Why do so few Americans travel abroad compared to Australians and New Zealanders who live very far from other countries?

Mickie S：
Hands up any Australian who has ever been to the USA and hasn’t heard, “Australia! I’d love to go to Australia!” I can’t count how many times I heard it, from my very first trip there.
Somebody would say that to me and I’d say, “Why don’t you go then?”. Then the backpedalling would start. “It’s so far, it takes so long to get there, it costs so much, if only I had the time.”
I’d be thinking to myself it is exactly the same distance from the USA to Australia as it is from Australia to the USA, but I managed it. They seemed to like the idea of travelling, but when it came to doing something about it, suddenly all kinds of obstacles appeared.
So many of my family and friends and I too just decided we wanted to go somewhere, and we did it. We got our passports in order and saved enough to pay for the trips and off we went. Most of us did it alone too. I can hardly remember travelling anywhere that I didn’t run into lone Australians or occasionally couples touring round all kinds of places.
But one thing I did notice was that when I ran into Americans overseas, they were almost always in groups, not always large tour groups, but almost never alone. I may be wrong, but it seemed as if they were never comfortable unless they were sharing the experience with at least a few fellow Americans. I am not talking about loud obnoxious types complaining that it wasn’t the good old USA, but just normal nice every day people. They didn’t seem to be comfortable without at least a few other Americans around.
I can’t help wondering if that is part of the reason at least. Australians and Kiwis have to travel just as far to get there, and much further to get to the UK and Europe. If you decide to travel, it is very easy if you are confident doing it alone. You just pack your bags and go, and that is what most of us do, when we are young at least. It just doesn’t seem to work the same way for Americans.
And something I heard multiple times from others only in America. “A girl/woman travelling alone! You’re so brave!”

Daniel Gerber：
I have thought about this a lot, but as a normal person it’s hard to tease out all the confounding variables and suchlike. But here’s my intuitions:


Maybe the difference isn’t as great as it seems. If you go to Central America there’s a heap of Americans there, so to some degree it’s that Australians travel in different parts of the world than Americans. There’s also a lot of Americans overseas with the Peace Corps and stuff like that, often away from the tourist trails.
Culture. Australia has always had this culture of travel. It’s still a rite of passage for us to work in the UK for a year or two after high school or after university. We still have a cultural cringe towards both the UK and the USA. Many Americans think that they’re the best country on earth; very few Australians think Australia is the best country on earth. Look at our culture … even “Waltzing Matilda” is about a traveller (although not international). Look at some of the iconic Aussie rock songs: “I still call Australia home” (with lines like “I’m always wand’ring, I love being free”), “Down Under”, “I am, You are, We are Australian” (more about celebrating people who travelled to Australia, but still very much about migration and travel).
Likewise, I feel like Australians perhaps idolise this idea of “the bush” perhaps a bit more than Americans do (in the USA this idolatry of rural areas and farmers is more tied up with conservatism than it is in Australia). We like to think we’re tough, resourceful, and like to test our metal. In today’s modern world, particularly in the almost clinical Australian cities, the best way we can do that is to travel.
I’ve heard Americans say “Why would I leave the USA? We’ve got everything I want here and it might be dangerous over there”. I’ve never heard an Australian say that.
Americans are less geographically literate. I don’t know why that is, but it’s obvious that it would impact on their likelihood of travel.
It’s cheaper for us to go overseas than to go to many of the more interesting places in our own country. This isn’t really true for the USA because of much higher populations leading to things like more competition on air routes (e.g. it’s cheaper to fly from Melbourne or Sydney to Kuala Lumpur than to Alice Springs; it’s cheaper to fly to Dubai than to fly to Broome.)
Australia is more expensive than the USA. This means that comparatively, things overseas seem even cheaper for us, and there’s even less incentive to holiday locally.
Our culture is pretty much the same all around the country (except that some places have much more and different Aboriginal culture than others), whereas for some Americans, other parts of their country must feel quite foreign. If I go to Brisbane it just feels like I’ve suddenly discovered a new suburb of Melbourne.
The big one is probably economic. It’s true that Americans are slightly richer than Australians by GDP(PPP) per capita (see here
) but this is not as evenly distributed in the USA as in Australia. I feel like there are a lot of Americans who are really struggling to get by from day to day and for whom even an unexpected US$100 expense could cause them very serious trouble. For Australians, anybody with any fulltime job, even a really lousy one, should if they’re frugal, be able to save enough money for a flight to Bali and a couple of weeks there (well, not in Bali, but they could get a bus from there to somewhere cheaper). While it’s hard to measure inequality, the GINI coefficient
 shows the USA to be about 20% more unequal than Australia.
In a similar vein but more importantly, American student loans work differently than Australian ones, at least until recently. Likewise the health system. Forcing people to pay for expensive health insurance is one solution that kind of works for most Americans, but when an American goes travelling for a year or goes to work or volunteer in a poor country, there’s no way he or she could afford to keep paying for health insurance. Travel insurnace will only patch you up enough to get you back home. For young people this is probably not an issue, but for someone like me it would be. With my pre-existing condition it’s nice that I know that if I get badly sick as long as I can survive the plane trip I’ll have free, world-class, medical care when I get home. There’s no way I could afford to pay the commercial rate for American health insurance while I’m living in China or travelling on the cheap.
Australian workplaces are generally more flexible. In the USA, high-skilled employees can get “sabbaticals” and longer annual leave and suchlike, but lower workers often only get one or two weeks per year, which is not enough for travel. In Australia, four weeks annual leave is the law, and by being a bit creative and not having holidays one or two years, I was able to take about one five-week holiday every year for many yaers while working full time, or two shorter trips. This got me addicted to travel, and my employer then kindly gave me a one-year leave without pay, meaning I didn’t need to worry about finding work when I got back … a few years later they gave me another one. I eventually quit, but I’m grateful to them. Since I was by no means indispensable, I don’t think this would happen at many workplaces in the USA. But the big thing is that we get four weeks annual leave, by law (although of course not everybody gets this, there are many casual employees for instance) whereas many in the USA only get one or two weeks.
The USA’s tax regime which tries to tax all Americans, even those that have never set foot in the USA, discourages some people from living and working in developing countries, where the salaries are lower and so in effect their American tax rate is higher.

Dominic Frank：
New Zealand there is a real push to travel as an important rite of passage especially for the young, and also as a cultural requirement, which harks back to my grandparents generation who actually thought they were British. Yes alot of kiwis and Australians (it was the same for Australians) today don’t realise this but up until 80–100 years ago people in these counties identifed as British. All the magazines they read, the t.v. and movies they watched, the radio, was British. British was the suprerior world culture they believed. This began to change with the ANZAC experience in WW1.
My point is that as a colonial, a “British subject" it has always been an thing to return to the motherland. The centre of culture. Much like individuals inhabiting the outreaches of the Roman Empire would make a pilgrimage to Rome once in a lifetime and Greeks in say Bactria (modern day Uzbekistan) back to Attica. Its the same impulse. This may sound a bit wacky but its true! Thats where this expectation to travel comes from in the culture of these two country's. Its deeply ingrained in the collective psyche and harks back to our colonials roots. Even today the vast majoirty of young still choose the UK, specifically London, over everywhere else
America, on the other hand, is a totally different beast. They believe they are -rightly or wrongly-the centre of the universe. America is also a vast and diverse land with much to offer, so much entertainment and stimulation, the need to travel internationally is not pressing.

Donald Eigendorff：
Part of the answer lies within your question - the distance from other countries. Yes, fewer American travel abroad than say Australians or New Zealanders, but there are many factors, other than nationality, at play. Many Americans travel abroad, but because of geography (distance), Americans, like Europeans, have access to a wider variety of places to visit closer to home. The US is huge and very culturally diverse in and of itself - a trip to NYC alone can often offer a taste of the world - not literally of course. We can travel to places like Puerto Rico, with its own unique culture and beauty, without leaving the country. Canada, with cities like Montreal, Quebec, and Vancouver, is just to the north - often in driving distance. And Mexico, is just to our south - so cities like Mexico City and Oaxaca, present very unique travel opportunities fairly close to home. Of course, traveling abroad is a wonderful experience, and many, many Americans travel quite widely. However, I think economic status has more to do with peoples travel habits than their nationality. In my opinion, Americans with the means to travel are not very different than Australians or New Zealanders with the means to travel. Also, the two-week vacation thing is hardly the rule. Depending on the amount of time on the job, and flexibility at your workplace, time off cany vary widely and is very often more than two weeks.
Sadly, I have not been to Australia or New Zealand, and I would love to see both. Air travel time and cost to a certain degree are factors, and flying these days is not a pure delight, maybe an understatement. So, for me, and at my age, a country like Mexico offers endless places of interest and the opportunity to use and improve my Spanish.

Mark Roberts：

The culture of Australia and NZ remains very British in many small ways, so travel to Britain feels very natural; Europe is just across the Channel, and why not stop over somewhere exotic on the way there?
Maybe Americans don’t have the same “easy introduction” to overseas travel.

Ronald Debose：
Americans tend to be a bit more insular than Australians and New Zealanders, who are used to living far away from other countries.
Americans have the luxury of being able to travel within their own country without having to cross any borders, so they don't feel as much of an urge or need for international travel.
Additionally, many Americans may not have the financial means or resources available that would make it easier for them to take trips abroad.
Finally, there is also a cultural element at play here; some people in America may simply prefer staying close by rather than venturing out into unknown territory!

Suzie Q：

Probably because Australians are more adventurous than Americans. We want to learn through experience instead of what others tell us.

Tony deAraujo：
The United States is composed of 50 different States. Even within States, the cultural diversity is phenomenal.
This question assumes that most Americans don’t travel abroad, which is incorrect.
Some Americans (probably millions) never go anywhere, except perhaps for a long weekend in the Bahamas, or Cancun. This has to do with the limited free time available.
I’ve lived most of my life in the United States, but I’ve been around the world and worked in several different Continents.
In fact, with the exception of one or two friends, I don’t know anyone in America that hasn’t traveled to other countries for business or pleasure.
Yes, there are pockets of Americans that don’t care to travel (or can’t afford to take the time off, or even pay for traveling expenses), but that is a minority, and most other countries have pockets like these as well.
The United States of America is made up of people from all over the world. They have roots abroad and they visit their families outside of the country.
When we speak of “Americans”, we compare them with people from other countries such as France, England, and Australia… That’s comparing apples with bananas. Americans should be compared to Europeans (as of European Community), or any other Union of countries. Other than that, we need to compare France with Texas, or England with California, perhaps New Jersey with Portugal. That’s more appropriate.
The Americans I know, travel extensively.
By the way, there is no difference between an Englishman traveling to Portugal and a New Yorker traveling to Florida. The United States is composed of 50 different countries plus territories. No passport is need for interstate traveling.

Ryan Issacs：
I would wager that the need to go overseas to find what one is looking for would be a major factor.
The United States has remarkable diversity. There is every kind of ecosystem you can think of there and sizeable cultural differences from state to state. A New Yorker is going to have a completely different experience in, say, Arizona than at home. Meanwhile, Australian culture is not as diverse geographically. Our most pressing cultural divide is whether you say “scallop” or “potato cake”. New Zealand is similar in this way.
Australia also has a lot of ecological diversity, but all the interesting stuff tends to be where few people live, so there is little infrastructure and it becomes harder to visit. It can be easier, quicker, and sometimes cheaper (Australia is an expensive place to visit, even if you’re already here), to fly overseas than to visit some parts of Australia. New Zealand is easier to get around, but that may actually make it less appealing for a holiday if you’re already there. Why spend a couple of weeks to see Milford Sound when you could do it in a long weekend? Also, like Australia, New Zealand can be quite expensive.
I know this kind of question isn’t a place where politics should come into it, but there is also a political element to all of this. A large part of right-wing thinking in the US is centred on America being the greatest place on Earth by every possible metric. The word “European” is often thrown around as an insult in these circles. To leave the US, even for a holiday, would be admitting that there might be something worth seeing outside of it.
Australia and New Zealand have people who think this way, but not in the sheer numbers that the United States does.

Albert Hall：
UK29/05/21 Believe it or not because they are frightened of the NATIVES and the majority of Americans some 75% do not even have a passport. During my RAF Service I served with members of the USAF [ during the 60’s when the USA still had conscription] in the UK. Most of them could not have pointed out wher they were on a World Atlas. Not only that but most of then could not see any reason to do so beRAF guys cause eveything was just another ‘bit of America] or it was on no consequence to us they were naive beyond comprehension EXCEPT those that were not and THEY ran the rackets the Black Markets in tobacco and booze and the Girls.
Anybody in the USAF who served at RAF/USAF ALCONBURYin the UK at the time will be familiar with the ‘CORBY COMMANDOS’ who wore no knickers and had the price of the soles of their shoes !

以下粗略翻譯：
Mickie S：
任何去過美國、但沒有聽過有人喊「澳洲！我很想去澳洲！」的澳洲人請舉手。

從我第一次去那裡開始，我已經記不清聽過多少次「澳洲！我很想去澳洲！」了。

有人會對我這麼說，我會說：「那你為什麼不去呢？」。然後他們就開始退縮。 「太遠了，需要很長時間才能到達那裡，太費錢，如果我有時間就好了。」
我心裡想，從美國到澳洲的距離與從澳洲到美國的距離完全相同，但我能從澳洲到美國。他們似乎很喜歡旅行的想法，但當要付諸實踐的時候，他們就開始有各種各樣的理由說辦不了。
我和我的許多親朋好友都決定要去某個地方，然後都付諸實踐了。我們拿到了護照，存了足夠的錢來支付旅行費用，然後我們就出發了。我們大多數人也是獨自完成的。我幾乎不記得在任何地方旅行時，我沒有遇到獨自旅遊的澳洲人，或偶爾遇到情侶在各地旅行。
但我確實注意到的一件事是，當我在海外遇到美國人時，他們幾乎總是成群結隊，並不總是大型旅行團，但幾乎從不獨自一人。在這一點我可能說錯，但我覺得除非他們與至少一些美國同胞分享這種經歷，否則他們似乎永遠不會感到暢快。我不是說那些大聲抱怨這不是美好的舊美國、令人討厭的人，而是只是普通的好人。他們身邊總要有幾個美國人，否則他們似乎總會感到不爽。
我不禁想知道這是否至少是部分原因。澳紐人必須走同樣遠的旅程，才能到達那裡，而要去英國和歐洲則要走更遠的路。如果您決定去旅行，如果您有信心獨自旅行，那會很容易。你只需收拾好行李就可以走了，這就是我們大多數人所做的，至少在我們年輕的時候。對美國人來說，這似乎不一樣。
另外，我只從美國多次聽道有人這麼講： 「女生獨自旅行！你真勇敢！」

Daniel Gerber：
我對此思考了很多，但作為一個普通人，很難梳理出所有令人困惑的因素。但我的直覺如下：
也許差異並不像看起來那麼大。如果你去中美洲，那裡有很多美國人，所以在某種程度上，澳洲人在世界各地旅行的地方與美國人不同。還有很多美國人在海外參加和平工作隊之類的活動，通常遠離旅遊路線。
文化。澳洲一直都有這種旅行文化。高中或大學畢業後在英國工作一兩年仍然是我們的成年儀式（或者說：人生必經之路）。我們仍然在文化上對英國和美國有某種崇敬。許多美國人認為他們是世界最好的國家；很少澳洲人認為澳洲是世界最好的國家。看看我們的文化……甚至「華爾茲瑪蒂爾達」都是關於旅行者的（儘管不是國際旅行者）。看看一些標誌性的澳洲搖滾歌曲：「我仍然稱澳洲為家」（歌詞是「我總是魔杖環，我喜歡自由」）、「Down Under」、「我是、你是、我們是澳大利亞人」（更多的是關於慶祝前往澳洲旅行的人，但仍然非常關注移民和旅行）。
同樣，我覺得澳洲人可能比美國人更崇拜「灌木叢」的想法（在美國，這種對農村地區和農民的崇拜比澳洲更與保守主義聯繫在一起）。我們喜歡認為自己堅強、足智多謀，並且喜歡挑戰自我。在當今的現代世界，尤其是在近乎冷清的澳洲城市，我們能做到這一點的最佳方法就是旅行。
我聽美國人說「我為什麼要離開美國？我們這裡有我想要的一切，但那裡可能很危險」。我從來沒有聽過澳洲人這麼說過。
美國人的地理知識較少。我不知道為什麼會這樣，但很明顯這會影響他們旅行的可能性。
對我們來說，出國比去國內許多更有趣的地方便宜。對美國來說並非如此，因為人口較多，導致航線競爭更加激烈（例如，從墨爾本或雪梨飛往吉隆坡比飛往愛麗絲泉更便宜；飛往杜拜比飛往布魯姆更便宜）
澳洲比美國開小高。這意味著相較之下，海外的東西對我們來說似乎更便宜，而且在國內度假的動力更小。
我們的文化在全國各地幾乎都是一樣的（除了有些地方比其他地方有更多且不同的原住民文化），而對一些美國人來說，他們國家的其他地方一定對他們而言很陌生。如果我去布里斯本，感覺就像突然發現了墨爾本的一個新郊區。
最重要的可能是經濟方面的。確實，以人均國內生產毛額（購買力平價）計算，美國人比澳洲人稍微富裕一些。但美國的財富分佈並不像澳洲那麼均勻。我覺得有很多美國人日復一日地過著艱苦的生活，對他們來說，即使是100美元的意外開支也可能會給他們帶來很大的麻煩。對於澳洲人來說，任何有全職工作的人，即使是一份非常糟糕的工作，如果他們節儉的話，應該能夠存下足夠的錢飛往巴厘島並在那裡待上幾週（好吧，不是在巴厘島，但他們可以得到從那裡乘坐巴士到更便宜的地方）。雖然很難衡量不平等，但基尼係數顯示美國的不平等程度比澳洲高約 20%。
同樣，但更重要的是，美國學生貸款的運作方式與澳洲不同，至少直到最近是這樣。衛生系統也是如此。強迫人們支付昂貴的醫療保險是對大多數美國人有效的解決方案，但是當一個美國人去旅行一年或去一個貧窮的國家工作或做志工時，他或她就沒有辦法繼續支付費用用於健康保險。旅遊保險只能為您提供足夠的保障，讓您可以回家。對年輕人來說這可能不是問題，但對像我這樣的人來說那就是問題了。就我已有的病情而言，很高興我知道，如果我病得很重，只要我能在飛機旅行中倖存下來，我回家後就能享受免費的世界一流的醫療護理。當我住在中國或以便宜的價格旅行時，我不可能支付美國健康保險的商業費率。
澳洲的工作場所通常更加靈活。在美國，熟練員工可以獲得「休假」和更長的年假等，但非熟練員工每年往往只有一到兩週的假期，這不足以用於旅行。在澳洲，法律規定四週年假，透過發揮一點創意，並且一兩年不休假，我可以在全職工作的情況下在某一年享受一次大約五週的假期，或者更短的兩次旅行。這讓我對旅行上癮了，然後我的雇主好心地給了我一年的無薪假期，這意味著我回來後不需要擔心找不到工作……幾年後，他們又給了我一份假期。我最終放棄了，但我很感激他們。由於我絕不是不可或缺的，我認為這種情況不會發生在美國的許多工作場所。但最重要的是，根據法律，我們有四週的年假（當然不是每個人都能得到這個，例如有很多臨時工），而美國的許多人只有一到兩週的年假。
美國的稅收制度試圖向所有美國人徵稅，甚至包括那些從未踏足美國的人，這阻止了一些人在發展中國家生活和工作，因為那裡的工資較低，因此實際上他們的美國稅率較高。

Dominic Frank：
紐西蘭確實大力推動旅行作為一種重要的成年儀式，尤其是對於年輕人來說，同時也是一種文化要求，這可以追溯到我的祖父母一代，他們實際上認為自己是英國人。是的，今天很多紐西蘭人和澳洲人（澳洲人也是一樣）並沒有意識到這一點，但直到 80-100 年前，這些國家的人們還被認為是英國人。他們讀的所有雜誌、看的電視和電影、廣播都是英國的。他們相信英國是最高級的世界文化。隨著第一次世界大戰中澳紐軍團的經歷，這種情況開始改變。
我的觀點是，作為一個殖民地人，一個 「英國臣民」，回到祖國一直是一件好事——回到自己的文化中心。就像居住在羅馬帝國外圍地區的人一生中會去羅馬朝聖一次，居住在巴克特里亞（今烏茲別克斯坦）的希臘人會回到阿提卡一樣。這是同樣的衝動。這聽起來有點古怪，但卻是事實！這就是這兩個國家的文化對旅行的期望。它深深地扎根於我們的集體心理中，並追溯到我們的殖民地根源。即使在今天，絕大多數年輕人仍然選擇英國，特別是倫敦，而不是其他地方。

另一方面，美國則是完全不同的一類人。他們相信自己是（無論正確與否）宇宙的中心。美國也是一片廣闊而具有多樣性的土地，有很多東西可以提供，有很多娛樂和刺激，出國旅行的需求並不緊迫。

Donald Eigendorff：
部分答案就在你的問題中——與其他國家的距離。是的，美國人出國旅行的人數比澳洲人和紐西蘭人少，但除了國籍之外，還有很多因素在起作用。許多美國人出國旅行，但由於地理位置（距離）的原因，美國人和歐洲人一樣，可以前往離家較近的更多地方參觀。美國幅員遼闊，文化本身也非常多元──光是去紐約旅行往往就能體驗到世界的風采（當然不是字面上的意思）。我們無需出國就可以前往波多黎各等擁有獨特文化和美景的地方。加拿大位於北部，擁有蒙特婁、魁北克和溫哥華等城市，通常開車即可到達。墨西哥就在我們的南部 - 因此像墨西哥城和瓦哈卡這樣的城市提供了離家很近的非常獨特的旅行機會。當然，出國旅行是一種美妙的經歷，而且許多美國人的旅行範圍相當廣泛。然而，我認為經濟狀況與人們的旅行習慣有關，而不是與國籍有關。在我看來，有能力旅行的美國人與有能力旅行的澳洲人或紐西蘭人沒有太大不同。此外，兩週假期也不是慣例。根據工作時間長短和工作場所的彈性，休假時間差異很大，通常會超過兩週。
遺憾的是，我沒有去過澳洲或紐西蘭，但我很想去看看這兩個國家。航空旅行的時間和成本在某種程度上是因素，如今飛行並不是一種純粹的樂趣，也許是一種輕描淡寫的說法。因此，對我來說，在我這個年紀，像墨西哥這樣的國家提供了無盡的名勝古蹟以及使用和提高西班牙語的機會。

Mark Roberts：
澳紐文化在許多小方面仍然非常英國化，所以去英國旅行感覺很自然；歐洲就在英吉利海峽對面，為什麼不在前往那裡的途中停留在充滿異國情調的地方呢？
也許美國人對海外旅行沒有同樣的「簡單入門選項」。

Ronald Debose：
美國人往往比習慣遠離其他國家生活的澳紐人更內向。
美國人擁有能夠在自己的國家內旅行、而無需跨越任何邊界的優厚條件，因此他們不會對國際旅行感到那麼強烈或需要。
此外，許多美國人可能沒有足夠的經濟能力或資源來更容易出國旅行。
最後，這裡還有一個文化因素在運作。有些美國人可能只是喜歡待在附近，而不是冒險進入未知的領域！

Suzie Q：
可能是因為澳洲人比美國人更具冒險精神。我們希望透過經歷而不是別人告訴我們的東西來學習。

Tony deAraujo：
美國由50個不同的州組成。即使各州內也有著驚人的文化多樣性。
這個問題假設大多數美國人不出國旅行，這是不正確的。
有些美國人（可能是數百萬人）從來不去任何地方，除了在巴哈馬或坎昆度過一個長週末。這與可用的空閒時間有限有關。
我一生的大部分時間都住在美國，但我也去過世界各地並在幾個不同的大陸工作過。
事實上，除了一兩個朋友之外，我不知道在美國有誰沒有去過其他國家出差或旅遊。
是的，有一部分美國人不喜歡旅行（或沒有能力請假，甚至支付旅行費用），但這只是少數，大多數其他國家也有這樣的人。
美利堅合眾國是由來自世界各地的人民組成的。他們在國外紮根，並探望國外的家人。
當我們談到「美國人」時，我們將他們與法國、英國和澳洲等其他國家的人進行比較……這就像拿蘋果比香蕉。美國人應該與歐洲人（如歐盟）或任何其他國家聯盟進行比較。除此之外，我們需要將法國與德州、英格蘭與加州、紐澤西州與葡萄牙進行比較。那就更合適了。
我認識的美國人經常旅行。
順便說一句，英國人去葡萄牙旅遊和紐約人去佛羅裡達旅遊沒有什麼不同。美國由 50 個不同的國家和地區組成。州際旅行不需要護照。

Ryan Issacs：
我敢打賭，需要去海外尋找自己想要的東西是一個主要因素。
美國具有顯著的多元性。那裡有你能想到的各種生態系統，而且各州之間有著相當大的文化差異。紐約人在亞利桑那州等地會獲得與在家鄉完全不同的體驗。同時，澳洲各地文化彼此差異並不那麼大。我們最迫切的文化分歧是你說「scallop」還是「potato cake」。紐西蘭在這方面也有類似的情況。
澳洲也有很多生態多樣性，但所有有趣的東西往往都在人煙稀少的地方，因此基礎設施很少，參觀起來也變得更加困難。飛往海外比訪問澳洲的某些地區更容易、更快捷，有時甚至更便宜（澳洲是一個旅遊費用昂貴的地方，即使您已身在澳洲）。紐西蘭交通便利，但如果您已經到了那裡，這實際上可能會降低它對度假的吸引力。既然可以在長週末參觀米爾福德峽灣，為什麼還要花幾週的時間呢？此外，與澳洲一樣，紐西蘭的物價也相當昂貴。
我知道這問答不適宜涉及政治，但所有這些也有著政治因素。美國右翼思想的很大一部分，聚焦在「美國是地球上最偉大的地方（無論以何種標準衡量）」的想法。在這些圈子裡，「歐洲」這個詞常被視為侮辱。離開美國，即使是去度假，也意味著承認美國之外可能有值得一看的東西。
澳洲和紐西蘭也有持這種想法的人，但沒有美國那樣多。

Albert Hall：
UK29/05/21 信不信由你，因為他們害怕當地人，而大多數美國人（75％）甚至沒有護照。在英國皇家空軍服役期間，我在英國與美國空軍成員一起服役[在 60 年代，當時美國仍然實行徵兵制]。他們中的大多數人都無法指出他們在世界地圖的位置。不僅如此，大多數人都看不出有任何理由這樣做，因為英國皇家空軍的傢伙們，因為一切都只是美國的另一個「部分」，或者這對我們來說沒有任何影響，他們天真得很難理解，除了那些不是的人，他們進行了非法活動。
當時在英國皇家空軍/美國阿爾肯伯里空軍基地服役的任何美國空軍成員都會熟悉「CORBY COMMANDOS」，他們不穿內褲，鞋底的價錢還沒撕掉！

原問答連結：https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-few-Americans-travel-abroad-compared-to-Australians-and-New-Zealanders-who-live-very-far-from-other-countries