Travel change with age: an age-period-cohort perspective

This study adopts a qualitative approach to examine how and why individuals’ travel has changed as they age. The study, adopting a cross-sectional approach, examined recollections of the travel behaviours of Baby Boomers across six decades. It is framed in age-period-cohort theory that suggests each element affects travel, and cumulatively all have to be considered to understand why travel changes. The study reveals that age effects represent the foundation of travel change. Period and cohort effects moderate age effects. Three core period effects were identified, including economic uncertainty, the massing of tourism in the 1970s and the emergence of cruise tourism in the 1990s. Cohort effects related to the importance of family, while the disruptive effects of hard work and divorce also moderated travel. In the end, seven travel archetypes were identified that capture the essence of travel change over time.