4 Charts Revealing Americans' Perceptions of Traveling Abroad
Skift Take
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
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