baby-boomer wave

A New Age in Travel for Travel Agents?

Published August 13, 2013 | By Clark Norton

Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave

I hope that by now most travel agents realize the power of baby boomers in the travel market, but if not, I hope they’ll listen to these words from Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave (which has tracked boomer trends for decades), as he addressed a group of agents at a recent conference:

Baby boomers, Dychtwald told the agents, as reported in this piece from Travel Weekly, are the catalyst of “an entirely new era” for the travel industry.

Boomers have the money to travel, they want to travel, and they increasingly have the time to travel, as more and more reach retirement age, Dychtwald said. They bring their families along on their trips, too.

And boomers are looking for something different when they hit the road.

“There is an appetite for newness,” Dychtwald told the agents, “for different experiences that… Continue reading →

Boomers Have Money to Spend on Travel

Published May 29, 2013 | By Clark Norton

Clark hiking near the Jungfrau in Switzerland — photo by Catharine Norton

Baby boomers — those of us born between 1946 and 1964 — control trillions of dollars of America’s disposable income. Many seniors — those who are age 68 and up — are also affluent.

The difference is that we boomers — unlike Depression- and World War II-nurtured seniors — are willing to spend our money. And travel finishes at or near the top of surveys we want to spend it on — in fact, boomers travel more than any other age group.

Overlooking this market is like emptying your wallet and throwing your money into the ocean. Or, you can ride the baby-boomer wave safely — and profitably — into shore. This blog will help show you how. I hope you’ll keep returning to read and comment on the information here.

And don’t forget to download my… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel | Tagged baby boomers, baby-boomer wave, boomers, travel | 2 Comments

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.