REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Baby boomers might be less likely to travel outside of the United States on vacation, but they’re inclined to spend more on trips than other groups of travelers, according to research on generational travel trends.
Hotel News Now spoke with Mark Blutstein, research analyst at Phocuswright, to get a feel for trends among travelers in the 55-and-older age group.
Here’s a look at the company’s findings.
Boomer travelers prefer domestic trips and are less likely to travel internationally than other age groups.
Factors that play into destination choice:
• Proximity
• A location they’ve visited before
• Visiting friends and family
“As a group, (baby boomers) don’t travel as much as some of these other age groups. Most of them only take one to two trips (per year),” Blutstein said. “When they do travel, they spend a lot more.”
Travelers in the 55-and-older segment are more likely to spend more than $1,000 per trip.
Almost half of boomer travelers spend approximately $3,000 per year on travel, making them a higher-spending group than other age groups.
Out of all age groups, boomers are more likely to stay in 3- and 4-star hotels.
Boomers are more likely to participate in loyalty programs.
“And not only just be a part of a loyalty program, but be a part of more loyalty programs,” Blutstein said.
“They’re more likely to be part of two or more air or hotel loyalty programs than other age groups of travelers.”
Boomers are the only segment of travelers who said they preferred to book through a hotel loyalty program for their most recent hotel stay.