Why Are There Proportionately So Many More Brits Than Americans In Thailand?

[Jingthing]

There are so many reasons. American vacations are disgustingly short for the majority anyway. If you have two weeks to make a long haul flight where it takes a week to get over jet lag isn't worth it for most. The people with the time to travel long haul usually don't have the money. To make the big decision to move to Thailand, a normal person needs to spend multiple visits here to get comfortable with that. Most Americans would never even have that opportunity.

[nietzche]

As mentioned, Brits are far more likely to travel internationally by % of the population than the Americans.

I know a lot of Americans who are delighted to see as much of that cast country as possible and don't see the need to travel overseas and I understand that. I think it's a badge of honour to be able to say you have visited all 50 states.

One of the primary drivers for Brits is the weather, our winters can be atrocious, and we along with a lot of other Northern Europeans need to know that we are getting good weather when we are on holiday. Hence the reason why so many of us arrive in the Winter........anything to avoid the -15 temps.

It's quite simple. The U.S. is a huge place. New York to Los Angeles is further in distance than London to Moscow.

The U.S has every type of climate you could desire 365 days a year. The U.S is also a very cheap place (with the exemption of the major cities). If you go out to a place like Pensylvania, you can get a big burger, french fries and onion rings for $3 in most diners.

It's also a 20+ hour flight from the East coast of the U.S. to Thailand.

I also think that South/Central America is to U.S citzens, what Thailand is for Europeans. I met several times more expat Americans in Peru, Bolivia, etc. than I have ever met in Thailand.

[Jingthing]

Yeah, in expat havens like Cuenca Ecuador the expats are mostly Americans.

[JUDAS]

Simple really. There's more brits here because they have a higher sex drive and can't get it at home

[WebBangkok]

The UK is depressing.

Im from Australia, I went to the UK for 3 months on holiday about 5 years ago. I love it for about 3 weeks, but dam_n, after that it was cold, the atmosphere was not too much different than Australia. People are nice in the UK during the day, but as soon as its night, its like they turn into angry people, especially in the pubs. Had a guy want to fight me because I looked in his direction.

Will go again next year as Aston Martin will be having a huge event in July next year. Might only stay 2 weeks this time. Hope I enjoy it better this time.

[nietzche]

Because most British people

a) realise that there is more than one country in the world

have passports (or even know what one is)

.... oh and yes, they have Mexico to go for their sex tours which is closer and cheaper when all told.

You need a passport if you live in a country that has the same land mass as Disney World

The U.S. tends to keep it's riffraff in prisons. In the U.K the government generally gives them a passport instead!

[aneliane]

Because Brits watched Little Britain

Edited June 22, 2012 by aneliane

[pmarlin]

Many Americans have never heard of Thailand?

Must explain all the Thai resturants in the US. I even found them in small cities in Oklahoma.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Just a lot more other-country expats than Yanks, most travel for business or holidays but settling down for life in another country's relatively rare, in fact often suspect.

Most stay-at-home 'mekahn would answer "why would you? Nothing beats the US".

[pmarlin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand according to this in 2011 UK had 844,224 and the Us 684,073 tourist come to Thailand, UK was ranked number 9 while the Us ranked number 10.

[BlackArtemis]

As mentioned, Brits are far more likely to travel internationally by % of the population than the Americans.

I know a lot of Americans who are delighted to see as much of that cast country as possible and don't see the need to travel overseas and I understand that. I think it's a badge of honour to be able to say you have visited all 50 states.

One of the primary drivers for Brits is the weather, our winters can be atrocious, and we along with a lot of other Northern Europeans need to know that we are getting good weather when we are on holiday. Hence the reason why so many of us arrive in the Winter........anything to avoid the -15 temps.

It's quite simple. The U.S. is a huge place. New York to Los Angeles is further in distance than London to Moscow.

The U.S has every type of climate you could desire 365 days a year. The U.S is also a very cheap place (with the exemption of the major cities). If you go out to a place like Pensylvania, you can get a big burger, french fries and onion rings for $3 in most diners.

It's also a 20+ hour flight from the East coast of the U.S. to Thailand.

I also think that South/Central America is to U.S citzens, what Thailand is for Europeans. I met several times more expat Americans in Peru, Bolivia, etc. than I have ever met in Thailand.

$3 is stretching it. But Central PA is rather cheap. I lived in one of the wealthy (expensive) areas outside of Philly but did my first degree in central PA. Much cheaper, only downfall is that it's one of the top 3 places in the US for KKK activity. The other two being New Jersey and Indiana. Notice all three are above the M-D line...

I honestly was going to move to Minneapolis before moving back here this year. Freezing cold winters kinda suck, but the summers are great, insanely active town. One of the most commuted by bike towns in the US. Very young population and tons of different ethnicities means awesome culture and food. But Chiang Mai just kept tugging at my heart strings.

A poster on the first page said it right. When Americans are sick of where we are, we can move states and it's almost like moving to a new country. Culture and people vary greatly throughout the US and we have almost every climate you could want. I am hoping that this move just pans out for me to make it permanent, but if it doesn't I won't be heart broken to return "home".

[Pseudolus]

Its because American's don't want to go to China. jk

Nah they have very cheap and nice holidat destinations like Mexico, and it id HEAVILY advertised in the US for a nice cheap holiday. Plus a lot of them travel within the country as they also heavily promote places to visit in the US much more than anywhere else.

Problem is though that there are too many Americans there.

Actually though, most Yanks I meet that live in Asia are very nice people (I'm not including the sex tourist scum here by the way). They are smart enough to decide to leave America.

[Semper]

Many Americans have never heard of Thailand?

Must explain all the Thai resturants in the US. I even found them in small cities in Oklahoma.

Can they point it out on a map?

[Soutpeel]

Many Americans have never heard of Thailand?

Must explain all the Thai resturants in the US. I even found them in small cities in Oklahoma.

Ah but how many could find Thailand on a world map without looking at the names ?

[Pseudolus]

Many Americans have never heard of Thailand?

Must explain all the Thai resturants in the US. I even found them in small cities in Oklahoma.

Ah but how many could find Thailand on a world map without looking at the names ?

How many could find the US without looking at the names? Bet George Dubya couldn't. Would have been funny if he heard about all the oil there, and bombed it by mistake. Yeeeeeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa let's roll boys we's gonna get us rich as a fat boy selling sweat.

[farang000999]

I am trying to think of a reason to visit England. To watch a football match? To visit some museums? Dunno, going to England to see some museums sounds like a very boring vacation. Also, doesn't England have a massive welfare system? The women seem rather ugly. When you watch football matches the other team always seems to have hotter women cheering them on. The food? I mean, all I see outside of England is fish and chips (fast food) and meat pies. Terrible weather. Generally it just seems like a miserable place to live. And when the african youth decided to burn down the country what I mostly saw were people being apologetic and saying how terrible it was that the government did this to them and forced them to loot every tv in sight.

Edited June 22, 2012 by farang000999

[Soutpeel]

I think the main difference, Britain was always a seafaring nation, people were brought up on stories of Empire, so most people know there are other places outside mud island and guess this drives people want to travel to other places.

The US on the whole is more inward looking and in a lot of cases totally oblivious to anything outside their town/state/country...this observation is based living and working in the US for a while and travelling quite extensively....When I announced I was packing in the job in the US and going to Thailand a lot of people thought it was Taiwan I was going to and asked how I would cope with not speaking Chinese...

[carra]

Most Americans would end up in Taiwan with their general lack of knowledge of anything outside its own borders

[Soutpeel]

I am trying to think of a reason to visit England. To watch a football match? To visit some museums? Dunno, going to England to see some museums sounds like a very boring vacation. Also, doesn't England have a massive welfare system? The women seem rather ugly. When you watch football matches the other team always seems to have hotter women cheering them on. The food? I mean, all I see outside of England is fish and chips (fast food) and meat pies. Terrible weather. Generally it just seems like a miserable place to live. And when the african youth decided to burn down the country what I mostly saw were people being apologetic and saying how terrible it was that the government did this to them and forced them to loot every tv in sight.

So you have got all your knowledge of the UK from CNN...BTW meat pies is more of an Aussie thing.

The UK has one thing the US hasnt got....a recorded history which goes over a 1000 years and quite humbling to go to one of those historic places and realise someone may have stood on the same spot as you 900 years previous and seen basically the same thing your looking at...

Further British music is far better.. ....even you yanks have to admit that...

BTW...those youths your talking about for the most part are not "African" per se

Edited June 22, 2012 by Soutpeel

[Thaddeus]

I am trying to think of a reason to visit England. To watch a football match? To visit some museums? Dunno, going to England to see some museums sounds like a very boring vacation. Also, doesn't England have a massive welfare system? The women seem rather ugly. When you watch football matches the other team always seems to have hotter women cheering them on. The food? I mean, all I see outside of England is fish and chips (fast food) and meat pies. Terrible weather. Generally it just seems like a miserable place to live. And when the african youth decided to burn down the country what I mostly saw were people being apologetic and saying how terrible it was that the government did this to them and forced them to loot every tv in sight.

Aye..... English cooking and English women ..... a solid argument for a seafaring nation.

(that was tic btw)

Edited June 22, 2012 by Thaddeus

[aneliane]

I am trying to think of a reason to visit England. To watch a football match? To visit some museums? Dunno, going to England to see some museums sounds like a very boring vacation. Also, doesn't England have a massive welfare system? The women seem rather ugly. When you watch football matches the other team always seems to have hotter women cheering them on. The food? I mean, all I see outside of England is fish and chips (fast food) and meat pies. Terrible weather. Generally it just seems like a miserable place to live. And when the african youth decided to burn down the country what I mostly saw were people being apologetic and saying how terrible it was that the government did this to them and forced them to loot every tv in sight.

Aye..... English cooking and English women ..... a solid argument for a seafaring nation.

(that was tic btw)

Kate Moss ???

[Soutpeel]

I am trying to think of a reason to visit England. To watch a football match? To visit some museums? Dunno, going to England to see some museums sounds like a very boring vacation. Also, doesn't England have a massive welfare system? The women seem rather ugly. When you watch football matches the other team always seems to have hotter women cheering them on. The food? I mean, all I see outside of England is fish and chips (fast food) and meat pies. Terrible weather. Generally it just seems like a miserable place to live. And when the african youth decided to burn down the country what I mostly saw were people being apologetic and saying how terrible it was that the government did this to them and forced them to loot every tv in sight.

Aye..... English cooking and English women ..... a solid argument for a seafaring nation.

(that was tic btw)

Kate Moss ???

You actually think she is good looking ?....a skinny little runt

In her younger days Kathrine Zeta Jones.... ....yes i know she is Welsh...

[aneliane]

I am trying to think of a reason to visit England. To watch a football match? To visit some museums? Dunno, going to England to see some museums sounds like a very boring vacation. Also, doesn't England have a massive welfare system? The women seem rather ugly. When you watch football matches the other team always seems to have hotter women cheering them on. The food? I mean, all I see outside of England is fish and chips (fast food) and meat pies. Terrible weather. Generally it just seems like a miserable place to live. And when the african youth decided to burn down the country what I mostly saw were people being apologetic and saying how terrible it was that the government did this to them and forced them to loot every tv in sight.

Aye..... English cooking and English women ..... a solid argument for a seafaring nation.

(that was tic btw)

Kate Moss ???

You actually think she is good looking ?....a skinny little runt

In her younger days Kathrine Zeta Jones.... ....yes i know she is Welsh...

She's one the longest top model around, still making big money at her age for I think yes she's still very beautiful

[HaruHaru]

Simple really. There's more brits here because they have a higher sex drive and can't get it at home

Good answer.

[KeyserSoze01]

Mexico is why.

Tourism to Mexico has fallen off a cliff ever since the drug cartels have begun waging war against each other and regularly leave bodies laying around in the streets, often without their heads.

As for the OP, perhaps it's the 20+ hour travel time and expense of getting to Thailand. There are many other holiday places in the Americas where US tourists can travel with lower cost and similar climate to Thailand. Carribean, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Peru, Brazil, etc.....

Then there is the image that Thailand has in the US. If you ask any American what they know about Thailand, they will tell you it's a place to find cheap hookers. That is if they know anything about Thailand at all beyond what they see in a 15 second news bite on TV. Which in recent times include scenes from the 2010 occupation of Bangkok, closing of the airports, tsunami, etc...

Then you have to consider that the average American does not have a passport and are as worldly as a slug.

The majority of Americans I have run into in Thailand are all oil & gas workers or in some support industry.

[aussiebebe]

Mexico is why.

Great answer - many Brits come to LOS for sun, sea, sand and, lets be honest, companionship and few even for drugs or steroids - as do people of all nationalities in fairness. Mexico does these things better and cheaper - many US college students in California/Texas etc even party in Mexico 'on the weekend' - imagine if Brits had that option - long-haul flights would lose their appeal.

[KeyserSoze01]

Many Americans have never heard of Thailand?

When telling family members that I was living and working in Thailand, they seemed to understand by the obligatory wagging of the chin, but they later ask me how things are going in Taiwan!!!!! And these are doctors, so you would think they would be more in touch with the world.

[ebmzlm]

It's cheaper to live in America than England.

[Soutpeel]

I am impressed 57 posts and everyone is still playing nicely on this thread....

[MB1]

There are so many reasons. American vacations are disgustingly short for the majority anyway. If you have two weeks to make a long haul flight where it takes a week to get over jet lag isn't worth it for most. The people with the time to travel long haul usually don't have the money. To make the big decision to move to Thailand, a normal person needs to spend multiple visits here to get comfortable with that. Most Americans would never even have that opportunity.

Well hopefully it remains that way then eh Jing, I've heard people moaning about the Russians invading Thailand so wouldn't want a million or more Americans joining em now would we.

I can Just imagine the thread.

" The yankyfication of Pattaya"

Anyway why more Brits than those from the other side of the pond come to Thailand

I agree with those who say it's too far for them and with so many places to go within a short hop rather than a trip to Thailand I'd probably do the same.