With fewer retirees taking holidays, how has travel changed??

Retirees have become a lucrative client base for travel consultants. The older generations prefer to spend more time and money traveling the globe with more free time on their hands.

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic, however has changed the conditions, and seniors who are at higher risk of contracting the virus are now less interested in taking trips. That doesn't mean that once the medications and vaccines are available, they won't be back, but travel consultants should target them in new ways.

TravelPulse talked to Misty Belles, managing director, global public relations for Virtuoso, to find out the best way to reach out to this community of frequent travelers in order to gain more insight into the minds of retirees.

TravelPulse (TP): How will luxury travel be changed in the short term with fewer retirees traveling?

Misty Belles (MB): Retirees are a prime market in the travel industry. Unencumbered by work and school calendars, they travel more, for longer periods of time, and spend more as a result. According to a joint Virtuoso and YouGov study, affluent retirees were projected to spend $10,400 to $15,500 on travel.

Misty Belles (MB): In the travel industry, retirees are a prime market. Unencumbered by work and school calendars, for longer periods of time, they drive more and spend more as a result. It was estimated that affluent retirees would spend $10,400 to $15,500 on travel, according to a joint Virtuoso and YouGov report.

TP: When retirees return to the market, how will they travel? Will they return to the same types of trips they were interested in before?

MB: Pent-up demand will lead to a travel boom once there’s an increased comfort level, either due to a vaccine or because treatments see greater success rates. If multigenerational travel grew out of the 2008 recession, the next iteration of this trend will be multi-family travel. After being separated for so long, families will look to reunite and enjoy shared experiences to make new memories. We’re already seeing increased demand for villas and private homes. Requests for these kinds of accommodations will continue to grow.

TP: Are retirees booking “revenge travel” right now? What do these trips look like?

MB: I wouldn’t call them “revenge trips” so much as “go for it” trips. No one ever expected we would lose the right to ability, which is why certain trips were thought of as “someday” instead of “today.” But this pandemic has made everyone release that what we thought was a right is actually a privilege, and it’s one that won’t be taken for granted again. Dream trips will get bumped up on the priority list because the threat of losing the ability to go is now a reality we’ve not known before.

Of course, there is a subset of retirees who want to travel here and now, who are willing to jump on that plane as soon as it’s allowed. And for them, there is likely a degree of “revenge” over having been held back from enjoying the trips they planned earlier this year.

TP: How can advisors target this market at the moment? Does Virtuoso find that this segment is interested in booking trips that are farther out?

MB: Advisors should continue to check in with their retiree clients and let them know that now is the time to book those big trips, especially while cancellation and postponement policies are so lax. There is nothing to lose from planning now, and everything to gain in terms of choice. For Virtuoso advisors, many are taking the opportunity to introduce their clients to Virtuoso Wanderlist, a web-based planning platform designed to inspire their clients to explore and dream. By letting clients self-select their favorite destinations and experiences for themselves as well as all of their travel companions, it gives advisors incredible insight into how to design trips that their clients will want to book now and in the future.

TP: For retirees who are traveling, what types of trips are they looking for?

MB: Beach vacations are the top draw, in part because of the accessibility right now. Beach locales also let people spread out, enjoy the outdoors provide some much-needed R&R. We also find that the isolation that comes from quarantining, being separated from friends and family for extended periods of time, and losing the ability to enjoy activities that were part of their everyday lifestyle is all taking a toll on mental health.

Trips with a wellness component are now more important than ever, as are those that are more active and include wide-open spaces. Lastly, while there are still many unknowns in terms of when travel can fully resume, there is plenty of demand for dream destinations. The top 10 destinations people are dreaming about right now follow:

1. Italy

2. France

3. Australia

4. Greece

5. Japan

Of course, there is a subset of retirees who want to travel here and now, who are willing to jump on that plane as soon as it’s allowed. And for them, there is likely a degree of “revenge” over having been held back from enjoying the trips they planned earlier this year.TP: How can advisors target this market at the moment? Does Virtuoso find that this segment is interested in booking trips that are farther out? MB: Advisors should continue to check in with their retiree clients and let them know that now is the time to book those big trips, especially while cancellation and postponement policies are so lax. There is nothing to lose from planning now, and everything to gain in terms of choice. For Virtuoso advisors, many are taking the opportunity to introduce their clients to Virtuoso Wanderlist, a web-based planning platform designed to inspire their clients to explore and dream. By letting clients self-select their favorite destinations and experiences for themselves as well as all

7. U.K.Of course, there is a subset of retirees who want to travel here and now, who are willing to jump on that plane as soon as it’s allowed. And there is undoubtedly a degree of "revenge" for them that they have been kept back from enjoying the trips they expected earlier this year. TP: How do advisors currently target this market? Does Virtuoso discover that booking trips that are further out is of interest to this segment? MB: Advisors should continue to check in with their retiree clients and let them know that now is the time to book those big trips, especially while cancellation and postponement policies are so lax. There is nothing to lose from planning now, and everything to gain in terms of choice. For Virtuoso advisors, many are taking the opportunity to introduce their clients to Virtuoso Wanderlist, a web-based planning platform designed to inspire their clients to explore and dream. By letting clients self-select their favorite destinations and experiences for themselves as well

8. About Iceland

9. In Spain

Uh. 10. New Zealand

TP: Would retirees be more inclined to travel with rapid COVID-19 testing??

MB: Widespread rapid testing is instrumental in restoring consumer confidence and essential in opening travel corridors. There are airlines already doing this with great success, like Lufthansa where they can process up to 20,000 tests per day at Frankfurt Airport. When we recently polled Virtuoso clients to determine consumer sentiment around flying and cruising, they shared the following actions as the most significant in restoring their confidence around travel right now:

MB: In order to regain consumer trust and to open travel corridors, widespread rapid testing is instrumental. Airlines are already doing this with great success, such as Lufthansa, where up to 20,000 checks per day can be carried out at Frankfurt Airport. When we recently surveyed Virtuoso customers to assess customer sentiment around flying and cruising, they expressed the following actions as the most important step right now in restoring their confidence in travel:

—48 percent said cleaning protocols in place such as those outlined by the Safe Sail Panel

42 percent said that prior to boarding a flight or cruise ship, pre-travel screening

Prior to boarding a flight or cruise ship, 35 percent said just real-time checking