Hey Boomers! How Important is Travel to You?

David the Llama whisperer at Machu Picchu GypsyNester.com

We are passionate about travel for so many reasons, but had no idea how many of our fellow Baby Boomers and empty nesters were on the same page.

It’s crazy!

99% of Boomers are going to travel this yearninety-nine percent! We almost spit-took coffee all over our keyboard when we saw that number.

We recently came across a survey conducted by AARP that blew our minds.

Veronica bikes the Grand Canyon! GypsyNester.com

According to the results, adults 50+ are expected to spend over $120 billion this year on leisure travel to enrich their lives, visit family, relax, or “get away from normal every day life.”

The survey also shows that these voyagers plan on taking 4-5 trips within the year.

 That’s a whole lot of us taking to the road and taking on the world!

Travel continues to be the number one aspirational activity for we people of a certain age.

How are baby boomers traveling?

What Surprised Us:

  • 55% of survey respondents said cost was not a factor when planning their vacation. This is a sharp contrast to Millennials and Gen Xers, more than half of those respondents said cost was a barrier for leisure travel.

Baby Boomers tend to have a bit more money than their younger counterparts (70% of our nation’s disposable income is held by Boomers – makes sense, we’ve worked hard for a long time!). But your GypsyNesters seem to be tighter with a dime than the majority. We go out of our way to find travel discounts whenever we can.

  • 43% of respondents said they must have free Wifi in their hotel and 86% said they must have complimentary Wifi in their vacation rental home.

Wifi is very important to The GypsyNesters while traveling, but we didn’t know how across the board this was for Boomers. When we are traveling, we’re so addicted to internet that we sometimes choose where we eat based on whether or not they have free wifi (and, trust us, that’s no way to decide on a restaurant!).

We’ve also been known to stand outside a building with our tablet and glom on to random signals. No matter where we are in the world, our first criteria in a hotel is that they have good wifi. (And then, there is always that awkward request at check-in where we ask for the room closest to the wireless router.) We’re a little nutty that way.

What Warms Our Hearts:

  • 68% of Boomers say that when they’re on vacation, they do more smiling and laughing.
  • Different than the younger generations, Baby Boomers will take along good book

Smiling, laughing, loved ones – yes, yes, yes! Life is better when we experience new things together.

 And, of course, we have a great book for you to take along on your next adventure – Going Gypsy: One Couple’s Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All. The perfect travel companion!

David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com

See all of our travel adventures!

YOUR TURN: Were you surprised by any of these stats too? What’s most important to you about travel? Now that we KNOW you’ll be traveling soon – tell us about your next trip!


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26 thoughts on “Hey Boomers! How Important is Travel to You?”

  1. I have to snicker at all of the companies who are desperately chasing Millennials when Boomers have the time and the bucks! I’m staying on the move as long as I possibly can!

  2. I guess I’m not surprised by the trend, but I am surprised by the large percentages demonstrating boomer’s inclination to travel. Having said that, I shouldn’t be that surprised because we certainly run into fellow baby boomers on our travels—-present company included!

  3. Delighted that traveling is a main-stream boomer activity, and with international travel on the ascendant! I’m a little surprised that cost is not a factor for more of us…but perhaps the 53% hides “value luxury travel”?

  4. Yes, I WAS surprised by these facts! My next trip begins tonight on a red-eye to Taiwan. Apropo your facts, I’ve been traveling way more in the last 6 months than in a long, long time. In fact, so much so, that I want to slow down. 🙂

  5. Not surprising at all! We just bought 3 months worth of timeshares. Here’s to more time abroad! Take along our book, Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream, especially if you haven’t road tripped through America!

  6. Loved when you wrote, “68% of Boomers say that when they’re on vacation, they do more smiling and laughing”…..I think it’s even higher! (at least for me!) Love the infographic !

  7. Wow what some interesting stats! But I can believe it! We are an adventure seeking, go-getting generation with terribly itchy feet. See you on the road this year maybe!!

  8. 99 percent of retired boomers wanting to travel is a fascinating statistic and only underlines what a unique demographic our fellow boomers are. We have more leisure time, more disposable income, more education and curiosity and many of us recognize that life is short and that there’s no reason to spend your silver and golden years driving a rocking chair and playing shuffleboard. Boomers rock!

  9. This baby boomer likes to travel, but cost is a factor. (I’m surprised the number that said cost isn’t a factor was a high as 53%.) I look for discounts and am prepared to go budget on a number of items so I can travel more. I am Canadian and the fact that the Canadian dollar has dropped so drastically in value over the last year means all of us are looking for deals when we travel outside of Canada. Wi-fi is important and I have ruled out some good deals on rental accommodations because there was no Internet.

  10. This rings true just based on the anecdotal evidence I’ve found. I teach ESL classes for adults and every time I ask the question (for a conversation starter), “What would you if you won the lottery?” nearly everyone says “travel” right after “help my family.” The older we get, the more we know, happiness is not so much in “things,” but in experiences and sharing experiences with others. P.S. I love you guys!

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