Are Americans Well Traveled? New Study Follows the Passports
America ranks 4th out of 11 countries for people who have never been abroad -- with 29 percent never having left the US
When it comes to targeting people who travel, look to the U.K. Britons lead the way for globetrotting, taking the top spot for the highest number of international countries visited according to the “Well Traveled Survey” commissioned by Agoda.com. The average British traveler visiting 12 countries, closely followed by Australians who average 10 international destinations.
Agoda’s “Well Traveled Survey” reveals travel trend comparisons by gender and age, for countries in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, plus the UK and US.
According to the survey findings, almost seven out of 10 people have visited up to 10 countries (68 percent), with Middle Eastern travelers from United Arab Emirates (92 percent) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (82 percent) in the lead, followed by Thailand (76 percent), Malaysia (75 percent) and Japan (71 percent).
The UK has the largest proportion who have traveled to more than 31 destinations (5 percent), followed by Australia (4 percent), Thailand (3 percent) and the United States (2 percent).
Of people in the Asia Pacific, Malaysians were most likely to have traveled to more than 10 countries (11 percent), followed by Thais (8 percent), Indonesians (2 percent), and Vietnamese (1 percent).
Travel Numbers in the US
•3 percent of 18-24 year-olds in the US have already traveled to 31 or more countries as opposed to 1 percent of those aged 55 and above.
•34 percent of women have never traveled internationally before compared to 24 percent of men.
•US comes fourth for the largest number of people to travel to more than 31 countries.
Never Traveled Abroad
Meanwhile, the data also found that 18 percent of those surveyed had never traveled to another country at all, with a surprising 13 percent of over 55s never having traveled internationally.
Interestingly, among the non-Asia Pacific markets (United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Americans are the least traveled, with 29 percent having never been overseas.
Gen Z and Millennials
Globally, 27 percent of 18-24 year olds have never traveled with individuals from China, Vietnam and Indonesia most likely to never have traveled at 49 percent, 45 percent and 37 percent respectively. However, in the 25-34 age group, where the global average is 19 percent having never traveled, Vietnam is pushed out of the bottom three by the US.
By 45-54 years old, 86 percent have traveled abroad, while 81 percent of the 25-34 years age group has already traveled to other countries.
Gender Neutral
Overall, 19 percent of women have never traveled outside their home country versus 17 percent of men. However, the United States, Vietnam and Indonesia showed significant differences in percentages of males and females traveling – 66 percent of females versus 76 percent of males in the United States have traveled internationally at least once, and 67 percent females compared to 74 percent of males in Vietnam. Indonesia bucks the trend with 72 percent of women having traveled internationally before, compared to only 65 percent of men.
