Effects of income,assets and age on the vacationing behavior of US consumers

Abstract

This study uses multinomial logistic regression analysis of a nationally-representative database of US consumers’ vacationing to better understand the relative effects on vacationing behavior of economic variables (such as annual income and liquid assets), when compared to age-group effects. In this extensive research, the effects of the economic variables dominated the effects of the age-group variable. When considering possible differences across age-groups, in-depth analysis using five age-groups disclosed uniformity across three age groups covering a 40-year age range from 35 to 75 years. Notably, this age range included the Baby Boomers, as well as two groups of Seniors. These results suggest that vacation researchers should be careful to not use the ‘Senior’ classification too loosely. Seniors under the age of 75 manifest vacationing behaviors in a way similar to Baby Boomers aged 35-55. These younger Seniors manifest much different vacationing behavior compared to Seniors aged 75 and older.