For travel marketers, appealing to both baby boomers and millennials can be a challenge. At a recent Virtuoso conference, Ken Dychtwald, an aging expert, and his millennial son, Zach, discussed The New Language of Leisure: A Boomer Millennial Smackdown. Our travel public relations agency is keenly interested in the best way to approach these demographics.
Ken Dychtwald’s firm, Age Wave, recently collaborated with his son, Zack, at the conference. Having just returned from a four-year stint in China, Zack’s forthcoming book discusses Chinese millennials. It is no surprise that Zack heads up China initiatives for the Dilinschneider, the eminent international travel PR firm.
In a recent discussion Skift held with the two Dychtwalds, they focused on the boomer vs. millennial generation gap in luxury travel. “Fascinated by how many in the luxury travel area are gearing an overwhelming amount of attention on millennials,” he stated that the 50+ segment has 70% of the country’s disposable income and own 76% of the total net worth.
This concentration of wealth clearly makes boomers “the ideal targets for luxury travel.” While it is certainly not a waste of time to focus on the millennial market, the number of millionaire millennials is vastly dwarfed by that of boomers.
While millennials are known to value experiences over material goods, evidence suggests otherwise. They are actively acquiring all the trappings of luxury lifestyle as they move into their 30’s. That translates into everything from white sandy beaches in the Caribbean to high-end China and linens. Isn’t this reminiscent of their parents?
But boomers want to keep growing and seek adventure-filled experiences too. So, when it comes back to the basics, it seems the two generations may have more in sync than marketers may believe.
If you want to know more about targeting these affluent markets, please give us a call!