Britain’s 50-plus generation keen on globetrotting

28 November 2007

Those who are over the age of 50 today are set to become Britain’s biggest globetrotters.

A research conducted by Alliance & Leicester has found that nearly 11 million people aged 50-plus are planning to travel more regularly over the next 5 to 10 years.

It was seen that, out of those polled, 54% was keen to travel to “more exciting locations more often,” whereas only 48% felt that it was important to spend more time with friends and family, the website holidaylettings.co.uk has reported.

A fifth of the survey’s respondents said that they wanted to go on a “once-in-a-lifetime trip” in the next 10 years. Of them, while 77% said they would prefer to travel with a partner, 1 in 10 said they were happy to travel alone.

In fact, travel is preferred to spending more time with friends and family (48%), getting fit (37%), and finding a healthier way of life (31%).

Over 2 million (11%) of those aged 50 and over plan on traveling on their own, while the more conventional lot plan to globetrot with their partner (77%) or with friends (26%).

Australia and New Zealand are on top of the list of travel destinations – with over a quarter (26%) wanting to visit Australia and New Zealand, followed by countries in Europe (21%) and the United States (9%).

While some would like to see more of the homeland (8%), people in their 50s and over also wish to go to places as far as China, Africa, Russia, and the Antarctic.

Some of the 50-plus generation would gladly set out on trips of adventure and experiences, with the activities including off-roading (9%), flying a helicopter (10%), scuba diving (7%), and going to music festivals (7%).

Emma Walkley, a top official of Alliance & Leicester, was quoted as commenting on the findings of the research, “The desire of the 50-plus to see more of the world is clear – this is not an age group that plans to sit back and enjoy a slower pace of life. Quite the opposite in fact, with long-haul destinations and a thirst for adventure firmly on the agenda.”