back at least $0.04 per mile. I basically booked the ticket the maximum amount of days you could in early 2006. I did a 3 week counterclockwise trip going to Cairns (flew there immediately after landing in Sydney), Uluru, Melbourne and ending up in Sydney for New Year's.
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Old 06-29-2019, 10:37 AM
 
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Originally Posted by tijlover View Post
So, so many American foreign travelers, I've talked to, seem to head for Europe first..........
The majority of the population descended from Europe, so having those roots and wanting to know where you came from certainly explains part of it.
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Old 06-29-2019, 01:54 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BOBNCHI View Post
The majority of the population descended from Europe, so having those roots and wanting to know where you came from certainly explains part of it.
I agree- and the history we learned when I was in school was very Euro-Centric. I REALLY wanted to use my HS French and my college German so Europe was at the top of my list. DH and I got to Brazil when Continental Airlines sent me an e-mail offering round-trip travel in their brand new 767s (I think) on their brand-new EWR-Rio nonstops for 17,500 OnePass miles in 2000. Glad we took it- they never made that offer again. In March I'm going to the Galapagos as well as Macchu Picchu and Bolivia.
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Old 06-29-2019, 02:19 PM
 
Location: equator
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This is funny to me because we retired to So. America (Ecuador) but I have little interest in seeing much of it. As was said, I find Europe much more attractive, and I feel less "foreign" there, since those are our roots. Plus, most speak at least some English (unlike here, almost no one does).

I wish we could have retired to Spain or Greece but the residency requirements are quite a bit higher than here. We just returned from Greece, and will spend the winter in Spain, this year. If we can't retire there, we can at least tourist-visa there.

And yes, the history we learned as kids centered on Europe, so that is where my interest lies. I am intrigued by the Minoan civilization, for example.

ETA: The Galapagos was great, but once is plenty. Unlike Europe, which is endless.
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Old 06-29-2019, 02:56 PM
 
Location: East Coast
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I think that Europe is generally much easier to get to, especially if you live on the east coast (and most especially if you're in the northeast). And there are many more student exchange programs with countries in Europe than there are with countries in South America.

I think South America also suffers from a widespread belief that it is dangerous, with kidnappings and drug related crimes reported in the news and being the subject of movies, etc. In a similar vein, many Americans are afraid of Latin America in general - because of all the negative press and the orchestrated campaign against immigrants from Central America, and so many Americans are so dumb they don't understand any sort of difference between South America and Central America.

I'm not really sure why Americans would seek to travel to Asia over South America. I do see quite a few tours to China advertised and I've heard of many people visiting Phuket and other beaches in Thailand. Japan always has its own intrigue. But those are all anecdotal, and I'd be curious to see if the numbers really are higher for travel to Asia.

About 20 years ago we were invited to a wedding in Chile. It took place at a winery and the bride included suggestions of all kinds of places you could visit. The bride and groom were people who worked with my husband, and several other people we knew from my husband's work were also going. This was over the Thanksgiving timeframe and I can't even express how badly I wanted to go. I had never been to South America (still haven't) and this just sounded like the perfect opportunity to go. My husband, though, refused to go and sent in the regrets before I even knew he had done so. I'm still mad about it.
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Old 06-29-2019, 04:49 PM
 
Location: Spain
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Originally Posted by chicagoliz View Post
I'm not really sure why Americans would seek to travel to Asia over South America. I do see quite a few tours to China advertised and I've heard of many people visiting Phuket and other beaches in Thailand. Japan always has its own intrigue. But those are all anecdotal, and I'd be curious to see if the numbers really are higher for travel to Asia.
Lots of reasons. Generally Asia is much safer than Latin America. There is a lot in a small package in many countries in Asia, where everything from the temples to the tropical beaches to the night markets are a stone's throw. There is a lot more food in Asia that is regarded highly on global stage compared to South America.


As for anecdotal versus numbers, the stats show both China and Thailand get a ton of tourists, far more than anywhere in South America. Throw in Bali, Japan, Vietnam, etc.
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