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Africa and lots of Latin America are...inhospitable to say the least. Asia? Dunno, maybe because it's so foreign and the ensuing culture shock would blow our minds?
What I can notice in Brazil is that most of "gringos" visiting us which are not from other countries of Latin America are from USA, France or Germany. The frenchmen we find very often in São Paulo and the baroque historical cities such as Ouro Preto and Paraty, but americans are everywhere.
Americans have a weird relationship with Europe. They consider Europe (and Europeans) exotic enough to travel to and explore, yet they persist under the delusion that they have something in common with Europe due to a so-called shared heritage (bunkum, I say). That's a contradiction in terms. You can't find a place exotic if you think you have something in common with it.
It's really bizarre. Hearing a French, Russian, Italian or even British accent generally invites friendly curiosity in the average American, whereas the sound of a Chinese or Indian accent (far more exotic than Europe) invites annoyance and irritation. Even if Indians speak better English than most French people.
American girls love to brag that they 'did' an exotic British guy, but you'd never hear them say the same about a Cambodian guy. What gives?
Only an American can explain to me why they find the world's most exotic places and people uninteresting, and relatively familiar places and people exotic.
False premise. Just because Europe gets more American tourists doesn't mean American's don't want to travel to Africa, Asia, and South America. And like everyone else pointed out, plenty of Americans actually do travel to those places.
But back to Europe...if you're an average American, traveling abroad is a really big deal. You're lucky to get more than 2 weeks of vacation, if that, and you're faced with high airfares due to the fact that you're surrounded by huge oceans.
With those limited resources, where do you think most people would go?
A)A place with uncountable widely known cultural and historical attractions, well-developed transportation infrastructure, and where English is almost universally spoken
OR
B)A place with an unfamiliar culture and language and more obscure tourist sites, a confusing network of transportation like minibuses and trains that take forever to get anywhere, and an often unstable political situation?
Don't get me wrong, I have been to many places that fall under category B and I've really enjoyed them. However, someone planning a "trip of a lifetime" may actually be planning THE TRIP of their lifetime. They may prefer to play it safe with the well-trodden path.
Most of us just don't want to get diarrhea. An upset stomach and brown water shooting out of your rectum all day tends to take the fun out of a well earned vacation.
I haven't traveled very much out of the United States other than the border cities of Mexico. Though I'd really like to go farther in the future. From my experience there are many Americans that have zero interest in leaving the United States at all. Many of them literally think it is the best country in the World as if other advanced countries like France, the UK, Spain, Germany, Australia, Japan etc are far below the United States even though most if not all of these countries have better health care systems and educational affordability than our country does. As far as Latin American and Asian countries they think even less of these countries and often times resort to xenophobic and misinformed judgements. The people in the middle east are all terrorists and should be bombed except Israel of course. All of Asia and Latin America is third world and full of criminals and other scary people to many Americans. Now I am not talking about ALL Americans but there are many that believe these things. They tend to like high-profile people who speak to these fears (Donald Trump etc).
There are people who will only travel to Europe because those countries are each unique and different enough from the United States to feel "exotic". These countries are obviously advanced and have many English speakers so some Americans don't feel like they are out of their comfort zone especially in places like London. Many Americans also share cultural heritage from countries like Germany and the UK. Places in Latin America and Asia speak a whole different language and are far more exotic and different than anything in Europe so many Americans feel like they wouldn't be comfortable in these countries. Sad, but true. There are many Americans that go to beach towns in Mexico, but they tend to stay around their resort where all the other American tourists are and don't leave to explore other parts of the country. The hotels and nearby beaches are a bubble to them and keep them from experiencing other less touristy areas. It doesn't help that the media often only talks about the bad things that happen in countries like Mexico and Brazil.
Of course there are Americans that travel to places like China, Peru etc but it's definitely not all Americans.
Most Americans don't get a lot of vacation time and that plays into it too. In the united States there are so many national parks and cities that it is often quicker and cheaper to stay in the country and travel to a different state. In Europe people can take a train from one country to another within hours. Europe is also closer to Asian countries.
^ there are people like that in America, for sure, but they aren't a plurality of Americans, or even close to being the average. Those people who are terrified of other cultures and think America is #1 to the degree that they shouldn't ever even consider leaving it are generally confined to a specific region of the US and make up far less than half of its population. Even most of those people would gladly take a trip to Italy or Spain or Germany if they had the opportunity to.
You can also find lots of these people elsewhere in the world. I know many Chinese people who have no desire to leave China because CHINA IS #1. I met people in the UK who had never been off the isles who were assured that they were missing nothing. I met and meet people who were dragged to the US or China by a spouse or family who had nothing positive to say and wished they would have simply stayed home, where things were "better." Why it is that people seem to think that the US is the only place like this is beyond me.
After many years working in hospitality in the US, and also now being an expat who owns a bar that caters largely to expats in China, I would say that the biggest factor is simply economics. Most companies offer very poor vacation packages and little time off; the cost of living in the US has skyrocketed while incomes have stayed stagnant for decades. For young, single or childless people, the main hurdle is income and time off - the ones who are lucky enough to have a job in the first place are probably making $10-12 an hour, have no savings and thus would be flat broke when they came back, and could lose their job if they choose to take two weeks to travel abroad. The people who are in their late 20's to 40's and have more money also often have families to support and juggle - they would need to either buy extra tickets and pay for extra accommodations for their kids, or find someone to take care of them for the time they are gone... they have to make sure that they and their spouse can get time off at the same time, the kids can get time off school without it adversely affecting them, etc etc etc. For a lot of people, it's just a lot easier to take a two-day trip to the closest national park, or to a destination in the US that take 2 to 6 hours to get to, tickets are no more than $200 per person, etc.
Americans have a weird relationship with Europe. They consider Europe (and Europeans) exotic enough to travel to and explore, yet they persist under the delusion that they have something in common with Europe due to a so-called shared heritage (bunkum, I say). That's a contradiction in terms. You can't find a place exotic if you think you have something in common with it.
It's really bizarre. Hearing a French, Russian, Italian or even British accent generally invites friendly curiosity in the average American, whereas the sound of a Chinese or Indian accent (far more exotic than Europe) invites annoyance and irritation. Even if Indians speak better English than most French people.
American girls love to brag that they 'did' an exotic British guy, but you'd never hear them say the same about a Cambodian guy. What gives?
Only an American can explain to me why they find the world's most exotic places and people uninteresting, and relatively familiar places and people exotic.
I have never heard Europe described as exotic. Yes we Americans have a great interest in Europe. You dismiss our connection to Europe but the cultural connection is real. It is so much so that different regions of our nation have a different feel and accent based on what European immigrant group was dominant in that region. (mostly British though) Our history is tied to the Europeans that created this place as is our culture. I know the same is true in Canada and Australia. Now you mention Indians, Cambodians etc., those groups would be considered "exotic" as you say. I also disagree with you when you say we have a "weird relationship" with Europe. If you consider our history, a colony of a major European power that grew into an independent nation I think our attitude and interest toward Europe would be exactly what you would expect. Maybe some Canadians and Australians can chime in here, but I bet they have the same relationship with Europe we do. After all our histories are quite similar, as ore our cultures.
There are many Americans that go to beach towns in Mexico, but they tend to stay around their resort where all the other American tourists are and don't leave to explore other parts of the country. The hotels and nearby beaches are a bubble to them and keep them from experiencing other less touristy areas.
.
I have seen this criticism of people (of different nationalities) in other threads. How many people travel to these sunny beaches because they want to experience a different culture, compared to people who travel simply because they are sick and tired of winter?
Americans have a weird relationship with Europe. They consider Europe (and Europeans) exotic enough to travel to and explore, yet they persist under the delusion that they have something in common with Europe due to a so-called shared heritage (bunkum, I say). That's a contradiction in terms. You can't find a place exotic if you think you have something in common with it.
It's really bizarre. Hearing a French, Russian, Italian or even British accent generally invites friendly curiosity in the average American, whereas the sound of a Chinese or Indian accent (far more exotic than Europe) invites annoyance and irritation. Even if Indians speak better English than most French people.
American girls love to brag that they 'did' an exotic British guy, but you'd never hear them say the same about a Cambodian guy. What gives?
Only an American can explain to me why they find the world's most exotic places and people uninteresting, and relatively familiar places and people exotic.
You certainly have some strong opinions.
I'm an American, and I don't find Europe exotic at all. I find Europe quite pleasant, but I don't know any Americans who think it's exotic.
I also don't know Americans who brag about shagging exotic British guys. Maybe a really naive girl of a very young age, perhaps. But as I'm not a teen myself, I don't hang out with them to know their thoughts and shags.
It sounds like you hang out with American teenagers a lot? That's about the only context that your opinions would have any valid context to me. Interesting opinions though.
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