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Research Outline

Prepared for YUSUKE | Delivered September 19, 2019

Baby Boomers: Travel Behaviors

Goals

To find the top city destinations for American baby boomers for long stays at home and abroad.




Early Findings

AMERICAN BABY BOOMERS TRAVEL TRENDS

  • Baby boomers in the US take around 4-5 vacations a year, spending $6,600.
  • Around half of them (46%) travel only in the US.
  • The other half (48%) take trips both internationally and domestically.
  •  6% will only travel abroad.
  •  Main reasons for taking a vacation are spending time with loved ones, resting and relaxing, and taking a break from everyday routine.
  • Baby boomers take an average of 1.52 trips abroad and 3.79 trips domestically in a year.
  • Most baby boomers (62%) are not employed.
  •  15% of employed baby boomers have unlimited vacation time, and the average is 5 weeks.
  • However, only 28% use all their vacation time.

MOST POPULAR INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS FOR AMERICANS

  •  28.3% of Americans visit Cancun in Mexico due to its nice weather, beaches and because it is a cruise destination.
  • Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic attracts 17.2% of American tourists thanks to its beaches and weather.
  • Rome in Italy is visited by 16% of US tourists, thanks to its rich culture and history. Places of interest include the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. 
  •  15.5% of American tourists visit London to enjoy the sights of Big Ben, the parliament and the many palaces.
  • Amsterdam with 12.6%, Montego Bay in Jamaica with 12.6% and Paris with 11.1% are other cities popular with American tourists.

MOST POPULAR DOMESTIC VACATION DESTINATIONS

  • Orlando is the most popular city in America for summer vacations with 7.4% of bookings. It is popular because of its theme parks.
  • New York is the second most popular city in the US for summer vacations with 4.7% of total bookings.
  • Seattle comes third on the list with 4% of bookings and is popular because of its natutal surroundings.
  • Other popular cities for summer trips in the US include Las Vegas, Boston and Los Angeles.

OTHER INSIGHTS ABOUT DESTINATION CHOICES

  • The choice of destination for American travellers depends on their area of residence, with East Coast residents travelling to the Caribbean and Europe, whereas West Coast residents tend to prefer destinations such as Mexico.
  • The average number of vacation days taken by employees in the US is 17.2/year. 

Summary of findings

Despite conducting an hour of preliminary research on the subject, it was not possible in the limited time to find specific data about city trips over one month or long-term trips. However, we have been able to find a wealth of information on top destinations for Americans and for Baby Boomers, including industry reports, and hard data.
In addition, we have also been able to gather information about the popularity of the destinations and things to do.
Given the lack of data available publicly online about long-term vacation destinations, we would recommend to focus on trips in general.

In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address your goals.