Do It for the Gran.👵🏽

Let’s talk about a group that shaped the industry, and then got erased from it.

Not by malice. By marketing decks.

By “demographics we’re going after this year.” By trend reports that never include them.

I’m talking about older adults...the boomers, the grans, the pops, the bonus moms and grandpas, and widowed aunties who still travel, and who often foot the bill for the rest of us.

We don’t talk about them unless they’re acting badly on cruises or hoarding wealth. And yet: They book multi-gen villas. They fill national park campgrounds. They know how to plan a trip and read a map. They remember when your downtown wasn’t safe, and now think it’s “so cute we could cry.”

They’re not trendy. But they’re loyal. They don’t go viral. But they fund the memories.

So why did we stop designing for them?

Boomers Behaving Beautifully

Your grandma may not TikTok, but she absolutely wants to take a cooking class in the town her great-grandparents immigrated from.

Your dad may not want to hike Machu Picchu, but he will sit on a porch with coffee and cry if it reminds him of where he grew up.

And you know what else? They remember what good service feels like. They can tell when you’re phoning it in. They appreciate small touches that don’t scale.

When we ignore older travelers, we don’t just miss out on revenue — we miss out on the most emotionally rich, memory-laced, community-rooted stories in tourism.

The Data? It’s Screaming

According to AARP, Americans 50+ account for over half of all U.S. consumer spending. That includes travel. They take more trips per year, stay longer, and are more likely to travel off-season.

They also want:

• Comfort without condescension

• Authentic connections, not kid-masked experiences

• Slow travel, accessible spaces, and time to savor

So where are the campaigns designed around them?

Tourism Survival Tip:

Start with the Gran.

Want better accessibility? Do it for the Gran. Want more return visitors? Do it for the Gran. Want stronger shoulder-season business? Do it for the Gran. Want people to post about how sweet your town is? Do it for the Gran.

Create offerings that speak to the people who actually shaped this industry, who still travel, still spend, and still influence where the whole family goes.

PS: Your Gran Was a Baddie

Don’t forget, she probably danced on tables before you were born. She lived through war, recession, Woodstock, or all three. She deserves more than a bench near the visitor center.

This industry was built by memory-makers. Let’s stop erasing the ones who made the first ones.

She’s not looking for your influencer wall. She’s looking for the diner she loved in 1973.

And she’s paying for the whole damn trip.

Put some respect on her itinerary.

xo, Jenn