15 ways that older travellers are different and special
15 ways that older travellers (age 50+) are different and special:
1. They can do what they want when they want.
2. They can stay at adults-only resorts.
3. They have less energy, so they want a slower pace and less thrilling or strenuous activities.
4. They generally wake up earlier and go to bed earlier.
5. They have more health concerns, so they need to be sure medication & healthcare are available and limited mobility needs are met. As a result, they also need better travel health insurance.
6. They are either retired or have earned more vacation time at work, so they can take extended vacations (1 month or more).
7. They can travel anytime and with short notice (including low season & last-minute deals).
8. They have more savings and disposable income, so can spend more money on luxury. Thus, they want higher quality food, drinks, accommodations and entertainment.
9. They like to feel special and stretch their savings, so they may be influenced by seniors’ discounts or special promotions and events.
10. They enjoy gourmet meals. They also enjoy premium spirits (alcoholic beverages like aged whiskey, craft beer, award winning Vodka, Tequila, and Gin, and fine wine).
11. They travel with less luggage.
12. They expect a higher level of service and assistance.
13. They desire social interaction and often want to make new friends. Similarly, they sometimes travel with existing friends to keep the trip interesting and to feel more secure.
14. They want to learn new languages, cultures, and history.
15. They enjoy arts and cultural entertainment such as theatre, art galleries, and museums.
Another sometimes unfair generalization is that older travellers rely less on technology to research and book their trips and are less likely to book everything themselves. The travel industry may need to be creative to find ways to reach this audience.
Travel agents, tour operators, tourism bureaus, hotels, resorts, cruise lines, and airlines should take heed and give older travellers what they want. More and more of us will be travelling more as we get close to retirement.
If you are over 50, please comment to share other ways that your travel has changed from when you were younger.
Happy Travels,
Kev
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34 Comments
Under Flowery Sky
I love the idea of more relaxed travel and your book, of course.
Enjoying cultural side of travel is my favourite..
Retirestyle Travel
Even though you are not an "older traveller", you like to travel in the Retirestyle Travel way that differentiates how older travelers are different from younger travellers. I hope we can finish our research on the destinations for our book soon. We also love to just soak in new cultures.
Julius the Jules
I can see older travelers are very exquisite in their style! Nice and relaxing read. Great job on this blog post, my friend. I was referred here by you on Twitter, Sir. 🙂
Retirestyle Travel
Thanks for checking out our blog. Older travellers are special and unique and we want to help them and the travel industry both.
thathappyreader
I think you are spot on with the ways my hubby and I travel after 50. One of the other ways is that I like to be in a group – either with another couple or on a tour or cruise. I think this is based on the fact I've had experience with those over 50 having more health issues. I'd hate to be totally alone if my husband or I had a medical problem in a foreign country where there is a language problem.
Retirestyle Travel
That makes sense. After so long together, older travellers want some new blood to keep the trip interesting. Those friendly people can also make you feel secure (even taking transportation in a strange place can be scary) and help you make all of your flights.
I'm All Booked Up
We like the fact about travelling with little notice, even though we're still far off from that.
Retirestyle Travel
Travelling at the last minute is one of the best parts of being either a senior employee, a business owner, or retired. We can't wait to take advantage of the last minute deals.
A Writer's Perspective
A great perspective. I'm not 50+ yet, and still like a slower pace during travel. I'll be following.
Retirestyle Travel
Thanks a lot. We have always done too much when we travel and plan to slow down. We have lots of other articles targeted at older travelers.
Karen Lanzetta from OurCarpeDiem
Good list. I am over 50 but still have one kid in highschool (last one of 8 🙂 so regretfully can't travel whenever we want yet. But our time will come and frankly we were doing fine thanks to being suckers for timeshares.
Of course, we can't go anywhere due to the plague.
Stay safe and wash your hands!
bloglifewitherica
I like to concept and I do feel like those that are retired get to enjoy things a little bit better than the rest of us. This is a great example of the benefit from old age and the only perk of slowing down. You get to enjoy much more with a great appreciation of the time spent.
Retirestyle Travel
The countdown is starting to the empty nest (or at least a point where you feel comfortable leaving kids at home for a week or two without you).
I am surprised and happy that you enjoyed the use of timeshares because most of the comments I read online are negative.
I wonder if older travellers are more likely to buy and use timeshares.
Retirestyle Travel
Older travellers & senior citizens deserve to spoil ourselves if we worked hard and saved our whole lives. I am sure we will enjoy trips more as they become more like slow travel and immersion in a culture.
SiriMeraKaur
I haven't traveled much in awhile, I'm not over 50 yet, but I am considering my retirement and crafting my career so in about 10 years I'd be semi-retired or just working seasonally so a lot of this does apply to my situation. I guess the difference is I will still have young children in 10 years but I definitely still prefer a slower, staycation type of approach.
Retirestyle Travel
Many of our tips apply to anyone that wants to relocate abroad for work or early retirement, not just older travellers. Your kids would love some of these lovely and less populated locations.
Joseph Harrison
I don’t think I’ll be slowing down or going to bed any earlier.. to vow the twilight years will be as mad as my twenties!
Joseph
Retirestyle Travel
I said the same thing. ha ha. Seriously, everyone is different, but eventually some of these characteristics will apply to you.
Heather Prudeaux-McCullough
You are too funny! I haven't quite hit the 50's club yet, but I do pack lighter, go to bed earlier, I know what I want and don't expect any less and I like the fact that I can walk slower and don't need to rush anywhere. Good article!
Retirestyle Travel
Thanks. When we travelled with kids, things were much different than they will be now that we are barely into our 50s. I look forward to the new ways enjoyed by older travellers
Misskorang
This is so well thought through! Will be following..
Kevin Strong
Thank you. We know how older travellers are different because we are getting older and these issues affect us. We are considering becoming snowbirds or retiring abroad soon.
Baby Boomer Super Saver
My husband and I love to travel, but our travel plans were put on hold in 2020 due to the pandemic. We are over 50, so it’s exciting to hear about your upcoming book! From your list, most things resonate. However, we tend to stay up late and sleep in. We have started traveling with just pack packs and found that it was very easy to do our laundry at laundromats during our travels. It’s very freeing to travel lightly.
Kevin Strong
Same here. We had 2 trips cancelled in 2020 and not sure if we can even do them in 2021.
My parents are obviously older than me and they are like you (sleeping in), but I think that older travellers generally sleep less and go out partying at night less.
I like the idea of travelling light. I have it on my list of ways that older travellers are different, but we haven’t tried it yet.
We hope you can purchase our book once it is published, but it won’t be completed for a while because the pandemic has interfered with our research.
PRIYANKA JOSHI
I am not 50 plus yet but still i feel Slower pace while travelling gives you the privledge of enjoying the beauty of nature while travelling and makes you calmer after travelling.
Kevin Strong
Exactly. It’s not only retired people that travel with these preferences, some people just like to travel like a retired person (that is us at this time). Older travellers have a slower pace and sometimes become snowbirds (travelling up to 6 months per year) or even retire abroad.
I'm All Booked Up
Having more time to travel sounds amazing!
Kevin Strong
As we age, we get more vacation time and have more flexibility to travel when we want (ex. more seniority at work or kids are grown). Older travellers can take longer vacations in low season, which is just about where I am in life (once it is safe to travel internationally again).
JoJo Hall
Based off these points, I feel like I’m an older traveler than a traveler in her late 20’s. I can resonate with these points and see the benefits!
Kevin Strong
That is so true. Some people just have similar travel preferences to older travellers and thus can still enjoy the “Retirestyle Travel” experience.
Barry
I am definitely over 50 so fall into these categories. I would say I am quite fit, active and in good health so some aspects do not relalte to me ( but I do undersatnd the article is in general) . I however do agree on the culture, history learning aspect and being able to travele whever and at my own pace. This is an excellent reference article for those companies looking for what they should be concentrating on for older travels, Well done.
Kevin Strong
We are like you. We are still active, but definitely not as active as when we were 20 years younger. We love to learn about new cultures and see things that we have only seen in books or online. Thanks for the positive feedback on this article about how older travellers are different.
Jack (Nomad Tactics)
Yeah, we younger generations like to make fun of the older generations that you guys do not understand technology. On the other hand, you guys live through your life without modern technology and that is something impressive…
Kevin Strong
Older travellers did not have expedia or airbnb when we were younger, but we definitely use these now. We used to get last minute travel deals in the Sunday newspaper and then call a travel agent.