Most Americans who travel outside the US aren’t travelling to Europe. They are going to Cancun, or similar destinations in Mexico, where they will be surrounded by other americans. Or they will be in Canada, where it would be silly to try to lie about being Canadian.
And beyond that, a large share of American international tourists are older people - people advanced enough in their careers to drop a couple grand eating fancy cheese for a few weeks. Of course, these are the people who give American tourists a bad rap. But also, these people aren’t the sort to lie about being American.
And beyond even that - the biggest nail in the coffin for this idea is simply the fact that lying takes effort. Unless Americans consistently encountered outward hostility when introducing themselves as American (they don’t), they aren’t going to even think about lying, because why would they make their nice vacation super weird and awkward by trying to remember the names of Canadian national parks and taking about beavers to the people they meet?
Compelling as your anecdata is…
Most Americans who travel outside the US aren’t travelling to Europe. They are going to Cancun, or similar destinations in Mexico, where they will be surrounded by other americans. Or they will be in Canada, where it would be silly to try to lie about being Canadian.
And beyond that, a large share of American international tourists are older people - people advanced enough in their careers to drop a couple grand eating fancy cheese for a few weeks. Of course, these are the people who give American tourists a bad rap. But also, these people aren’t the sort to lie about being American.
And beyond even that - the biggest nail in the coffin for this idea is simply the fact that lying takes effort. Unless Americans consistently encountered outward hostility when introducing themselves as American (they don’t), they aren’t going to even think about lying, because why would they make their nice vacation super weird and awkward by trying to remember the names of Canadian national parks and taking about beavers to the people they meet?