'We're not here for a long time, but for a good time'

 

With so many public servants about to retire, the over-55s with time and money on their hands have become an important new group for the travel industry, writes ISABEL CONWAY  THEY WERE enough to give senior travel a bad name. Margaret never wanted that holiday in Portugal and now they were about to leave for home she never wants “to see that bloody place again, as long as I live”. “Yes that’s the good thing about a bad holiday - going home, which is a positive joy,” reflects the ultimate crank, Victor One Foot in the Grave Meldrew, from the iconic BBC TV series on growing old ungracefully. In the real world, the over-55s are a ray of sunshine for the travel industry, especially now with hopes pinned on the flight of the public servants who will have the time and the money – perhaps for that “trip of a lifetime”, or at least a long holiday. John Grehan, manager of Flexible Trips Ireland, part of thomascook.ie, says that notwithstanding our economic woes, there is some movement at that sublime end of the market, the round-the-world cruise. “We are going to start targeting the public servants, especially those with family or children who have emigrated to places like Canada and Australia and the recently retired, and those who will leave shortly – including public servants – are already asking about long-haul, multi-centre trips.” Anyone believing that senior travellers want no more than a beach bed or a guided bus tour with frequent pit-stops, is out of touch, says senior travel specialist James Malone. “The over-55s are often far more active than those half their age, and being retired but still young enough to travel with the mortgage paid off and the family reared, is creating a new and important target group for us,” he adds.