Thursday, July 31, 2014

Boomer study: Have suitcase and will travel... to party on


As "Wayne's World" dudes Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar used to say, "Party on!"

That, however, was back in the late 1980s and early 1990s; Mike Myers (who played Wayne) is now 51;  Dana Carvey (Garth) is 59.

The photo above shows them back in those days. No telling if they have gray hair these days. Or any hair.

They may or may not be able to stay up late enough on weekends for "Saturday Night Life," but if they're typical Baby Boomers, they still have a yen to travel to party.

A study just released by AARP Travel -- the travel arm of  what was the American Association of Retired Persons (it just goes by the acronym now) -- indicates that travel is the No. 1 "aspirational activity" for America's 76 million boomers, and that they collectively spend more than $120 billion annually on leisure travel.

Among the findings of the AARP Travel survey:

78 percent of  people 45 and older say they've taken or plan to take a "celebration vacation" in the next two years.

Top reason: celebrating anniversaries (87 percent).

Coming in second: celebrating a milestone birthday (77 percent).

No. 3: retirement (69 percent).

No. 4 -- a wedding (66 percent).

Sixty-three percent of respondents took celebratory vacations in the U.S. within the past two years; here's where they say they went:

1. Las Vegas
2. Disney (unspecified whether that's to a theme park or on a cruise)
3. Los Angeles
4. Florida
5. Hawaii
6. New York City
7. New Orleans
8. Chicago
9. California
10. Alaska.

Eighteen percent of respondents say they took a tropical/beach destination; these were the most popular locations:
1. Caribbean (unspecified)
2. Hawaii
3. Puerto Rico
4. Bahamas
5. St. Martin
6. Cabo (Mexico's Baja California)
7. Cancun, Mexico
8. Maui, Hawaii

9. Negril, Jamaica

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