Age Concern launches escorted-holidays
Age Concern Enterprises announces the launch of “Great holidays made easy” in association with leading specialist tour operator Grand UK Holidays this week; a new tours service offering an exciting range of escorted breaks in the UK and abroad. The launch is supported by new research into the attitudes and behaviours of mature travellers released this month by Age Concern Holidays which reveals that more than 7 million over 55s in the UK (41%) will be missing out on taking a break in 2009 – this is 12% higher than the proportion who didn’t actually take a holiday last year.
The top reason why so many older people are missing out is that they are strapped for cash – over a third of people aged over 55 stated that money worries will stop them having a well earned rest this year (35%). But almost six in ten of them would like to take more holidays in 2009 (58%).
To offer the mature traveller a good value option, Age Concern has launched this service, which comprises a wide range of escorted holidays to suit all tastes and pockets, for both individual travellers and group trips, from Devon to Darlington and the Dales to the Lakes. The tours benefit from no single room supplements on mainland UK coach holidays, free sightseeing excursions, services of a friendly tour manager, complete luggage handling services, direct coach travel to the resort, as well as exclusive Age Concern discounts and savings for groups of 10 or more people.
Anja Brown, Age Concern Holidays Manager, says: “Our work nationwide means that we interact with thousands of older people on a daily basis, and our experience shows that taking a break is important for them; the over 50s hugely value taking short breaks - even just a few days away in the UK can help you to relax and unwind. As the holidays are escorted, they also offer added peace of mind.
“Here at Age Concern, we feel it’s vital that people in this age group have the option to have a holiday - despite the tough economic conditions. Also, from our own internal research we know that 29% of those who have not taken a holiday recently say that they have nobody to go with and 25% don’t feel confident to go away.
“So rather than missing out altogether, we have created what we believe is not only an affordable holiday service but also one that meets the needs of these people. This includes catering for group trips as well as for those travelling alone, all of which suit the mature holidaymaker. Our dedicated tour managers and extensive network of pick-up points across the country mean that taking a holiday has never been easier.”
Grand UK Holidays specialises in holidays for the mature market and is a fully-bonded member of ABTA7 and licensed by the CAA8, providing financial security to customers.
All net profits generated by Age Concern Enterprises are donated to Age Concern England to support the charitable work it carries out in local communities, such as meals on wheels, rural day centres and handy man schemes
To find out more about Age Concern Holidays visit your local Age Concern or log on to ageconcern.org.uk/holidays.
