From Mediapost.com, Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Focalyst, a joint venture of AARP Services, Inc. and Kantar, conducted a 2006 survey of 30,000 consumers age 42 and up to gauge travel preferences of baby boomers and matures (age 60 and up).
Some key findings include:
- Affluents, those with $75,000 or greater household income, account for 32 million, or nearly 40%, of the total 81 million 42-and-up population.
- In the next 12 months, boomers and matures combined plan to spend $126 billion in travel expenditures.
- Very few older consumers consistently use one company when it comes to airlines (12% of boomers, 15% of matures), hotels/motels (5% of both groups) and cruise lines (13% of both groups).
- 62% of boomers and 55% of matures traveled domestically more than once during the past year.
- Boomers are more likely to go abroad (54%, versus 45% of matures).
- Neither group rules out vacation packages: Just 26% of matures and 23% of boomers say that they would "never" think of purchasing a package.
- Three to six days is the most common trip duration for both boomers (44%) and matures (34%), but a third of boomers and 29% of matures average seven to 10 days.
- 49% of the 42-and-over crowd said they planned to travel primarily by car during their next trip, versus 38% planning to go by plane.
