Resources - Mature Market Headlines

Educational Travel Opportunities Booming for 50-Plus Crowd

The Chicago Tribune, 10/18/09

Abstract:

Garry Schneider, 62, didn't just go to some Shakespeare plays on his trip to Oregon. He went back to the theater the next morning to meet the actors and chat about their lives. Another time he toured the New England lobster industry...

...Amid a dramatic slump in the travel market, tour operators catering to the 50-plus crowd are scrambling to offer younger, hipper and more educational experiences.

Schneider, a retired school principal in Claremont, Calif., booked several trips through Elderhostel Inc. of Boston, which recently renamed its programs Exploritas.

The nonprofit educational travel organization also dropped its age minimum of 55 and added a social networking tool to its Web site.

The idea, said Elderhostel President James Moses, was to appeal to baby boomers' attitudes about keeping a fresher, younger feel to travel. Anything with words that conjure images of old age is a marketing death knell for boomers, Moses said.

Despite the recession and worries from existing customers about too much change in the program, Moses is betting boomers will drive sales in educational travel far higher.

The challenge, experts say, is that as a group, boomers are just not big joiners of groups.

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