Inclusive Tourism
An Economic Imperative driven by the Baby Boomer Generation
This video clip was filmed in the lead up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Two years on it seems the message is not getting through to the majority of the Tourism Industry. It is even more surprising when the industry is suffering world wide due to the economic downturn. It is steadfast in its old marketing methods targeting the same 25 to 35 year old that it always has. The real oversight is that that traditional 25 to 35 year old market has now grown up and is the retiring Baby Boomers. They have the time and the money but clearly not the attention of the Tourism Industry.
Key Quotes
"This is very cool. I was actually a bit nervous to come up here"
Joanne Kelly
"It is an enormous market, enormous yet enormously under serviced"
Craig Doherty
"We do not keep separate statistics..........what really is important is that everyone is afforded the opportunity"
Michael Hannon
Key Market Statistics
The Inclusive Tourism Market will be greatly affected by the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation that began on the 1st January 2011 and will continue for the next 20 years. 40% of those Baby Boomer swill retire with some for of disability.
1 Baby Boomer turns 65 every 8 seconds for the next 20 years in the US alone!!
Lets do the math!!
- 7.5 per minute
- 10,000 per day
- 4,000,000 per year
Demographic Impact
- USA adult population will have grown by 23 million between 2006 and 2016.
- Ages 18-49 will have grown by one million
- Age 50+ will have grown by 22 million
Spending Power
- 70% will inherit $300K average
- Top 8 million $1.5M average
- Total inheritance $8.4 Trillion
- In 2009, households headed by adults ages 65 and older ... had 47 times as much net wealth as the typical household headed by someone under 35 years of age.
The Elephant in the Tourism Room
The Tourism Industry sees itself as a "sexy" industry dominated by glamour, youth and activity.
“Older people have an image problem. As a culture, we’re conditioned toward youth. .… When we think of youth, we think ‘energetic and colorful;’ when we think of middle age or ‘mature’, we think ‘tired and washed out.’ and when we think of ‘old’ or ‘senior,’ we think either ‘exhausted and gray’ or, more likely, we just don’t think.
The financial numbers are absolutely inarguable — the Market has the money. Yet advertisers
remain astonishingly indifferent to them.
Marti Barletta, PrimeTime Women
We are the Aussies. Kiwis, Americans and Canadians. We are the Western Europeans and Japanese. We are the fastest growing, the biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the most (yes) ambitious, the most experimental and exploratory, the most different, the most indulgent, the most difficult and demanding, the most service and experience obsessed, the most vigorous, (the least vigorous), the most health conscious, the most female,the most profoundly important commercial market in the history of the world … and we will be the Center of your universe our for the next twent twenty-five years ears. We have arrived!
Tom Peters
Implications for Inclusive Tourism
By 2015, the baby boomer generation will command:
- 60 percent of net U.S. wealth and
- 40 percent of spending.
In many categories, like travel, boomers will represent over 50 percent of consumption.
The impact on the Inclusive Travel sector is significant as over 40% of them will be retiring with some form of disability, raising the total value of the Inclusive Tourism sector to over 25% of the market by 2020.
25% of the Market by 2020
For a more detailed review of the Economic Drivers read our articles
ADA Changes present the Tourism Industry with a Market Opportunity not a Compliance Issue
Travel Industry Structure is a barrier to Inclusive Tourism
The Spirit of Inclusive Travel - A personal story by Deborah Davis