RSS Feed

Related Articles

Related Categories

“Galloping Grannies!” - Hot holiday trends for the over 50s this summer

3rd April 2013 Print

Gone are the days when Grannies’ and Grandads’ summer holidays consisted of a trip to Blackpool to see the illuminations, or if you were lucky: two weeks in Benidorm.

The 2011 UK Census results told us that over 75% of adults own a passport and this year it seems the older you are, the more adventurous you can be - according to a survey by Avanti Insurance Ltd (specialist travel insurers for the over 50s).

‘Senior Snowboarding’ is hot this winter – Seniors are packing their boards and heading for France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland to partake in a bit of ‘off piste’ action with their younger counterparts on the slopes.
‘Panama Gapping’ is equally trendy with ‘Baby Boomers’. Travellers cruise the Panama Canal where huge cruise ships full of partying pensioners pass through the 51-mile ‘water bridge’.

Avanti Insurance Ltd MD Glen Smith noted “This year we have seen a real trend in adventure holidays – what’s more, age is NO issue to our clients. We have just insured an 86-year-old Grandmother to go on her first horseback riding trip to the Arizona desert. Avanti Insurance Ltd has insured hundreds of thousands of over 50s and I am proud to say it’s the older generation that really pushes the envelope when it comes to holidays (I am 53 myself!)”.

ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) quotes that the ‘grey pound’ now funds over half of all holidays booked. With pensioners living longer, healthier lives and with time and money to spare their expendable income is spent on at least one ‘trip of a lifetime’.

Other summer adventures include Llama Trekking and Swimming with Orca Whales. More ‘anodyne’ adventures are still poplar, including cruises and breaks to the Med. but, according to Avanti Insurance Ltd, the trend for summer 2013 is definitely adventure.