Skift Take

While the number of Americans traveling abroad hasn't necessarily increased as quickly as the percentage of those visiting more than one country per trip, Americans are becoming more worldly and that means spending more on more expensive trips.

Nobody’s pretending Americans are more worldly than other nationalities, but they’re far from being the least traveled.

Data from Hostelworld show Americans are only half as likely as Europeans to journey abroad to more than one country, with the main reason being cost. The average American has been to just three nations, and nearly one-third (29%) of American adults have never been abroad. But there’s good news for brands who want to get Americans moving beyond their borders–in 2014, 29% of Americans who traveled internationally visited more than one nation, as compared to just 15% in 2013 and 9% in both 2011 and 2010. The often more affordable accommodations like hostels and Airbnb rentals have likely contributed to the increase.

“Decades ago, Americans were less acquainted with hostels than they are today,” said Otto Rosenberger, Hostelworld’s CMO. “It seems millennials are adapting and are more frequent users of hostels because it allows them to do much more for their budget dollar.”

Hostelworld’s data show that while the average U.S. adult has visited just 2% of the world’s nations, that’s still ahead of other large countries like South Korea and Brazil.

Chart 1: U.K. travelers have visited the largest percentage of the world’s countries, visiting an average of 10, and German and Australian travelers are close behind.

Global Travelers by Country

Country % of world Visited by Average Adult Number of Countries Visited by Average Adult
1. U.K. 5% 10
2. Germany 4% 8
3. Australia 3% 6
4. France 3% 5
5. United States 2% 3
6. South Korea 1% 3
7. Brazil 1% 2

 

Chart 2: Affordability is the leading reason why Americans say they don’t travel abroad.

Top Reasons Americans Don’t Take a Trip to Multiple Nations:

1. Can’t Afford It 71%
2. Don’t Want to 16%
3. Have a Pet 16%
4. Have to Pay A Mortgage 11%
5. Have Children 11%

 

Chart 3: The percentage of Americans visiting more than one country during an international trip has sharply increasing during the past year, jumping from 15% in 2013 to 29% last year.

Percent Of Americans Going Abroad To More Than One Country Per Trip

Year Percent
2014 29%
2013 15%
2012 13%
2011 9%
2010 9%

 

Chart 4: Americans want to meet Australians the most while abroad, followed by U.K. and German travelers.

Top 10 Nationalities American Travelers Want to Meet

Nationality Percent
1. Australia 23%
2. England 18%
3. Germany 14%
4. US 12%
5. Italy 12%
6. Ireland 12%
7. Canada 11%
8. France 11%
9. Brazil 9%
10. Japan 8%

Source: Hostelworld

smartphone

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: hostelworld, vacations

Photo credit: An American couple on vacation in Italy. Ed Yourdon / Flickr

Up Next

Loading next stories