Selling Travel September 19

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OVER 50s TRAVEL
MATURE TRAVEL TRENDS
The over-50s travel market has a tendency to be overlooked or pigeonholed, yet
specialists say it’s more adventurous, diverse and lucrative than many imagine.
Debbie Ward investigates
Solo travel is trending across escorted
travel and is particularly high
in the over-50s market. Riviera
(rivieratravel.co.uk) has increased its solo
tours from 12 to 40. “We’ve really seen
growth over the last year to 18 months,
since our launch of solo tours. It's not
necessarily people who’ve lost a partner,
it may be people whose other half doesn’t
have an interest in the same destination,”
explains National Sales Manager for UK
and Australia, Tom Morgan.
Seeing similar demand, Leger Holidays
(leger.co.uk) has added six new Single
Traveller tours for 2020, with no single
supplement and a door-to-door service.
Experiential travels
The over-50s sector is increasingly active.
“I’ve been thrilled at how much more
adventurous the mature market are. Not
many will just go and lie on a beach now,”
says Clare Dudley, Managing Director of
Cambridge-based agent Ponders Travel.
Leger has added more See It Live tours
to the Venice and Nice carnivals, Monaco
Grand Prix and Brussels Jazz Weekend.
Its specialist guided battlefield tours, of
which it offers over 80, have been boosted
by media coverage. “We had a number of
battlefield tours to the 75th anniversary
D-Day commemorations,” says Head of
Retail Sales Ashley Dellow.
Riviera Travel has added Discover tours,
with three levels of walks. “It’s not the same
as 10 to 20 years ago when you went on a
coach tour… people want to get out and
explore,” explains Morgan.
Personalised extras like the ballet in
Russia are also new, while its escorted
ocean range now features Azamara and
excursion-focused Hurtigruten.
Saga (saga.co.uk) has added excursions
to all its European holidays and new ships,
Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure,
are performing ‘exceptionally well because
they aid adventure. “We know there’s a real
desire to sail ex-UK on a luxury small ship.
Their size allows visits to unique ports of
call,” says Head of Trade Sales, Iain Powell.
Luxury matters
Luxury is another mature market trend.
Saga’s door-to-door VIP Travel Service is
among its other product tweaks in recent
years, while for 2020 its Stay programmes
include a Signature Collection of hotels
with dedicated lounges and exclusive
arrangements for Saga guests. Product
differentiation is key, says Powell, and
offering a unique, tailored experience “helps
to immerse them in the local culture.”
Leger believes the luxury trend is a
natural extension of mature clients’ desire
for a more comfortable holiday. Its new
Luxuria coaches come with extra-wide
seats, increased legroom, retractable calf
rests and personal touch-screen TVs. The
Luxuria Signature Collection, launched
last year, is a selection of holidays which
“combines state-of-the-art coach travel
with some of Europe’s most fascinatingly
unique hotels…. from Spanish Paradors to
fairy tale German castles,” adds Dellow.
Multi-generational travel
Trips with children and grandchildren,
are an important trend and a gateway to
lucrative long-haul group bookings.
“Grandparents are ringing and saying ‘I
want to take everyone away for Christmas’
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