Although the Northeast has experienced a somewhat damp May, summer is just around the corner, and for most of us who enjoy traveling, vacation time is calling. I’ve been reading a ton of stories lately about places across the world that I want to visit but have never gone, as well as about my old favorites from a fresh angle. My family’s relocation to South America ignited my wanderlust, and I haven’t been the same since.

I happen to know people who are quite passionate about going abroad. I believe it’s true that we often reflect the people we spend time with. My immediate circle still enjoys boarding a plane and traveling to new places, but I’ve been curious about people who don’t. I was told by someone who has worked in sales for the travel industry that Americans don’t really enjoy going abroad.

I decided to find out more about this and determine for myself whether or not most Americans were interested in traveling abroad or actually wanted to remain within the country’s borders. Screaming headlines about Americans not traveling abroad and statistics about how Americans actually want to stay in this country were easy to obtain with only a short search.

A book named “America’s Vacation Deficit Disorder” was written by William D. Chalmers. In an article titled “The Great American Passport Myth: Why Just 3.5% Of Us Travel Overseas!” for The Huffington Post, he outlined the following:

42% of Americans have a current passport.
Fewer than 9% of leisure tourists go abroad (not to Mexico or Canada).
Travel destinations for Americans abroad include Europe (35%), the Caribbean (21%), Asia (19%), and South America (9%).
The most popular nations are England (9%) followed by France (7%), Italy (7%), Germany (5%), Dominican Republic (5%), Jamaica (5%), Japan (4%) China (4%) India (4%) Spain (4%) Bahamas (3%) and Costa Rica (3%) in that order.
The Middle East accounted for 6% of American tourists’ journeys abroad, followed by Africa (3%) and Australia/New Zealand (2%).
Therefore, the logical question is: Why do so few Americans travel abroad, given that there is so much to see, learn about, and comprehend globally?

If you sit down and give it some thought, it’s probably not that difficult to come up with some of the explanations—real or made-up—that have been offered for why Americans aren’t interested in visiting other countries.

One answer is that the United States has a diversified terrain and topography, which, with examination, probably makes a lot of sense. There are some great places to go if you want to go to the beach, such Florida and California. There is a lot of beauty in mountainous areas, like the Rockies, for those who prefer them.

Along with this, many Americans believe that travel is expensive and that they work much more than individuals in other affluent countries. The only developed nation that does not mandate that businesses give their employees paid vacation and holiday time is the United States. If they get paid time off at all, the majority of Americans might get a week and, in a perfect world, two. Additionally, Americans believe that traveling abroad is expensive, even though, depending on where they go, they may be able to receive more for their money abroad than even at home.

Additionally, I’ve read articles on the “Ugly American,” a person who has little interest in learning about or mingling with cultures other than our own. Since I was a little child and my parents took me on my first international flights, I have been exposed to this.

My favorite claim, which I find preposterous as an American, is that people in America are “scared” of the rest of the globe. This hypothesis holds that following 9/11 Americans have recognized the world is a cold and dangerous place—I did not see any studies that backed it as a truth. And so it is that the ancestors of the early inhabitants of the continent, the soldiers of the American Revolution, World Wars I and II, the explorers who first broke the speed of sound, landed on the moon, and continue to find methods to breach boundaries, are too terrified to venture outside of our borders.

Whatever the motivations for taking domestic vacations, there still seems to be a romanticized view of Americans traveling abroad, which may have been begun by famous American aviators like Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Howard Hughes. However, the truth is that the chances are slim that your American friends will accompany you if you decide to book a trip outside of the country.