MyWestworld

The Boomer Effect

Posted on 25. Mar, 2009 by Kerry Banks in Travel Blog

The baby-boomer generation, which includes all those people born between 1946 and 1964, have changed business in North America at each stage of their development: diaper services, Barbie dolls, Rolling Stone magazine, relaxed-fit jeans, SUVS. Wherever the boomers go, the money follows. Now it’s the travel industry’s turn to feel the boom. Over the next two decades, the ranks of seniors will swell with a generation that’s healthier, more active and more discerning about travel than any before them. And travel operators are going to have change the way they do things in order to to keep pace with this unique demographic.

According to marketing experts, boomers are significantly different travel consumers than their parents, and they are expected to maintain those differences as they age. For example, boomers are much keener on travelling overseas and more confident in doing so than the previous generations. Most–but not all–have more money than their parents, and have higher expectations that apply at both the budget and luxury ends of the spectrum. And they are always looking for something different. By the time they reach their senior years, many boomers will have had their fill of packaged vacations and typical destinations. Instead, there’s a big appetite for more specialized educational and experiential travel, including hobby vacations, cargo-ship cruises, “voluntourism” and literary-themed travel.

What other travel characteristics do travel experts apply to boomers? I have compiled a list of what industry insiders claim are their 10 most notable traits. It makes for interesting reading, even if you aren’t employed in the travel business.

1. Boomers demand immediate gratification. Unlike their Depression-era parents, boomers grew up in times of plenty. Easy gratification bred a desire for still more and quicker rewards. As a result, boomers don’t wait to take the trips they want. If they don’t have the money, they simply use plastic. The instant-gratification lifestyle means they don’t book travel as far in advance as their predecessors. But when they are ready to book, they want to do it NOW. Finally, it’s important to remember boomers invented the question, “Are we there yet?” They have little patience for long, uninterrupted stretches of road time. Tourism efficiency, such as at hotel registration desks or airline check-in counters is a key to understanding baby boomers, who quickly become frustrated with inefficiency and are not afraid to complain.

2. Boomers are travel-savvy. The empty-nest syndrome of the baby-boomers’ parents is being replaced by people who seek to get on the road, who are not afraid to travel and who may well be seeking to recapture their pre-family years when they were free to wander the world at will. While their parents first visited Europe when they retired, boomers criss-crossed the Continent as students. Been-there-done-that is one reason adventure travel appeals to them. Because boomers are interested in bettering themselves, intellectually stimulating travel also holds appeal.

3. Boomers like creature comforts. This is the first generation in the western world that has never known real poverty. As such, baby-boomers tend to be willing to pamper themselves. Boomers want prestige items, upscale events, and even seek the chic in the outdoors when they are roughing it. A tent is OK, but it better have a great view and great food. They even have a term for it–”glamping”–which means “glamorous” camping trips where the tour operator does all the hard work, with comfortable tents and catered meals.

4. Boomers think they are special. Boomers like things that reinforce their feelings of specialness, so they are attracted to credit cards that offer preferred theatre seats or tours that give them after-hours access to a museum. They also want products designed to fit their individual needs, so customization, or the illusion of it, is important. One travel firm that has capitalized on this trait is Boston-based Elderhostel which offers 8,000 educational travel programs in 90 countries for 160,000 travellers aged 55 and older each year. One of its most popular programs is Criminal Forensics, which allows CSI-inspired travellers to visit a morgue and learn about blood spatter and determining time of death. The company’s Behind the Velvet Curtain program allows groups in London or New York to see a theatre production, go backstage to meet the cast and crew and even sit in on auditions.

5. Boomers are wary of group travel. What boomers definitely do not want is herding. To many boomers, group travel has the faint aroma of a cattle drive. This has prompted some operators to drop tours from their names. Others have pared down group size, either by forming smaller groups or breaking larger groups into subsets which engage in different activities simultaneously. Organized group travel becomes valuable to boomers when it’s a physically or mentally challenging adventure, and they don’t have the skill level to do it themselves, or when safety and cost make travelling with a group more practical. To attract boomers, tour operators must emphasize their expertise. Guides must become like personal trainers and demonstrate the skill and knowledge that boomers will respect and pay for.

6. Boomers will pay for luxury, expertise and convenience. ATM fees, nannies and bottled water prove boomers are willing to pay for what they want. They are demanding consumers who seek quality service and knows how to complain when the service is denied. While this generation is willing to spend money, it is not willing to settle for second best. Locales and tourism entities that provide second-rate service, poor security and poorly trained personnel will quickly lose clientele.

7. Boomers see themselves as forever young. “Adult teenagers” is the way Phil Goodman, co-author of the Boomer Marketing Revolution, described boomers. As Goodman notes, “Boomers will always try to act much younger than their chronological age.” As a result, boomers still want to fulfill the dreams they had at 25–even if their bodies aren’t always willing or able. This cult of youth also affects boomers’ choice of travel suppliers and companions. They don’t identify with people older than they are, after all, their credo was “Don’t trust anybody over 30.” Now well past 30 themselves, boomers still don’t want to be like their parents. That means mixing the two generations in the same tour group probably won’t work. Early-bird specials and senior discounts hold no appeal for boomers because they won’t think of themselves as seniors until they are in their seventies.

8. Boomers are not passive. They want a measure of control in designing their travel experience, and, once on the road, they want to choose their activities. The challenge for travel marketers is to make it clear that their product offers plenty of options. Boomers also want interactivity in the travel experience. They don’t want to hear about panning for gold, they want to do it themselves.

9. Boomers are time deprived. To get relief from their stressful schedules, boomers vacation at spas where they can do absolutely nothing but be pampered. Or they may go to the opposite extreme, choosing adventures that are physically or mentally challenging–or both. Letting somebody else deal with all the details is very appealing, but the hang-up for boomers is trust. They wonder whether they can rely on somebody else to plan their kind of trip. When booking travel, boomers also need time-saving devices. They like 800 numbers, the Internet, videos and virtual reality because they offer convenience and interactivity.

10. Boomers prefer to associate with people like themselves. As noted earlier, boomers do not identify with people older than themselves. They look for outfitters or operators who share their values and so they are very selective about who they’ll use. The industry can respond to these needs by not mixing age groups in the same tour and using younger images and words in their marketing materials. They should stress the flexibility and participative nature of the experience as well as hype the expertise of their staff and guides. Boomers definitely want to avoid anything that smacks of being stuffy or stodgy. More youthful models should be selected because boomers relate better to younger images.

Photo Credits:

#1: meethere.com

#2: img.timeinc.net 

#3: yumsugar.com

#4: 1stadventure.net

Tags: Boomers, Travel Trends