by Robin Amster
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Fri January 15, 2016
TripAdvisor's TripBarometer survey for the New Year is out and one of its findings again demonstrates the generational divide in travelers.
U.S. Baby Boomers, ages 51 to 69, are estimated to spend an average of $10,600, and Millennials, ages 18 to 34, are expected to spend about half that, an average of $5,300. Both figures are higher than the global averages of $8,700 for Boomers and $2,900 for Millennials.
What does that mean for travel agents? It's further confirmation that despite the continued spotlight on Millennials-and the promise they hold for travel-Boomers can't be ignored. Agents are wise to look to the future and court Millennial clients. But in the here and now they also need to continue to target Boomers and, in fact, Gen X'ers, ages 35 to 50, and Matures, ages 70 and over.
The byword in the agent community these days is specialization-the wisdom of developing a strong niche to build business. But specializing in a particular generation/age group may make less sense. While some younger agents are successfully targeting clients in their own age group, being able to serve clients of all ages is most likely the way to go for most agents.
And all in all, the outlook is good this year for all clients.
TripAdvisor's survey found that U.S. travelers continue to recognize the importance of travel, with one third of respondents planning to spend more on travel in 2016. Seventy-eight percent of those traveling this year expect to spend more, or the same amount, on travel as they did last year. The average travel spend is $8,400 for the year. That's the third largest travel budget globally.
It's further proof that Americans-as it's been said before-really do consider travel a right, not a luxury.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
