Travel Agent Musings

By: John Woods

I was born at the tail end of the Baby Boom, so it always feels like I’m late on every fad that my generation goes through.   Because of this, I have gradually developed a sixth sense for my older contemporaries and their frequent trend shifts.

To my point: several years ago I noticed that older boomers were taking more and more trips to exotic destinations like South America, Africa, and even Antarctica.   I guessed at the time that they were interested in experiencing these far away destinations while they could still physically enjoy them.

But now I’m not so sure.  My most recent boomer observation is the trend of buying vacation property.  I present 3 cases of boomers shifting.

Sherry – my sister; a long-time exotic destination traveller.  Sherry has been to Africa and South America.  While not necessarily an adventure traveller, she and her husband have always done two big ticket trips per year.  At the age of 57, she and her husband decided what they wanted to do was find that little piece of paradise and buy it.  I believe their thinking was to find a place on the water where they could retire.  They purchased a beautiful house on a lake in South Western Ontario and have been commuting on weekends. They plan to spend the next couple of years working on it to make it their dream.

Graham – my boss; a periodic destination traveller.  Graham has typically done the more “traditional” Canadian destinations:  warmer climates in the wintertime.  Recently, Graham took that big step and purchased a property in Myrtle Beach.  I did not ask him why, but I suspect that the climate, the US housing market slump, and the breadth of family activities in the area were his primary reasons for buying.  Now Graham’s vacations consist of driving to Niagara Falls, NY and catching a commuter flight to his vacation property for a week here and a week there.  I also suspect that when he retires, he will spend most of his winters on a warm South Carolina golf course.

Neil – a co-worker, mentor, and senior boomer; Neil is on his second vacation property.  Originally, Neil purchased a lovely home on one of the most popular vacation lakes in Ontario.  Once he sold his house and did his practice run at retirement, he moved to Lake Joseph full-time. In the winter, he would take trips to exotic destinations like Egypt and Portugal.  For Neil, I think the down side of living in a tourist destination was the 10 months of the year when the tourists were not there; the place became too isolated. So Neil and his partner Marney decided to move to Wasaga Beach, a town that is more accessible year-round.  Now, if you don’t know Wasaga Beach, it is 90 minutes north of Toronto, and the home of the world’s longest fresh water beach.  This makes it a magnet for tourists in the summer, but for the other 10 months of the year it is just a nice quiet little town. Unfortunately, being in Ontario, it comes complete with a nasty winter.  So Neil has started his search for a vacation property in Tampa.

All these real estate deals got me thinking: is there a shift afoot? Are active, travelling boomers starting to think of retirement and what it will look like for them?  As this globetrotting generation starts to slow down, will there be a vacuum in travel left by them spending their discretionary income on a mortgage?  What will they do once they do retire: go to one property? Become bi-residential? Start to travel again?  And, is there anything that travel retailers can do if they don’t come back?