Selling Travel September 19

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OVER 50s TRAVEL
ABOVE: Demand for India is rising, according to Newmarket Holidays and Saga
and they don’t want to just fly-and-flop,
some are taking family from Australia and
the UK and meeting in-between,” Dudley
from Ponders Travel says. “I’ve done a trip
round Burma for one family. They’re often
big bookings and interesting to do.”
The Far East, Caribbean and Disney
prove popular, she says, as do villas with
private pools, though escorted tours are
less common with children involved.
Destination hot list
Long haul is booming for Newmarket
Holidays (newmarketholidays.co.uk) as
continuing Brexit uncertainty prompts
clients to look beyond the Eurozone. India,
Canada, Vietnam and South Africa are
performing particularly well.
“We’ve added further dates to our Indian
programme to keep up with demand; the
same for Kenya and South Africa. We’ve also
added beach extensions to some tours,”
says Head of Trade Sales, Richard Forde.
“We’ve released 2021 dates earlier than ever
and customers are booking further ahead.”
New, longer-haul destinations are also
trending for Saga driven, Powell believes,
by both a change in client mind-set and the
weaker pound against the Euro. Significant
demand for India and Uzbekistan has been
sparked by TV coverage the last year.
Croatia, Italy and Scandinavia are selling
well for Leger and it has over 25 new breaks
for 2020. Also doing well are Romania and
Greece, perhaps perceived as less pricey
than other Eurozone countries, and longerhaul
Costa Rica and Peru, fitting the more
adventurous mature market trend.
Tricks for the trade
“The main thing we’re always talking
to agents about is how exciting this
demographic should be for them,” says
Saga’s Powell, pointing out that baby
boomers typically have greater disposable
income and time to travel.
“It’s important agents recognise how
the average 60-year-old has changed in
the last 20 or 30 years,” he adds. “These
guests are willing to research their holidays
extensively and they’re comfortable
shopping around, but they value service
and reliability above everything else - price
often isn’t the determining factor.”
With over-55s the second biggest users of
Facebook, Powell encourages agents not to
overlook social media for marketing. “They
are engaged with it and can be influenced
heavily by trends online and on television –
use this to your advantage!” he says.
Riviera’s Morgan points out escorted
tours and river cruises are easy, good value
sells, which meet the mature market’s
desire for stress-free holidays. He adds:
“There’s no hassle for agents and the all-in
nature means it’s good for commission.”
Newmarket’s Forde recommends agents
keep up with mature travel trends by asking
operators what is currently selling well; “it
may be something you had not thought of”.
It’s a case of recognising the value of, and
embracing, this market.
sellingtravel.co.uk