By Joyce Lobeck
The Yuma Sun
There already have been sightings of vehicles with out-of-state license plates from places like Washington, Oregon and other northern climes.
They herald the start of the annual winter season, when thousands of people from up north migrate to Yuma to bask in the sunshine, preferring shuffleboard for their activity of choice over shoveling snow.
Last winter, slightly more than 80,000 winter visitors descended on Yuma. That’s fewer than in some years but still a big temporary increase to Yuma’s population and an infusion of an estimated $600 million to the local economy, Jon Heidrich told the audience at Thursday’s Know Yuma Inside and Out.
Heidrich, who owns and operates Shangri-La RV Resort with his family, was one of the speakers for the monthly business forum that focuses on various elements of the local economy.
The typical winter visitor is a retired blue-collar worker or farmer coming to the Southwest to get out of the cold, Heidrich said.
“We fondly refer to them as the Old Guard. They’re happy to get a reasonable place to stay and sunshine.”
But things are changing, he said.
“We’re seeing the front end of the baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1965. There’s 78 million of them … 35 percent of the U.S. adult population. It’s a huge segment.”
And they’re reaching retirement age by the millions every year. As they do, they want it all, Heidrich said.
They want a busy and active lifestyle from swimming and tai chi, to hiking and scuba diving. They want to be entertained and they’re very much into volunteering, Heidrich said.
