Trapped In America: The Importance of International Travel

TRAPPED IN AMERICA:

The Importance of International Travel

http://brightsparktravel.com/educational-‐tours/find-‐tour/international-‐tours 1

Trapped in America: The Importance of International Travel

Despite our increasingly globalized economy, Americans aren’t showing much interest in cultures outside of the states: less than 50% of us have ever stepped beyond the United States borders.1 As demonstrated by the graph below, yearly international travel for U.S. citizens is remarkably rare when compared to international travel in other developed nations.

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Many citizens blame American’s lack of overseas travel on the financial burden that comes with crossing the ocean. In some circles, international travel is seen as a privilege of the upper classes, and is often considered ‘snooty.’3

While many are quick to point out the financial difficulty caused by our geographic isolation, our Canadian neighbors somehow manage to overcome this obstacle. Per person, Canadians engage in four times more overseas travel than Americans.

1 Margot Peppers. (2013, May 23). More than half of Americans have NEVER traveled outside the country—and a third do not even own a passport. Daily Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2329298/More-half-Americans-NEVER-traveled-outside-country--passport.html 2 Statistics taken from world-statistics.org, http://world-statistics.org/result.php?code=ST.INT.DPRT?name=International%20tourism,%20number%20of%20departures. Note. Certain individuals, particularly in the upper classes, may have taken multiple trips, so this does not represent the percent of the population that has traveled. 3 Bill Norrington. (2011, June 21). Americans’ Geographical Ignorance and Disinclination to Travel Aboad. UC Santa Barabara Department of Geography. http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/events/department-news/883/americans-geographical-ignorance-and-disinclination-to-travel-abroad/


Without this geographical/financial excuse, we are forced to look for other, more revealing reasons behind our lack of travel. Mark Twain once argued that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.”4

Twain is not the only person making this claim about untraveled patriots—internationally, Americans are renowned for their ignorance, specifically in regards to other nations.5 Though this is a less than flattering stereotype, we are not great at counteracting it: in a National Geographic study, only 17% of Americans ages 18 to 24 could find Afghanistan on a map6. Another study showed that 73% of Americans were not aware of communisms role in the Cold War7.

As a whole, our culture’s focus is domestic. A 2009 State of the News Media report showed that only 10.3% of the year’s news media coverage went to foreign affairs, while 13% went to a polygamy case in Texas.8 And while we are quick to point out foreigner’s mispronunciations of the English language, only 9% of us speak a foreign language. Compare this to Europe, where 44% of the population is proudly multilingual.9

Luckily, more and more Americans are realizing the need to break away from narrow worldviews through international travel.

In April 2014, Michelle Obama traveled to China to speak about the need for international travel in the modern, connected world.

“I know that our future depends on connections like these among young people like you across the globe,” said the first lady during a speech at Peking University. “When it comes to defining the challenges of our time—whether it is climate change or economic opportunity or the spread of nuclear weapons—these are shared challenges. And no country can confront them alone.”10

4 http://www.twainquotes.com/Travel.html 5 Google “American Stereotypes,” and on the majority of lists, you will find “ignorant” right after “fat.” 6 Bill Norrington, (2011, June 21). Americans’ Geographical Ignorance and Disinclination to Travel Aboad. UC Santa Barabara Department of Geography. http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/events/department-news/883/americans-geographical-ignorance-and-disinclination-to-travel-abroad/ 7 Andrew Romano. (2011, March 20). How Ignorant Are Americans. Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/how-ignorant-are-americans 8 State of the News Media. (2009). The Cable News Agenda: The Election, The Election, The Election. http://stateofthemedia.org/2009/cable-tv-intro/content-analysis/ 9 Terry McCatrthy, (2011). American Students Learn Their ABC’s and Chinese. CBS New. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-students-learn-their-abcs-and-chinese/ 10 Obama, M. (2014, March 22). Remarks by the First Lady at Stanford Center at Peking University

The Obama girls check out the Great Wall of China. Source, The Washington Post


Employers are beginning to see the value in international travel. During her speech, Michelle claimed that “More and more companies are realizing that they need people with experiences around the world, who can speak different languages, who can transition easily into other cultures and people who bring to their jobs a sensibility and a sensitivity for other people.”11

And a recent QS report supports this: three out of five employers said that an international student experience would give job applicants a competitive advantage.12

Yet international travel is more than a tactic to impress employers or college admission boards. In our modern world, global citizens must look out for and learn from one another. Understanding and empathy are essential. Amongst the countless cultural and historical lessons provided by international travel, its lessons in empathy may be the most important.

11 ibid 12QS Top Universities. (2011, October 28). Employers Value International Student Experience: QS Report. http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/careers-advice/employers-value-international-student-experience-qs-report

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Trapped In America: The Importance of International Travel