Travel Companies Expand Programs For Seniors
Some friends of mine in their 60s swear they'll never go on a trip with any of the three major tour operators who ask that group members be at least 50 or 60. Those trips are for "old people," they say, paced much too slowly for them.
Like many other Americans, my friends still apply yesterday's stereotypes to today's seasoned travelers, and to many of the trips developed specifically for them.
They don't realize the ways that these three companies - Saga Holidays, Grand Circle Travel and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Travel Service, operated by American Express - have broadened the types of programs they offer to appeal to adventurous, inquisitive seniors like themselves.
And the number of potential customers for these companies is growing rapidly. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the number of Americans 50 and older - about 64 million in 1992 - will double within 35 years.
These three big tour companies know there is no monolithic senior travel market. Instead, a range of travel styles and preferences exists among seasoned travelers.
Hiking in the forest with a naturalist appeals to some; others want to be coddled in a posh spa.
Saga, Grand Circle and AARP continue to offer the ever-popular tours and cruises in the United States and overseas, such as a motorcoach circuit of national parks in the American West or of European capital cities, and cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean.
But travelers find plenty of exotic destinations, too. Both AARP and Grand Circle market a Galapagos Islands cruise in combination with a visit to the Amazon Basin in mainland Ecuador.
With an AARP group, travelers can ride the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Khabarovsk to Irkutsk, then fly to Alaska for a cruise.
Saga itineraries include Patagonia and Indonesia. Seasoned travelers can view polar bears from a tundra buggy in Churchill, Manitoba, with AARP or Saga, or see African wildlife and culture in Zimbabwe and South Africa with Grand Circle.
For those who want a taste of adventure, AARP offers whitewater rafting and camping on the Colorado River, as well as helicopter hikes in the Canadian Rockies.
Other changes have come, too. In response to increasing numbers of inquisitive senior travelers who want to gain a more in-depth understanding of the places they visit, Saga and Grand Circle have added special-interest tours and incorporated more educational aspects into their travel programs.
Saga runs "Gardens of the World" tours to England, Ireland and Wales this year and a host of Christmas trips in the United States and abroad. Its study tours, developed in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution, reach China, Australia, Israel, Egypt, Kenya and Tanzania.
Grand Circle has added an educational element to its extended-stay programs in places like Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Israel, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy.
Extended stays have always allowed seasoned travelers the freedom to dig into a region's history, culture and cuisine, or sit back and relax in a pleasant climate. Also included are lectures by local university professors, as well as cooking and language lessons.
More information:
Contact a travel agent and/or the companies below:
-- AARP Travel Experience, 1-800-745-4567. To join the American Association of Retired Persons, send your name, address and date of birth with your check for $5 annual membership, which includes a spouse, to AARP, P.O. Box 199, Long Beach, CA 90801.
-- Grand Circle Travel, 347 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210; 1-800-221-2610.
-- Saga Holidays, 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116; 1-800-343-0273.
Copyright 1992 Universal Press Syndicate
The Mature Traveler appears on the second Tuesday of the month in Travel.