Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 8, 1994 TAG: 9409020001
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARCIA SCHNEDLER UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A more accurate depiction of today's mature Americans may be 60-year-old Superman, recently reincarnated from his comic-book demise, who continues to fly faster than a speeding bullet.
If you are over 50, like Superman and 63.5 million other Americans, you're part of the Now Generation of travel. Your net worth is more than 13 times that of the average American under 35. You're part of an $800 billion market with more discretionary dollars - including all the cash you spend on vacations - than any other age group.
About 80 percent of you list travel as a hobby. You take more frequent trips, stay away longer, and cover longer distances than do younger people.
You're living longer, healthier lives. After all, you buy close to 40 percent of the nation's spa and health-club memberships, and two-thirds of you say that you exercise at least every other day.
You're better educated than any generation before you, and enjoy traveling to see historical sites and natural wonders. You want to participate - to explore places and meet local people. You want security, but not isolation.
You're also careful buyers who demand your money's worth when you travel but are loyal to companies that deliver what they promise.
Your numbers are growing faster than those of any other age group. By 2010, there'll be more than 96 million of you.
Because of all this, the travel industry is paying closer attention to you than ever before, finally getting away from the tendency to lump everyone over 50 into a single stereotype. Travel companies are realizing that what matters is the age you feel - not the age you are. They're learning that as people grow older, their interests and preferred travel style and pace vary much more than when they were in their 20s or 30s.
Your travel preferences are more accurately described by your lifestyle than your age, surveys have shown. For example, affluent people 55 to 65, still working, tend to buy shorter, independent tours. After they retire, these well-off seniors may take expensive trips or long cruises.
Social folks active in their community and church may prefer short trips within their region or motorcoach tours to Europe. Those recently widowed often prefer the security and camaraderie of group tours. Those who've been single their whole lives or for a longer period of time, on the other hand, are more likely to be experienced, adventuresome travelers.
As tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, hotels and others in the travel industry better understand mature travelers, they are developing and fine-tuning itineraries, programs and promotions more accurately targeted to your tastes and travel needs.
The AARP Travel Experience, operated by American Express, and Saga Holidays are seeing more seniors who combine a cruise with a tour or a stay at a hotel or resort at the starting or ending port.
``We see a move to longer cruises,'' says Catherine Lafer, director of the AARP travel service. ``The average is 10 to 12 days now. A land extension puts them at two weeks or more. This gives tour operators the chance to be more creative by adding a land itinerary around a cruise.''
Saga Holidays believes that one growth area in senior travel is in educational programs. It has responded by adding lecture tours and special-focus itineraries to its mix of group tours, cruises and extended-stay programs in resort areas and cities.
``We're doing the Smithsonian Odyssey Tours in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution,'' says Sherrill Bounnell, Saga's manager of product planning. ``And we began our own line called Road Scholar, where some of the fine arts programs like French Impressionists and Great Spanish Masters are the best sellers.'' Saga also offers flower and garden trips in England and a culinary program in France.
Lafer sees cruise lines installing an educational component. ``Some lines are adding lecturers even on basic cruises, linking with the port destinations or books written about them,'' she says. Other companies specialize in learning cruises, including Special Expeditions and World Explorer.
Grand Circle Travel, another senior-travel specialist with many extended-stay opportunities, has added talks and exchanges with authorities on local culture, artisans and families in some programs.
All three companies are finding that in Europe, tours to a specific region of a country are increasing in popularity. ``We're now seeing that it's about the same percentage for the fast-paced tour of several countries as for regional tours,'' Lafer says. ``It used to lean mostly to the fast-paced tours.'' She also sees the slow pace of a European barge trip appealing to more mature customers.
Saga is finding success with its off-the-beaten-path holidays in the United Kingdom. ``They're usually for the people who've been before and have done the London-Stonehenge thing,'' Bounnell says. ``Now they want to see the little towns and villages, and do excursions from them.''
As a result, seniors can expect development of more of the less regimented tours that may remain at each spot on the itinerary for several nights, with free time and optional excursions that allow a more in-depth look at an area.
Many senior travelers remain conscientious about travel expenditures, so are willing to vacation during the less expensive shoulder and off seasons. As a result, tour operators are extending their tours into the late fall and early spring, and sometimes year-round.
U.S. motorcoach-tour operators that serve local or regional markets are adapting their itineraries to today's senior travelers, too. And new companies and nonprofit organizations are popping up to serve mature travelers with special interests - from cultural exchanges to cross-country skiing.
by CNB