English Corner

Seniors are not only the developed world’s wealthiest group but also its most demanding. Image: Pixabay

The growth of silver travel

Ben West

The travel sector for over-50s is booming, as web portals and specialist tour operators increase to capture this lucrative, growing market.

The fast-ageing population means that the silver travel sector (those aged over 50) is growing fast. Until recently, it has arguably been one of the most ignored and under-estimated segments of the travel industry, because they used to represent a minority with less economic power.

However, according to United Nations projections, the number of people aged 60 years or above worldwide will grow from 810 million in 2012 to nearly 2 billion by the year 2050, which means that every fifth person will be in this age group.

Such a dramatic change in age structures will obviously  influence the tourism industry more and more, turning this growing segment into a very lucrative market to target. Whilst companies geared to older members of the population are not new - for example, Saga has been offering holidays for the over-50s for more than 60 years - increasingly, new travel companies, websites and organisations are appearing to cater for this age group’s specific needs.

UK-based Silver Travel Advisor is one such site, with events, advice, travel reviews, holidays, a forum and articles geared to the over-50s. It has its own radio show, YouTube tv channel, competitions, travel awards and much more. www.silversurfers.com, www.aboutover50.com.au, www.50plustravelclub.com.au and www.laterlife.com are similar more general websites, with sizeable travel sections including holidays bookable online.

The older travellers are becoming more adventurous

Debbie Marshall, managing director at Silver Travel Advisor believes that only 5% of marketing budgets are dedicated specifically to the over 50s, even though the potential is far, far greater.

She observes that travel marketing executives tend to focus on younger travellers, despite the fact that they spend less and have less time available to travel.

With the average age of a PR and advertising executive being in their mid-thirties, many may lack understanding of what the more mature traveller requires, or has enough interest in this sector.

These older travellers are becoming more adventurous, taking activity holidays and seeking out more exotic destinations than their parents’ generation. They are more health-conscious and seeking out holidays that promote a healthy body and mind.

Canada-based ElderTreks specialises in small group exotic adventure travel for those aged 50 plus. It offers active, off-the-beaten-path, small-group adventures by both land and sea in more than 100 countries, including wildlife and tribal African safaris, active hiking trips to the Rockies, Himalayas and Andes, and expeditions by icebreakers to the Arctic and Antarctic.

A recently-formed travel company geared specifically at the sector’s desire to keep active and heathly, SilverSpain has created holidays in the Costa del Sol specifically to promote the healthy body, mind, relationships and eating.

Especially designed to increase people’s quality of life as they age, taking advantage of the most recent scientific knowledge, different week-long healthy holiday experiences focused on active and healthy ageing target the market for the over 55s.

«Best Ager is an important customer group of Hotelplan Suisse»

In Switzerland, tour operator Hotelplan Suisse has prepared a comprehensive statistical analysis of the over-50s that shows that Swiss nationals above this age are travelling more than 10 years ago.

The travel agency analysed travel agency data from Migros Holidays, Hotelplan, Tourisme Pourtous, Travelhouse and Globus Reisen. «The demand for holidays of the so-called Golden Ager has clearly increased in recent years, and they are still travelling around the world aged more than 80 years,» says Kurt Eberhard, CEO of Hotelplan Suisse. «Best Ager is an important customer group of Hotelplan Suisse, especially as this target group likes to travel a lot, is very active, and has the financial resources for travel.»

First and second place on the popularity scale of the 50+ age group – as for families and couples — are the Spanish and Greek islands. This debunks the cliché ‘Cruises are only for the elderly’ as cruises are in third place.

The research found that this age group like to plan early, as much as 180 days before departure, demonstrating that much value is placed on planning. This also means benefitting from early booking discounts.

The study found that 87% of respondents choose travel agencies  as a booking channel and are increasingly looking for the advice of travel agents. Points such as health, language and guided tours are often discussed with older customers.

The average budget of the 50+ Swiss holidaymaker was found to be 1385 CHF per person, compared to the national average of 1050 CHF. These older customers enjoy more luxury, time and comfort than families or younger couples. In particular, golf trips or round trips are often booked with Reisemarke Travelhouse and the premium brand Globus Reisen.

Looking at the age structure of this group, 50- to 60-year-olds make up almost half. At this stage of life the highest holiday budget is available to travellers: children are mostly ‘out of the house’ and often the 50+ generation are dual-earners. Just under a third of this group travels between the ages of 60 and 70. After retirement, the Swiss have more free time and are fit enough to discover the world.

By the way, in 2016 Hotelplan Suisse was able to organize holidays for three customers aged 100 ...

Low levels of tolerance for bad service

A report by UK company Saga found that in the last decade spending on travel and tourism has grown faster for the over 50s than any other age group. Whilst expenditure rose by 68% for holidaymakers aged 50-64, it increased by a huge 95.3% for 65 -74 year-olds and 81.2% for those aged over 75. At the same time, spending decreased for 30-49 year-olds.

There’s a likihood we’re not going to see another generation of travellers with so much available income and spare time available. Those in the younger range of this age bracket are likely to have paid off or are near paying off mortgages and loans or accrued sizeable savings and see their children as self-sufficient. With fewer home responsibilities and generally relatively good health, they are prime candidates to travel. Older people in this sector are likely to be retired, to have received an inheritance and have much more time to travel. Being able to travel at any time of year means that destinations with high seasonality fluctuations can increase tourist activity in mid and low seasons.

To be a successful travel provider in the silver travel market there’s a need to recognise this group are particularly likely to care about being protected and to expect stronger security and safety measures and a more personalised service than younger groups.

Seniors are not only the developed world’s wealthiest group but also its most demanding. They have low levels of tolerance for bad service and are not afraid to demand what they want and complain until they get it, especially the younger ones, who come out of an age of political activism. Therefore, to flourish in the over-50s market, companies need to focus especially strongly on providing good service.

This age group tends to prefer quieter and less congested areas, perceiving inner cities to have high crime rates, poor customer service and difficult parking conditions. They increasingly shun flying, as airlines introduce more and more cramped aircraft, cut back on extras, and security hassles at airports increase. Again, a travel firm aiming to capture this market needs to develop travel products that suit these preferences.