City silvers don’t just sit at home anymore, waiting for their pension. These new-age globetrotters have the money and know how to spend it. These days, instead of the same old trips to places of pilgrimage, they’re choosing helicopter rides in Alaska, paragliding in Australia or just watching the world go by at an Italian Piazza.
“Senior citizens are emerging as a new segment that’s showing a lot of promise.Unlike in the past, these seniors are keen to spend on themselves,” says Kashmira Commissariat, COO - Outbound Division, Kuoni India.
According to industry figures, senior citizens constitute 10% of outbound travellers. In 2009, the number of outbound travellers from India was 10 million while in 2008 it was 9 million. “Every year this segment sees an increase of 10%. This year, we are expecting a growth of 10-12%,” says Karan Anand, head, relationships and suppliers management, Cox & Kings.
“Within India, it is Goa, Kerala and to some extent Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Internationally, it is Europe, the Far East and Egypt. They are so adventurous. We even have customers asking for paragliding and skiing,” he says.
“You earn between 26 and 50 and enjoy your savings between 50 and 75,” says 59-year-old businessman Jugal Kishore Jain, who toured France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland with wife Usha for a quarter of last year. Besides travelling, Jain enjoys yoga and is a big fan of water sports. So, he wind surfs, canoes and river rafts, too.
Jain and his wife are among the many seniors these days for whom old age is not just about religion and rituals, but about fun and adventure too.
Travel companies maintain that the growth in the seniors’ segment may not yet be remarkable, but it has certainly been on an upswing in the past few years. “It has caught on in the last six to seven years coinciding with the economic boom. With their children’s incomes rising seniors no longer have dependants and this in turn frees up their savings,” says Karan Anand, head-relationships and supplier management, Cox and Kings (India), Ltd.
“Today the mantra is ‘I am free to do what I want to do’,” says Yogesh Selarka, chief operating officer, Raj Travels, who attributes a 7-8% growth to the senior travel segment.
Rano Singh, a jovial and techno-savvy senior, soon turning 60, retired from her airlines job a year ago. “I used to hear how life becomes boring post retirement. But, I am happier today, fit and raring to go,” says Singh, who recently vacationed in America, China and Singapore. Last summer, it was a trip to San Francisco. When she is not travelling, Singh is either attending rock concerts or painting.
“I remember going to an Aerosmith concert in Bangalore where a young man asked me, ‘why are you here?’. I told him ‘dude, I have been listening to them even before you were born,” Singh smiles.
While the travel infrastructure at home may not yet be senior-friendly, abroad, the scene is quite different. Wheelchair facilities in parks and on buses with flexible staircases, lots of nitty-gritties pertaining to seniors travelling are well taken care of.
But, 71-year-old Arvind Medhekar thinks India is better. “In India, you just stretch out your hand and taxis halt. Try doing that in New York and you could be standing at the same spot forever,” smiles Medhekar, who visits one foreign destination every year. His travelling expeditions include Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, USA and Scandinavian countries.
“We got a group of eight senior couples who categorically asked for a golfing tour. We customised a trip to South Africa for them as the place has some of the world’s best golf courses,” a Thomas Cook spokesperson said.
Beach destinations like Mauritius and Maldives are also catching up with seniors, “They go jet skiing, if not surf boarding,” the spokesperson adds. Volcano destinations like Japan, Hawaii and Bali are also gaining popularity.
Pravin Kansara (name changed), 82, a retired businessman from Cuffe Parade, travels almost 20 days a month along with wife Naina, 79. “I always wanted to travel, so now I am busy seeing the world with my wife,” Kansara says.He started indulging his passion at the age of 57 and is still going strong.In the past 25 years he has visited England, Switzerland, Germany, France, and many more countries. “We are in excellent health so travelling is not a problem. Now, we are busy exploring India,” he says.
Kirti Veragiwala, 68, and wife Rasila, 66, travel almost twice a month. They have visited almost every part of India, West Asia, Australia and are now looking forward to their April trip to China and Hong Kong.A retired engineer who now stays in Andheri (W), the travelling bug bit Veragiwala during his college days.“Since then I am always on the lookout for new places visit,” he says.His two children are settled abroad and, apart from visiting them, he loves to explore new destinations.
“My wife and I are in excellent health, so travelling is not a problem.In fact, after we return from out trips we feel rejuvenated for the next three to four months,” said Veragiwala.
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