Guess my normal usage is more destructive than your trips. The main driver of wear in my case was always commuting with the device and thus also plugging/unplugging things several times a day.
Also if you hold a 2kg closed laptop with one hand - you're going to have pressure marks and I learned that the hard way.
Anyway, all around me people have always had hardware issues - also with Apple products. I recall replacing the battery in a late 2011 MBP because it was swollen as it failed from age alone.
Bottom line is that I believe you, I just think you're an outlier.
Similar here. When I trade in my old MacBooks after 4-6 years of use they function like new and look almost new, and I do plenty of moderate-heavy dev work and traveling.
I have a nearly 5 year old ThinkPad that's in great condition too. Never needed a repair, though it's had a couple of spells where it acted funky that resolved themselves.
Used mbp bought in 2019, taken through a dozen countries in a 4x4, sold in 2022. Never an issue.
Used M1 mba bought in 2022, taken to twenty countries, never an issue.
I do heavy photo and 4K video editing, light dev work, writing, web.
I restart at most once a year.