Onsite: AARP Editor Details Baby Boomer Travel Trends

SANTA BARBARA, CA-At the sixth annual Alaska Media Road Show, held at the Four Seasons Biltmore here on Monday, AARP's Travel Editor Ken Budd shared some interesting statistics regarding the travel patterns of the magazine's readership, ages 50 and older. According to Budd, Americans in that age bracket are more likely to have a passport now than 20 years ago, with 55 percent considering themselves adventurous travelers-a different characterization than the stereotype of the aging baby boomer who prefers cruising. What's more, 77 percent of these older travelers consider themselves more adventurous than their parents. Budd says these numbers reflect the desire of this age group-which tends to be an agent's target audience-to have deeper travel experiences, as evidenced by the recent rise in "voluntourism" trips. In fact, Budd believes that over the next three to four years, baby boomers will be voluntourism's most lucrative market.