Baby Boomers Are Traveling All Over Again

For the second quarter in a row, Baby Boomers have out-traveled every other generation, according to travel insurtech company Squaremouth.com, after a nearly 90% drop in travelers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

For over two years, COVID changed everything about how Americans traveled, to include who traveled. As travel returns to "normal", Squaremouth analyzed data from travel insurance consumers to reveal three new traveler trends.

Baby Boomers saw the highest increase in both total number of travelers, and overall travel insurance market share, for Q1 and Q2 of 2022 compared to the previous year.

Baby Boomers were also the only generation to see a positive increase to their market share in Q2 2022 compared to Q2 2021. While almost all demographics (except the Silent Generation) have continued to experience an increase in number of travelers, the recent drastic spike in Boomer travelers caused the deficit of other generational market share.

The return of Baby Boomer travelers comes after an almost 90% decrease at the onset of the pandemic.

The Silent Generation is the only generation Squaremouth reports having less travelers in 2022 compared to 2019. This may confirm seniors are still not as comfortable traveling today as they were pre-COVID, despite widespread vaccination efforts.

The decrease in older travelers, and increase in younger travelers insuring their trips, has kept Squaremouth's average down. Currently they report an average traveler age of 44, compared to 50+ pre-COVID. At the height of the pandemic this average age dropped to 38.

Baby Boomers were the only generation to experience a decrease in their overall travel insurance market share this year compared to pre-COVID years. Squaremouth attributes their drop to an increase in younger demographics, rather than a decrease in Boomer-aged travelers.

Throughout the pandemic, younger generations out-traveled their seniors, and subsequently out-purchased travel insurance, whether by choice or due to COVID-related requirements.

The Millennial generation had the biggest increase in insured travelers in Q2 2022 compared to pandemic years. Likewise, Gen Alpha experienced the largest increase in travelers this year compared to pre-COVID years. The youngest generation also accounts for the largest increase in market share compared to 2019.