# What's so special about the USA, that tourists won't be able to get elsewhere **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629 "2012-02-03T05:05:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/1 "2012-02-03T05:05:49Z")
This is a tinsy-bit of a troll-topic, but I am genuinely interested. What does America have that other tourist destinations don’t? For the purposes of the discussion, don’t bring up friends/family, or the hassle of applying for visas to multiple countries. Also, is there any single country that offers more unique stuff to visitors? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/2 "2012-02-03T05:19:41Z")
One thing that makes the U.S. unique is its cultural hegemony: its movies, TV programs, music, etc., being distributed around the world. If you’ve lived all your life seeing that depiction of the U.S., it makes it very interesting to see places like Hollywood, Nashville, Broadway, etc., in real life. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/3 "2012-02-03T05:31:58Z")
Well, there is the Grand Canyon…that’s fairly unique, at least on the same scale. Plus I understand we have the largest ball of twine somewhere… (the US is a continental sized country, so there is tons to see. More than any other country? Well, Canada is a continental sized country too, so you’d need to compare it to something like that) -XT ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/4 "2012-02-03T05:59:21Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Well, there is the Grand Canyon…that’s fairly unique, at least on the same scale. Plus I understand we have the largest ball of twine somewhere… > > (the US is a continental sized country, so there is tons to see. More than any other country? Well, Canada is a continental sized country too, so you’d need to compare it to something like that) > > -XT It’s a continent sized country, but it’s also a very empty country (relatively speaking) and somewhat culturally uniform (still relatively speaking). Not that the great plains and whatnot aren’t a sight, but when you’ve seen one corn field extend to the horizon in every direction, you’ve already had enough of bloody corn. Siberia is gigantic too, but spending holidays there would be kinda boring unless you get mauled by a bear or something exciting like that. Comparatively, European countries are _packed_ with stuff to see, all within driving distances. You could spend your entire life in Tuscany and still have not seen every fresco or had a sample of every delicacy. Drive 400 miles and you’re in Venice, or southern France, or in Switzerland, or in Austria, or in Slovenia with a whole new crop of stuff to visit or pig out on, a whole new culture to observe. I’m not sure there’s such a marked difference between say Texas/New Mexico/Arizona or Oregon/Idaho/Washington or Illinois/Wisconsin/Indiana. Then again, I’ve never actually been to these places, so. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/5 "2012-02-03T06:00:33Z")
I don’t think there’s a more diverse country anywhere. Of course, it’s too big to actually take in all that diversity, so you have to see it a little bit at a time. If you want to see a saguaro cactus (what you imagine when you think of the word “cactus” is probably the saguaro) growing wild, you’ll have to go to the Sonoran desert in the Southwest USA and northern Mexico. The biggest football, basketball, and baseball teams are American, and you can’t see them play live anywhere else. Those were the first two things I came up with off the top of my head. It’s hard to think of anything “unique” about any particular country. Does stuff like the Statue of Liberty count? Every country has some kind of unique building or structure, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/6 "2012-02-03T06:46:28Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > This is a tinsy-bit of a troll-topic, but I am genuinely interested. > What does America have that other tourist destinations don’t? Americans. People who come to the United States will be able to immerse themselves in American culture including art, music, food, history, language and local customs to a degree they will not experience by watching television or movies. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/7 "2012-02-03T06:48:29Z")
We have the Corn Palace AND the World’s Largest Basket AND we have Carhenge. Q.E.D. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/8 "2012-02-03T07:02:31Z")
If you’re an outdoorsy, nature type, it’s kind of hard to beat the quantity, quality and diversity of all the state and national parks. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/9 "2012-02-03T07:11:16Z")
Kind of a strange question, OP. Similar to someone in another thread saying “why would I go to Mexico, we’ve got beaches in Florida” - you don’t go somewhere just for the _thing_, you go _to be there_. To experience it first-hand, to immerse yourself in the place, to interact with the culture. The US astonishingly big, has got a stunning amount to see and do, a fascinating history, and some of the most vibrant cities in the world, with an interesting food culture (if you get away from the homogeneity of the chains, which are sadly pervasive). I can’t even begin to enumerate what’s worth visiting for. The Everglades, New Orleans and the bayoux of Louisiana, the great plains, various Space Museums (nobody else can claim the moon landings or the Shuttle), Yosemite, Montana, the deserts of the west, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, the Smithsonian, the quaintness of New England towns, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Nashville, New York… the list is probably endless. > [@Mosier](#): > > I don’t think there’s a more diverse country anywhere. I wouldn’t say that personally: China and India definitely give it a run for its money. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/10 "2012-02-03T07:17:25Z")
Driving big fat American cars long distances using very inexpensive gasoline. My British friends love this. Shooting guns, always a treat for Europeans. Big game hunting, for those with the cash. Playing cowboy for those who learned to love old Western movies. Visiting places where all those great songs were recorded. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/11 "2012-02-03T07:18:51Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > It’s a continent sized country, but it’s also a very empty country (relatively speaking) and somewhat culturally uniform (still relatively speaking). Not that the great plains and whatnot aren’t a sight, but when you’ve seen one corn field extend to the horizon in every direction, you’ve already had enough of bloody corn. Siberia is gigantic too, but spending holidays there would be kinda boring unless you get mauled by a bear or something exciting like that. > > Comparatively, European countries are _packed_ with stuff to see, all within driving distances. You could spend your entire life in Tuscany and still have not seen every fresco or had a sample of every delicacy. Drive 400 miles and you’re in Venice, or southern France, or in Switzerland, or in Austria, or in Slovenia with a whole new crop of stuff to visit or pig out on, a whole new culture to observe. I’m not sure there’s such a marked difference between say Texas/New Mexico/Arizona or Oregon/Idaho/Washington or Illinois/Wisconsin/Indiana. Then again, I’ve never actually been to these places, so. Some parts of the US can be empty of people, sure. But we’re chock full of nature. What Europe has over us in culture, we have over Europe in wilderness. We’ve got [this](http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/route66/paintedDesert.jpg), [this](http://www.humboldt.k12.ca.us/fortuna_un/5-8/redwood_forest/Wolf_Creek/home_image1.jpg), [this](http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/photographs450/north-window2.jpg), [this](http://www.robstringertoday.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/alaskaimage2.jpg), [this](http://www.antibride.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Wine_Country_Hillside11.jpg), [this](http://blog.roymatheson.com/Portals/85919/images/grand-canyon1.jpg), [this](http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/west-virginia-wilderness-photo.jpg), [this](http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/dreamsofhawaii03.jpg), [this](http://trivialperusal.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/bayou-swamp-tours.jpg), [this](http://www.inetours.com/National_Parks/images/Half-Dome_5880.jpg), [this](http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/0e/8a/e5/aspen-suites-at-twilight.jpg), and, of course, [this](http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/40/e6/a8/big-sky-country.jpg). You can find some similar spots in parts of Europe, but I don’t think the entire continent has that much diversity in biospheres. Certainly, it doesn’t have nearly as much in volume. To some people, the idea that you can walk for days in parts of the US and never see another person is one of its great selling points. Not me, of course. I’d rather be in London, or Amsterdam, or Barcelona, than stuck in some dusty godforsaken desert five hundred miles from the nearest flush toilet, and I don’t care how colorful it is. But some people really dig that whole “outdoors” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/12 "2012-02-03T07:25:55Z")
You can go hunting in America without being part of land-owning nobility or rich enough to buy time on their land. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/13 "2012-02-03T07:34:59Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > You can go hunting in America without being part of land-owning nobility or rich enough to buy time on their land. How feasible would that be for a tourist? Presumably they wouldn’t be able just to rock up, buy a gun and go out shooting deer - if they were allowed to carry a weapon, I’m guessing they’d have to pay an organisation to escort them. Your ‘nobility’ scenario, by the way, isn’t true for all of Europe - there’s plenty of free shooting in Portugal, Italy, Germany, Spain(?). ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/14 "2012-02-03T08:11:24Z")
Fwiw, as a toursist destination, the US holds no interest for me. Pretty much bottom of the list. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/15 "2012-02-03T08:17:19Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > One thing that makes the U.S. unique is its cultural hegemony: its movies, TV programs, music, etc., being distributed around the world. If you’ve lived all your life seeing that depiction of the U.S., it makes it very interesting to see places like Hollywood, Nashville, Broadway, etc., in real life. Exactly. Most of the world is touched by American culture in some way. Not many places quite like New York. Thats not my perspective though: personally I love the south-west desert states. I’ve driven through Hollywood etc but couldn’t care less. Give me open spaces. Indeed give me third world countries, they are far more interesting and intense although I realise the average tourist doesn’t share that view. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/16 "2012-02-03T08:31:52Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Fwiw, as a toursist destination, the US holds no interest for me. Pretty much bottom of the list. Other than it’s value in thread crapping, it’s not worth anything. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/17 "2012-02-03T11:54:55Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Driving big fat American cars long distances using very inexpensive gasoline. I imagine this could be done almost as cheaply in Canada, and even more cheaply in Arabia. > [@](#): > > Shooting guns, always a treat for Europeans. Again, lots of other places you can do this. > [@](#): > > Big game hunting, for those with the cash. Again, lots of other places to hunt. Many African countries cater to hunting tourists. > [@](#): > > Playing cowboy for those who learned to love old Western movies. The Western genre wasn’t unique to Hollywood; the GDR was particularly noted for its cowboy and Indian movies, and while they were set in America I’m sure they weren’t shot there. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/18 "2012-02-03T12:10:57Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > One thing that makes the U.S. unique is its cultural hegemony: its movies, TV programs, music, etc., being distributed around the world. If you’ve lived all your life seeing that depiction of the U.S., it makes it very interesting to see places like Hollywood, Nashville, Broadway, etc., in real life. Yes. I love seeing places on TV and thinking “I’ve been there.” The US does have some outstanding scenery, cultural scenes, etc, but so do lots of other countries - it’s the above which is unusual. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/19 "2012-02-03T12:25:39Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > You can go hunting in America without being part of land-owning nobility or rich enough to buy time on their land. I can do that at home. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/20 "2012-02-03T12:30:52Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > You can go hunting in America without being part of land-owning nobility or rich enough to buy time on their land. I live in Scotland, go hunting on a fairly regular basis, and to the best of my knowledge am not a member of the landed gentry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629.md?page=2)