There's an interesting question involving the buying habits of different age groups that is crucial to the travel industry and travel agents in particular. But before I get to that question, we need to divide these groups into the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s, and then take a common-sense look at their purchasing habits as they relate to travel.

The 20s: Most in this category are fresh out of school, in their first job, and struggling to pay their student loans and bills. The idea of a vacation still revolves around grabbing a back pack, heading to Europe, and staying in hostels or cheap hotels. The key reading material for this age group might be something akin to Europe on $15 a day (a little more these days, of course). These 20-somethings are heavy Internet users and feel that they can get the best deals online.

The 30s: Members of this group are usually firmly entrenched in a career, married or planning to marry, buying their first house and maybe even starting a family. There is a whole lot going on in their lives -- the least of which might be that "grand getaway." Indeed, the biggest vacation expenditure up to this point is probably the honeymoon, assuming a marriage has taken place. Indeed, the honeymoon is often the first time most of these folks turn to a professional travel agent. For the young couple about to get married, choosing the perfect honeymoon is one of the most important and stressful decisions of their early lives together –as well as one of the more expensive, next to a house or car purchase. So they are motivated to use an agent for the advice and savings in time and money that agent can provide.

The 40s: Members of this group usually have moved up to their second home, have roughly1.8 kids (you figure out the fraction!) and are hitting some good earning years. They are taking vacations a couple of times per year. Their biggest challenge now isn't the money but time. Indeed, research indicates that almost 70 percent of people in their 40s would gladly trade money for time. They are taking their families on vacation several times a year, and spending substantial sums in the process. They use the Internet for research and validation, but more and more are turning to professional travel agents for advice on where to go and what to do. Indeed, time is money for this people.

The 50s: This group represents the leading edge of the baby boomers (the range right now is from 43 to 61) and these people are looking for experiences, not material things. They may have kids in college, or just out of college, and they are looking to gather experiences the best way possible -- through travel. This group shows the highest incidence of travel agent usage. They have established careers, are in their peak earning years, and are using their accumulated vacation time to get out and explore the world. They have a "been there, done that" attitude and are looking at new destinations and experiences to fuel their travel desires.

I read the musings of many so-called industry pundits who discuss the need for agents and suppliers to actively seek out the younger generation -- those who have embraced online travel booking. Based on my research, however, I couldn't disagree more. Now, you have to keep a bit of an open mind, since my "research" is based on a common sense approach to what people actually do in different stages of their lives.

To all this I revert back to the question I referred to earlier: Do we really need to go after the twenty-something market? Or better yet, should we even bother? As you can conclude from my observations, my answer is a resounding "no." The great boom in travel today is going to be driven by the baby-boomer generation, the 78 million individuals who see the value of a travel agent right now!

Many of these baby boomers initially did go to the Internet to check out the latest and greatest "deals," only to return to travel agents. It's why The New York Times had a front page business article entitled: "Happy Returns for Travel Agents" as recently as July 2007. Consumer satisfaction with online travel booking has dropped, along with the number of people who actually book online travel. The traditional offline channels (read travel agents) are booming as a result.