A US user on the internet platform Reddit looks with suspicion at the apparently effortless desire to travel of European young people. Americans, on the other hand, have to save up for a long time in order to be able to travel. He complains: “No matter where you go, there are Europeans everywhere who have been there for three months and live like the locals.”
Americans no longer understand the world: “They are not even rich”
This example leads to a general observation shared on the Reddit channel “travelhacks”. The astonished user constantly sees EU citizens writing in travel forums about how they travel “all the time”. In comparison, Americans often have to save for years to be able to afford a simple vacation.
The user expresses his astonishment at the travel plans of his European friends. In their twenties, they regularly take long-distance trips to Japan, Bora Bora, Peru and Yukon. “They aren’t even rich,” the American marvels.
This is behind the prejudice that Europeans can always travel
Some Reddit users immediately put this picture into perspective in the comments. Europe is not a unified bloc. People from poorer regions can hardly travel long distances. Another argues: “People who post in travel forums will also travel a lot.”
However, a look at the figures reveals that Americans are slightly ahead when it comes to travel. In a survey conducted by the management consultancy Roland Berger According to a 2021 survey, 86 percent of Americans said they would take a private trip after the pandemic. In Europe, this figure was only 80 percent.
Europeans work less and have more vacation entitlement
However, the surplus of Europeans in long-haul destinations observed by the Reddit user could be explained by a survey of Statista This compares tourism revenue from domestic travelers. The comparison shows that Americans vacation much more often in their own country. In addition, Europeans simply have more time for long-distance travel.
The ” New Zurich Newspaper “ reports on an OECD study according to which employees in the USA work on average almost 500 hours more per year than their European colleagues. European employees are also much better off than Americans when it comes to statutory holiday entitlement.
While German workers, according to “ gehalt.de While Americans get at least 20 days of vacation per year, there is no set vacation entitlement in the USA. French, Danish, Austrian, Swedish and Luxembourgers can even claim a minimum of 25 days.