• by Nancy Shonka Padberg , April 15, 2013

Consumers ages 48 – 66 -- officially known as Baby Boomers in marketing speak -- love to travel. They have the resources to do sol. Baby Boomer consumers purchase 80% of the luxury travel and over 60% have their passports. There is a pent-up demand for travel from years of our recession. 

Family Trips include Grandpa and Grandma, and they may be picking up the tab! These trips tend to be booked around milestone events such as birthdays or anniversaries. Note: grandparents take their grandkids to Europe today because they are savvy travelers themselves. These big-ticket trips will give them quality time and memories for a lifetime

Medical - According to the Medical Tourism Association, medical travel is a $60 billion industry. As Boomers age, affordable health care may be found outside the country. Most popular destinations include Singapore, Thailand, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jordan, Turkey and Brazil. 

Culinary Cruises – Baby Boomers love their food, wine and cruising. Put them together and you have a growing market. Holland Cruises started culinary cruises five years ago -- now most of the cruises include culinary delights and focus. 

Religious - over 925,000 people from the U.S. average age of 55 traveled for religious reasons, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Holy Land includes Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Portugal and France. Ninety percent of the faith-based travelers are Christians. 

Adventure Travel - Adventure travel is for all ages. According to a report by George Washington University and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, the adventure category spending was $89 billion in 2009 with much growth ahead. Boomers and seniors are hiking, sky diving, snorkeling, scuba diving, cycling and skiing.

What Baby Boomers read on their vacations 

The Baby Boomer demographic is the largest consumer of reading material and purchaser of Kindle. Did you know that, according to Gizmodo, 70% of Kindle owners are over age 40? 

• Fierce with Age – Dealing with age, change and becoming fierce with age by Carol Osborne
  
  
• Beyond Age Rage – War of the generations by David Cravit
  
  
• From Bedlam to Boardroom – Getting your career back on track by Colleen Aylward

A recent article in the New York Times confirmed that, indeed, hotels and tour operators are catering to Baby Boomers. Knowing they hold 70% of the U.S. wealth, wouldn’t you?