More Than Half Of Baby Boomers Have A Bucket List, AARP Says

It’s the phrase that launched a million trips.

“The bucket list” is on everyone’s mind—and it’s an opportunity for travel agents to tap into the emotional connection that consumers have for vacations.

According to AARP, more than half of Baby Boomers—along with 44% of GenXers and 38% of Millennials—already have a Travel Bucket List. Indeed, travel is “the top aspirational activity for 50-plus Americans,” AARP said. And they are not just dreaming; they plan to actually get to more than 80% of the destinations on their list, with 58% planning to take their next trip in two to five years.

Baby Boomer bucket list trips average 10 days and typically take place in the spring or summer, the survey found. They have an average of eight destinations on their lists, half in the United States and half abroad. Millennials list 15 destinations, and GenXers have 12.

Among Boomers, the top international destinations are Australia (13%), Italy (12%), Ireland/U.K. (11%) and France (10%). In the United States, they want to see Hawaii (18%), Alaska (12%), and California and Arizona (8%). Fifty two percent of these trips would be to a city.

It’s a great opportunity for travel agents, as right now, slightly more than half of the Baby Boomers go online to get inspired about their travel plans. Only 4% said an agent inspired them.

AARP cited data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that Americans over 50 years of age spend more than $125 billion every year on leisure travel.

Slightly more than 1,600 people, who were 18 years or older and have traveled on leisure in the past two years, participated in the 15-minute online survey in December 2016.