Select Traveler asked these group travel planners, “do your trips appeal to different age demographics?” Check out their responses.
Jean Simkins, Vista Club Coordinator
First State Bank, Mendota, Illinois
“Since we are a bank travel club for seniors, all of our trips are offered to the 50-and-above age bracket. We have found that the more elderly members do not sign up for trips that require more physical activity, and we stress this activity level when we introduce each trip.”
Caroline Lanham, Senior Director, Tourin’ Tiger Travel Program Director
Mizzou Alumni Association, Columbia, Missouri
“The Mizzou Alumni Association’s tours are tailored to meet the travel needs of the traditional alumni traveler. Our alumni travelers are now the baby boomer generation that ranges in age from 50s to 70s. Of course, we do have travelers both younger and older than that.”
Debbie Doran-Martinez, President and CEO
Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, Moses Lake, Washington
“We offer a variety of trips that will appeal to different groups of people. We try to keep our trips under two weeks for those that are working, but occasionally we do some trips that are three weeks or longer, knowing that those will only appeal to our retired travelers. We also try to offer one domestic trip per year to appeal to those who do not want to have long plane rides. All of our trips offer optional tours, which allow the more adventurous to have a faster pace, and those wanting a more leisurely experience can have that as well.”
Amy Hamar, Director, Lifelong Learning and Senior Alumni Programs
Lipscomb Alumni Travel, Nashville, Tennessee
“Most of our trips are tailored for adults of all ages. However, the majority of our promotion is targeted to adults who are of semiretirement or retirement age. On occasion, we have had trips that were multigenerational in nature as well.”
Kathy Leesekamp, Connect Club Director
Farmers State Bank, Marion, Iowa
“The Connect Club is open to anyone who is 50 years of age or older. We typically offer a one-size-fits-all tour that would appeal to everyone. I am currently working with a new travel partner to focus on tours specifically designed for a younger traveler (50s and 60s) or an active older traveler. We realize we need to start attracting a younger crowd since our core group is getting older and not traveling as much. The tours will be shorter in length, small groups of people, off the beaten path, culturally immersive and supporting the local economy.”
