The Roaming BoomersTop 10 International Boomer Tourist Destinations
Have you ever wondered what countries international baby boomer travelers travel to the most? Well, a wonderful clue to this quandary is the annual Visa Travel Snapshot.
While this report reveals tourism-related travel by all American Visa account holders, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that the bulk of the $32.9 billion spent on international travel was spent primarily by our country’s 79 million baby boomers, and henceforth, gives us a great glimpse of where baby boomers are spending their money for international travel.
Top 10 Most Popular International Travel Destinations for US Visa Account Holders
- Canada – $3.5 billion
- Mexico – $3.3 billion
- United Kingdom – $1.8 billion
- Italy – $1.6 billion
- France – $1.5 billion
- Germany – $1.2 billion
- Puerto Rico – $1.1 billion
- China – $941 million
- Spain – $837 million
- Japan – $703 million
These numbers are from 2011 expenditures, and I suspect that we will see an uptick in overall tourism spending in 2012. Further, it will be interesting to see what happens with the United Kingdom expenditures as US Visa Account holders spent $85.5 million in the first week of the 2012 Olympics, according to VisaVue Travel data.
I didn’t find it surprising that Canada and Mexico were big recipients of US travel dollars, but I wouldn’t have put Puerto Rico in the top ten. Perhaps The Roaming Boomers® need to do a little roaming down that way.
In the for-what-it’s-worth department, in the last year, we’ve been to Canada, the United Kingdom, and have Italy on our plate for the late-fall.
Do you have any international travel plans in the coming 12 months? If so, does this list affect you thinking in any way?
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2 Comments on “Top 10 International Boomer Tourist Destinations”
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No big surprises here. I think a lot of Americans choose the UK for their first country to visit across the Pond because they don’t have to worry about the language (or at least they think they don’t). It doesn’t surprise me that Puerto Rico makes the list. Many Puerto Ricans live in the big cities of the Northeast and travel there to visit relatives–in addition to the tourists looking for somewhere to warm up on a beach. It does surprise me that China outstrips Japan. Maybe it shouldn’t surprise me. One country that definitely didn’t make the list was the one where my husband and I found ourselves on our 30th anniversary in June—Finland. He was there for a conference, so it just worked out that way. And for Americans worried about people not speaking English—no need to worry about that in Helsinki.