Walking the World: Adventure Travel Just for Boomers and Beyond

Back in the 1980s, Ward Luthi — an experienced Outward Bound instructor and adventure tour guide — served on the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors. The commission, he says, found that “active outdoor travel was rated one of the top three goals of older adults.”

Walking the World trips are limited to those aged 50-plus — who are mostly baby boomers. Photo from Walking the World.

Based on the commission’s findings, Luthi in 1987 founded Walking the World, which he says was the first company to offer active outdoor adventures just for those aged 50 and above in the U.S.

It was a prescient move, because with almost all the 76 million U.S. baby boomers — the most active generation of older travelers ever — now reaching 50-plus (the youngest boomers are 49), Luthi’s target market is growing exponentially.

I’ll be talking more about Walking the World tomorrow and… Continue reading →