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When Americans go out of the country they always want to travel to Europe or Canada if anywhere else but they won't bother traveling to any other part of the world.
Saw a lot of them around, somebody must be going or you wouldn't see them, (American tourists tend to stand out).
Europe when I was there seemed overrun with shaggy, dirty college kids, staying at hostels, lots of them on the side of the roads.
Lots of American military in various Asian countries, lots of honey mooners in various tropical places. Thailand is beautiful, too bad about thee sex trade and the perves.
BS. There are lots of Americans who travel to Asia... China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, are all hot destinations.
Tons of Americans go to Mexico, Brazil, and Caribbean islands. Peru was a "hot" destination a few years ago, and the region is super popular with young American backpackers.
As far as Africa, it is less poular overall due to perceived issues of safety and social/political instability.
When Americans go out of the country they always want to travel to Europe or Canada if anywhere else but they won't bother traveling to any other part of the world.
Actually the largest number of American tourists go to Mexico. Cancun, La paz, Baja are parts of mexico completely overtaken by Americans
Also Brazil, Argentina, Columbia are becoming big tourist destinations for Americans, and Peru was a must in the world of the American backpackers... (You're not a bag packer for most american backpackers if you've never made it to machu picchu)
I agree with other posters that Americans are everywhere, not just Europe and North America. But if Americans are going to Europe more, it's probably due to heritage, perhaps even still having distant relatives in "the old country." Plus as you know some do not want to go anywhere "too exotic" although Europe is still quite different...And I think there are more flight deals to Western Europe than anywhere else.
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.
Huh? I am American and currently most interested in travel throughout Central and South America.
Most of the tourists I have seen there have been Americans too.
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