Travel For Boomers Is Big

Travel For Boomers Is Big

As an older baby boomer myself and as one who publishes retirement and baby boomer sites, I have noticed something big. Baby boomers especially older ones are really into travel. Travel for boomers is a big thing now and a growing trend.

As the reported 10,000 boomers a day turn age 65 they are looking to do something different than work all the time. They have the discretionary time they never had when working full time, when to take off a week was a big deal and two weeks was rare.  I know these days vacation time and personal time have expanded but for most of the boomers work lives we only had two weeks vacation a year.

Boomers also have the money. The older generation has more money than the younger generations. I know there are plenty of poor people all around but there are also a lot of baby boomers with enough money to do what they want to a certain extent.

Boomers are also looking for new experiences.  At this stage in their lives, they would rather have memorable experiences rather than more stuff. Boomers traveling with their children/grandchildren is big. Travel to exotic places is in demand.

So for older baby boomers with more discretionary time and more money looking for new experiences, travel is perfect. Boomer travel is starting to explode right now and the trend will only keep gaining momentum.

Cruising is a favorite of baby boomers. European cruises, Alaskan cruises, Hawaiian cruises, Mediterranean cruises, Baltic Sea cruises and British Isles cruises which is the one we did for our 40th anniversary back in August.  We are not talking about "a" cruise, we are talking about many boomers cruising multiple times a year. Not only are they travelling they are blogging about travel.

Other travel that boomers are enjoying are renting a condo or timeshare for a week or two maybe several times during the year. Taking a seasonal home for a month or two or three. Travel tours and education tours like Road Scholar are being taken in greater numbers. Volunteering at state or national parks is another travel opportunity being enjoyed by boomers.

What affect does boomer travel have? Real estate wise a small number of boomers are actually downsizing to small maintenance free homes in master planned communities that will allow them to be away for longer periods without having to worry about their homes. Also I am hearing clients looking to live closer to the airport.

This is just the beginning of a trend which I believe will continue for some time.