| Yes, the proportion of US residents traveling overseas is probably lower than other developed nations. UK residents for example made 47 million[1] air trips in 2009 vs. 39 million[2] for US citizens. However the argument that fear is the primary cause is misguided. Consider: 1. If you live in the UK and you want sunny weather or a ski trip, you'll need to go elsewhere in Europe. If you live in the US, you can probably get away with a local flight. 2. It's easier to justify and amortize the time to travel to a far-off destination for Europeans who have double the number of vacation days. South Africa is a 22-30 hour trip from the US, the number of US tourists is on the low end[3]#, while US tourists to Brazil are 2nd only to tourists from neighboring Argentina[4]. [1] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_transport/trave... p. 90 [2] http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/m-2009-O-001/index.html [3] http://www.southafrica.net/sat/action/media/downloadFile?med... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Brazil # Anecdotally, I notice more North American tourists in Cape Town than other nationalities, although this may have more to do with the volume of the average American voice. |