Baby Boomers Have Their Own Form Of Travel

     Millennials in their social media and influencer-prized generation are becoming the next generation of vacation high-spenders… or are they? Taking a look at AARP Travel’s “2019 Boomer Travel Trends” actually reveals that capable boomers were planning to take four to five “leisure” vacations during the year and expecting to spend over $6,600 – roughly more than 30% of the top-spending younger generations. This includes international destination travel as well!

     Time provided by retirement and those with healthy investments, boomers are opting to spend more on their trips in a variety of ways. For one, they’re choosing to stay out longer, upgrade to higher class accommodations and travel upgrades, and particularly enjoying themselves during extra-curricular excursions and shopping events. To summarize, our parents are active participants of “active relaxation.” In laymen’s terms, they’re spending the most on themselves through leisurely, more upscale events like golf outings and grand nights out.

     Speaking of time, they are most likely to stay disconnected from their lives back home. Rather then focus on staying current in their personal and business lives, boomers are seeking vacation time to reconnect with loved ones – sons and daughters across the country or connect with friends out of country. 92% of boomers will bring a phone on a domestic trip while only about 50% of those traveling out of country will bring a smartphone. Further, they won’t bother with anything more than a message or email.

Additionally, while this generation may be technologically proficient (or not), nearly 70% of boomers were not excited to partake in the next-generation of hotel experiences – AI-powered reservation systems, robotic assistants, and other related technologies. Unsurprisingly, Millennials were just a bit lower than 70% but in favor of these new and expected technologies.

Memorable

     As expected, boomers crave distinctive and memorable experiences which explains that nearly 80% of luxury travel spends are attributed to the old and wise. Fascinatingly, 57% mentions that budget comes into play when dealing with trip budgets. In other words, when these customers live life, they live life large.

     Whether baby boomers are traveling for leisure, exploration, food, culture, or other, the number one reason boomers travel is to check off their lifelong dream destinations. AKA – their bucket lists. They simply want to “see the world,” however real or unrealistic that claim may be. Nonetheless, with their upgraded travel and hotel accommodations, they are each seeing the world from their own point of view and expectations. For those in the travel industry, know that these are the people that are looking to spend their money.