The travel habits of baby boomers and millennials

By Amy Bryant

Data has revealed the similarities and differences of the baby boomers and millennial travelling habits.

It may be no surprise that more millennials prefer to travel solo than baby boomers, who instead, according to data from InsureandGo are more likely to travel with a partner.

The numbers showed that baby boomers do still like to travel solo, just not quite as much as their younger travelling counterparts, with 55 percent preferring it, compared to 67 per cent of millennials.

Millennials are not as likely to travel with a significant other, *surprise surprise* than baby boomers who are nearly twice as likely to travel as a couple – 42 per cent compared to 24 per cent to be exact.

What is rather surprising is that millennials are more likely to travel under a family policy, with 9 percent compared to 2 per cent of baby boomers.

“It’s no surprise that millennials are more likely to travel solo but what is interesting is that millennials are three times more likely to travel on a family policy than baby boomers, suggesting intergenerational travel is becoming more popular for millennial travellers,” Head of Head of Sales, Digital & Marketing, Jonathan Etkind said.

Where millennials and baby boomers share similar travel trends, is in the time of the year they choose to travel. Both groups prefer to travel in the winter months of June and July, suggesting the cooler climate is sending both packing.
In terms of policy purchases, baby boomers are more likely to shell out for additional coverage for a top tier policy and are more likely to purchase a mid-range policy than millennials.

The research also found that an overwhelming majority of baby boomers and millennials were able to correctly identify what a PDS is used for – 88 per cent of millennials compared to 86 percent of baby boomers.

“Despite all the talk about their differences, it seems baby boomers and millennials have similar habits when it comes to travelling and insurance. We’ve seen most baby boomers and millennials opt for mid-range and higher levels of cover,” Etkind added.

“As would be expected, we do see that baby boomers tend to opt for the more comprehensive policies that can provide additional coverage for things such as income loss and curtailment, and higher limits for claimable items like baggage.”

There are a range of different policies to suit all travellers, from backpacker, cruising and domestic travel to policies aimed at family and solo travellers.

“What will make sense for a baby boomer compared to a millennial traveller will differ depending on the type of trip they are going on, what they will be doing on holiday and their medical history,” Mr Etkind said.

“Every traveller needs to do their research to find the policy that best suits their financial and travel needs to ensure they have protection in the event something goes wrong.”

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Baby Boomers insureandgo millennials travel travel trends