Flight Centre survey finds more boomers spending the inheritance delivers verdict on conference calls

Cruising is popular with baby boomers. Photo / Supplied

Baby boomers have been copping some heat recently and new research may not help ease the intergenerational tension.

Three-quarters of boomers would rather spend on a holiday than put money aside for their children or other beneficiaries, a study has found.

A survey for boutique agency Travel Associates also finds that 80 per cent of the post-war set had recently been on an overseas trip and were planning a trip right now.

The Flight Centre subsidiary polled 1000 New Zealanders aged over 54 and found almost half never went on an overseas trip when they were younger, and now they're travelling like never before.

This demographic is travelling for longer periods than their millennial counterparts, with the average trip spanning 28 days.

Sue Matson, general manager retail at Travel Associates, says that with a large customer base in retirement, it was easy to see the want and need for more travel in later years.

"When booking with our advisers, customers often mention that in their younger years they simply didn't have the flexibility to explore all the places that they wanted to. Now with the kids out of home, and travel more accessible than ever, the opportunities are endless.''

She said that people's willingness to spend the inheritance showed a different attitude to previous generations.

Some were opting to spend much of their retirement on cruise ships, meaning they avoided apartment body corporate fees and got ''flexibility, accessibility, worldly exposure.''

For a mid-range cruises in various parts of the world, Flight Centre says you would be looking at an average of $175 per day - meaning a year of cruising could start from $63,000.

Although the agency doesn't sell them, condominiums aboard the 43,524-tonne The World residential cruise ship are another option.

By the way, that ticket for one of 165 luxurious shipboard condos, can cost from US$825,000 ($1.2m) to US$7.3m. First, though, you'll have to prove your net worth exceeds US$5m.

Static energy

What really happens in conference calls?

The online survey of 1000 people also produced results that weren't unwelcome to Flight Centre's corporate travel arm, but are in line with anecdotal feedback from those who endure lots of conference calls.

A survey found most conference calls end badly. Photo / 123rf

While Nick Queale, general manager at Flight Centre Corporate, says technology may get there for seamless, unbuffered audio or video conference calling, it's not there yet.

Just on 87 per cent of respondents said they struggle to hear the majority (if not all) of a conference call discussion.

Nearly a third of people put the conference call on mute, to have a conversation with the person beside them.

The survey reveals that 42 per cent admit to checking emails or doing work that is unrelated to that meeting and 7 per cent confessed that they dropped out of conference calls early, hoping no one noticed.

"There is obviously huge value in technology, but we mustn't forget about the power of human connection. It has been said that 15 years ago conference calls were going to ruin corporate travel - we have these tech products but we still need these humans to glue it together,'' says Queale.

He says the survey showed more than 75 per cent of respondents value a face-to-face meeting.

Reports exaggerated

Flight Centre boss David Coombes reckons he's often asked how come travel agents are still in business.

"It's always a topic of conversation wherever I go - 'why aren't you guys dead because of the internet' - well, it's not true; we continue to grow.''

His own firm has hit some choppy waters in other parts of its global business - this month it warned that first-half underlying profit before tax would be $A90m ($95m) to A$110m, a 22-36 per cent decline on a year earlier. But its New Zealand arm has been running hot for the past three years.

This year it said profit here came in at more than $25m for the last full 12-month period.

Rival Helloworld is also listed in Australia and in August reported that its full-year profit soared 23.8 per cent to A$38.2 million in the 12 months to June 30.

Coombes, Flight Centre's managing director in New Zealand, says his firm is expanding its bricks and mortar operation, particularly in some regional centres.

''The rumours of the demise of bricks and mortar travel agents are vastly exaggerated - we're so confident we're investing in people and travel businesses over two years and we continue to see growth.''

The so-called golden age of travel for Kiwis has been fuelled largely by the growth of inbound tourism, which has meant more air capacity. While the rate of growth of tourism - and the number of new airlines - has slowed, there are still plenty of attractive airfares as airlines continue to compete vigorously on most routes.

The suite aboard Regent's Seven Seas Splendor. Image / Supplied

Another factor that continues to strengthen the role of traditional travel agents is ongoing disruptions to travel, whether that's because of terrorist events, weather, or - as seen again this week - airlines with aircraft problems.

Anyone booking through an online travel agent (OTA) is always going to struggle for the same back-up. While it may be easy enough to sort out a flight for yourself, agents point out that anything complicated such as connected car or hotel bookings is always best left in the hands of experts.

Where to from here?

Coombes says his firm's bookings suggest 10 hot new destinations — many linked to better air connections, such as Air New Zealand's New York flights from next October and American Airlines' new services from Christchurch to Los Angeles and Auckland to Dallas, a key hub airport for many parts of the US and South America.

Top 10 destinations:
1. New York
2. Seoul
3. Tokyo
4. Boracay, The Philippines
5. Texas
6. The Caribbean
7. Chicago
8. Mexico
9. Buenos Aires
10. Sri Lanka

One spot that had dropped off the radar for travellers was Hong Kong, where clashes between pro-democracy protesters and authorities are intensifying. Coombes said bookings had fallen by 55 per cent during the past three months.

The five big travel trends

• Counteracting over-tourism
As destinations become more accessible, overcrowding becomes an issue. Kiwis seek to avoid over-popular spots although the survey showed 22 per cent admitted to travelling somewhere for the sole purpose of getting a great photo for Instagram

• Conscious travel
Choosing a destination based on its environmental, sustainable and ethical practices is becoming top of mind when planning a holiday, with 60 per cent of people saying they would be influenced by a country's efforts (or lack thereof) in sustainability when planning a trip. Coombes says there is no sign of the growing flight shame movement affecting travel in this part of the world, although the industry of watching it closely.

Dark destinations like Chernobyl are more popular. Photo / Supplied

• Digital detox
Research shows more than 40 per cent of Kiwis are spending up to six hours online each day of their holiday. This has led to a spike of ultra-remote getaways, whether that's camping in the Scottish highlands or - more glamorous - a specialised digital detox lodge in Namibia.

• Dark tourism
Hit programmes such as Chernobyl, Dark Tourist and Narcos have helped fuel, this with 56 per cent of those surveyed survey saying they would "seriously consider" a dark holiday. Some of the most frequented "dark" spots next year will be the Demilitarised Zone, between South and North Korea, the catacombs beneath the city of Paris, Alcatraz in San Francisco and drug lord Pablo Escobar's stomping ground in Colombia.

• Cruising
More Kiwis will be celebrating their next big event on a cruise - stag do's, 21st birthdays and even divorce parties.