Taj Mahal

Must-See Sites for Baby Boomers Around the Globe

Published January 27, 2014 | By Clark Norton

Utah’s Monument Valley, author Patricia Schultz’s absolute must-see sight for North America. Photo from Utah Tourism.

Jordan’s ancient stone city of Petra. Photo by Clark Norton

I just read an interview with Patricia Schultz, author of the extremely successful travel guide “1000 Places to See Before You Die,” whose first edition publication in 2003 presaged the bucket list craze.

She has since published a second edition, which includes another 200 entries, so if you’ve somehow managed to see the initial 1,000, you still have your work cut out for you.

Depending on how much travel baby boomers — the youngest of whom turn 50 this year — have done earlier in their lives, they face a daunting task of keeping up with Schultz, who says in the interview that she has now visited all the places she’s written about, though when the first edition was published, there were about… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Cities, Countries, National Parks | Tagged baby boomer travel, baby boomers and tourism, Petra, Taj Mahal, travel marketing, traveling baby boomers, Venice, Victoria Falls, Yap | 2 Comments

Is It Time to Head to India for That Knee Transplant?

Published October 3, 2013 | By Clark Norton

Jordan’s ancient stone city of Petra — a bonus sight with heart surgery? Photo by Clark Norton

With the U.S. health care system all too much in the news right now, it’s a good time to raise the issue of medical tourism: Americans — especially baby boomers — traveling to other countries to have surgeries and other medical procedures that cost a small fraction of what they do in the U.S.

And health permitting, many of these baby boomer medical tourists are taking the opportunity to see the sights of other countries as long as they’re traveling there anyway.

The most popular countries for medical tourism include Singapore, Thailand, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jordan, Turkey and Brazil.

That’s a pretty good bucket list of foreign destinations right there.

Need a knee transplant? See the unforgettable Taj Mahal in India and get a two-fer.

A heart bypass? You could leave your… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Marketing, Tours | Tagged baby boomer marketing strategies, baby boomer tours, baby boomer travel, baby boomer travel trends, baby boomer travelers, baby boomers, baby boomers and tourism, India, marketing baby boomer travel, Medical tourism, selling travel to baby boomers, Taj Mahal, travel marketing, traveling baby boomers | 1 Comment

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.