Strap in Agents, warm up your writing hand & get ready to take notes at record speed because you’re about to receive a fast & furious learning experience on your biggest spenders…
The Baby Boomers.
Those investment-smart, property owners who introduced the world to backpacking and led the rebellion against traditional standards are now cashed up ‘seniors’, and according to MyTravelResearch.com’s Carolyn Childs, should be every Travel Agent’s best friend.
Speaking at the Revolution Roadshow in Sydney this week, the Chief Executive and Co-Founder said consultants would never encounter a generation as time rich and wealthy as Baby Boomers who have finished investing in property and are ready to spend on travel experiences.
“Baby Boomers are going to power the Travel Agent’s success.”
Carolyn Childs, MyTravelResearch CEO & Co-Founder
Now that you know how important they are to your sales, here are some need-to-know facts about the generation that’ll help you sell to them:
Baby Boomers make up a quarter of the population & own 53 percent of the wealth
There’s money to go around because they sat on the property boom.
Baby Boomers aren’t concerned about price
Childs says they aren’t concerned about price specifically – they’ll talk about cost, but that’s because the industry mentions price first.
“Maybe if we didn’t talk about price, they wouldn’t play it back to us,” she suggested.
Baby Boomers are flexible
Many of them are retired now, and they can travel at short notice.
Baby Boomers are fighting in action movies
Literally! Irish actor Liam Neeson belongs to the Baby Boomer generation and is still kicking ass in action movies.
Childs says Agents need to stop thinking of them as the ‘grey cardigan brigade’ because they are more active than you realise AND although society tells them they’re senior, they don’t feel it.
“60 percent feel younger than their age,” she said.
Baby Boomers were & still are adventurous
They’re the Lonely Planet generation who backpacked to Europe via Afghanistan. They were the first backpackers! If they weren’t backpacking, they stopped to have kids, watched their friends do it, and now they want to do it.
Baby Boomers want to be sustainable tourists
If you think millennials are powering the revolution for sustainable tourism – you’re partly wrong.
It’s the Baby Boomers who are seeing the damage plastic is having on wildlife in the Galapagos. They’re the ones who volunteer time from their holidays to help Chimu Adventures, other tour operators and hoteliers protect the planet.
“The reason they’ll power the revolution is that they have disrupted everything in their lives,” Childs explained.
“They were the first generation of mass consumers, they were the first generation of backpackers – they disrupted everything, and they’ll do the same as they go into the retirement age.”
Baby Boomers are willing to spend extra on sustainable options
They have the money to spend, and they want to spend it on doing good for themselves and the world.
“Travel Agents can use conversations to encourage them to spend their money and spend it wisely on sustainable options,” Childs explained.
Baby Boomers are jumping on ‘climate change tourism’
You’ve heard the saying, ‘I want to see it while it’s still there’ – that’s climate change tourism and Baby Boomers are among the first to visit sites and destinations threatened by global warming.
Baby Boomers are looking to be immersed
MyTravelResearch findings revealed that this generation is centred around the ‘dream’ destinations that give them that sense of never-ending adventure.
“Sometimes they want the physical adventure – like hiking – but mostly it’s the moment of spiritual awareness and how sustainable travel and meaningful travel fulfil that spiritual need.”
Baby Boomers are travelling alone
Childs highlighted a growing trend among solo travellers, mainly single female travellers in their 50s, is that they are either ditching their husbands for an epic getaway or have recently separated from their partners and are ready to explore.
“They’re not accepting the rules about the way they travel and who they travel with.”
Baby Boomers are online
You may think they don’t know much about technology, but they know enough to research travel on it.
“They’re multi-channel, they may not have grown up with the internet, but they certainly are passionate about using it,” Childs added.
- READ: Travel To Change The World Roadshows re-ignite agents passion
- READ: Sustainable tourism is like… teenagers having sex?
- READ: Do you want more loyal clients? Start a loyalty program