Travel is an exciting and mind-expanding experience for everyone. Different cultures, however, have their own approaches to traveling. It’s interesting to compare and contrast how people from different countries travel. For example, there are vast differences in the percentage of Americans who travel abroad, which is quite low, to the percentage of Australians, which has always been very high. It would be impossible to cover every culture, so we’re going to have to limit this brief study to several countries. I’m going to focus on several English-speaking cultures first. Then we’ll look at another group, the Scandinavians.
Americans
One interesting and surprising fact about Americans is that they don’t travel abroad all that much. Only about half as many Americans travel abroad compared to Europeans. The reasons for this are probably a mix of culture, geography and economics. Europeans, for example, generally have a much shorter and cheaper journey to reach another country than Americans. One study found that almost 80 percent of Americans did not vacation abroad in the past year. When Americans do travel internationally, they’re most likely to visit popular European capitals such as London, Paris and Rome. Cancun, Mexico is also one of the top destinations.
Canadians
While sharing the North American continent with their neighbors to the South, Canadians display some distinct differences from Americans when traveling. The most popular destination for Canadians traveling abroad is the United States. The favor is not returned, as Canada does not presently rank among the top destination choices for Americans. The next most popular international destinations for Canadians are Mexico and the United Kingdom. One factor that’s been affecting the travel habits of Canadians is a weakening Canadian dollar. If this trend continues, Canadian travel to both the U.S. and Europe may tail off.
Australians
Australians have a further than average distance to travel if they want to visit almost any other country. This fact, however, has never dissuaded Aussies from traveling far and wide. In fact, anyone who’s done any serious amount of global travel can tell you how many Australians they’ve run into at hostels, hotels, trains and planes. A recent statistic found that 8.2 million Australians traveled outside their country in 2012. For a country whose total population is just above 20 million, this is an incredible number.
The most popular international travel destinations for Australians include New Zealand, Indonesia, the United States, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Like Canadians, Australians are currently dealing with a downturn in the value of their currency. This may persuade more Aussies to stay closer to home. On the other hand, it provides an incentive for people from other countries to visit Australia.
Scandinavians
Scandinavia includes the Northern European nations of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Scandinavians are among the most well-travelled people in the world. In fact, all of the Scandinavian countries rank in the top five most traveled countries. Not all of these trips are to other countries, but many do involve the crossing of borders. The average Swede, for example, takes an average of 1.5 international trips each year. Nor do they confine these trips to neighboring Scandinavian countries. A recent survey found that Spain is the most popular destination among Swedes.
Travel Habits Constantly Change
Comparing how Americans, Canadians, Australians and Scandinavians travel only provides a limited study of how travel habits differ globally. At the same time, it reveals some interesting facts about how cultural and geographical differences. People’s travel choices are based on many factors. The desire to take a break from work and experience something different is usually weighed against factors such as comfort and economics. For this reason, travel habits around the world are constantly shifting as conditions and people change.
