I took my first Nat Geo Private Jet Expedition in 2015, another in 2017 and the most recent, last month. A lot has changed in 5 years.

Here are 3 major changes I’ve observed over the last 5 years.

1. Solo Travelers

The first time I traveled with Nat Geo, five years ago, there were a total of 4 solo travelers on board (including me). It was a couples world – primarily married couples but also a few friends who were traveling together/sharing rooms.

On this most recent trip, there were at least 12 solo travelers plus approximately 10 friends (and mother/daughters) who were “coupled” up. There were far fewer married couples than on either of my previous trips.

There were so many solo travelers, in fact, that Nat Geo hosted a special Happy Hour for us in DC on the eve of our great adventure.

Also noteworthy, all the solo travelers were women with the exception of one man (a married, retired air force general). The female solo travelers consisted of a mix of married women whose husbands couldn’t (or wouldn’t) come on this particular trip, widows, and singles.

Another major change: the solo women travelers (whether married or not) tended to be business women, often entrepreneurs. It’s an interesting dynamic shift and changes the nature of conversations you hear around a table of women. I like it. It also shows up in the women’s attitudes to travel and their overall approach to life. My favorite quote from this recent trip comes from the Founder/CEO of a major health/nursing organization. She tells her nurses (and is a former nurse herself) to: “get the starch out of your uniforms and into your backbones.” A woman after my own heart!

What’s the lesson?

Don’t treat solo travelers like second rate citizens. Recognize that in the future more travelers will be heading out on their own – make them feel welcome and treat them like the VIPs they are.

Scroll down for more on what is trending in travel

2. 70-plus is not what it used to be (and I’m not just saying that because I’m 70 myself)

What blew me away was how fit and lively and interesting those 70-year olds turned out to be. The travelers in our group ranged from their late-50’s thru late-70’s with the majority 60-plus. I’m not generally great with ages, but I assumed many were in their 50’s or 60’s when they were indeed in their 70’s.

I’m not sure if people are staying younger longer or if these kinds of trips, ones where you have to be mobile and walk a fair amount including climbing stairs to get on planes etc., invariably brings together the most fit and active 70-plusses, who can handle this pace of travel.

In any event it was inspiring to be surrounded by so many energetic, funny and interesting people who are my age or older.

What’s the lesson about the 70-plus crowd?

We want to be on the move and while we’re not running marathons, we are still agile and we crave dynamic, active and intellectually-stimulating travel experiences.

3. Dietary restrictions are big with Boomers

OMG!! Who knew? Big surprise for me to find so many people now requiring all kinds of special diets.

I have an on-going joke with my friend, Loreen Stevens. When servers in NYC restaurants ask us if we have any dietary restrictions, we like to say: “No, we weren’t brought up like that…”

Well, the Boomers that I just met on this trip do indeed have many, many dietary restrictions.

I noticed more vegetarians and more people talking about plant-based diets and asking for their “protein.” We only had one gluten-free person but she really went all in on it even though she’s not celiac. Seeing her flip out because the non-gluten-free cracker touched her cheese was priceless.

It took our Icelandair crew (and our inflight Icelandair chef) half the trip to “get” what gluten-free entailed. After that, all was quiet at feeding time.

I also noticed that even as these dietary trends spread throughout the world and among all age groups, they nevertheless appear to be most popular among women.

So What Do Boomers Want when it comes to their diet?

Overall, less meat seems to be the major trend but primarily, boomers are looking for healthier options.

A few Random Observations

• Only 3 out of 75 travelers on this recent expedition were rookies/newbies. All others had been on previous Nat Geo private jet trips. I had previously traveled with 4 of the people on this expedition. One woman (and her daughter) had been on 40 Nat Geo trips (not all private jet). She claims she won’t travel with any other travel company.
• The Nat Geo local guides are exceptionally good and they are all freelancers. If I were to plan an independent trip and require a guide, I would seek out one who has Nat Geo experience.
• Cartagena has become a major wedding and bachelorette party capital. Who knew? Several at our hotel while we were there.
• As travel to increasingly undiscovered destinations becomes more popular, expect to see more run-down towns get the Disney treatment which is unfortunate because it makes them less authentic. On the other hand, it tends to help the local economies (and often the environment) according to many of the local guides.

Bottom Line.

From what I can tell, the big shift in travel is to older travelers, plus more solo travelers. And since an older traveler (like me!) has been everywhere already, we can expect increasingly remote destinations showing up on itineraries (but with 5-star lodgings!), e.g., Greenland and Patagonia.

And in the meantime, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that coronavirus will soon be history and we’ll all be back to exploring and adventuring with gusto.