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Over-50s head off for holiday adventure

Forget a fortnight by the pool in Spain, when it comes to holidays abroad, over-50s are now more adventurous than ever, a new report has found.



According to research from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), over 50s now account for 35 per cent of all trips abroad and 70 per cent of those in this age group say that they are more adventurous now with their trips than they were ten years ago.

More than a third have visited over 20 countries and almost a fifth have taken part in adventure activities such as bungee jumping and abseiling on recent holidays.

A brave 25 per cent, meanwhile, are looking to swim with sharks on a future holiday, while 15 per cent want to try skydiving.

Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet, who is 60 this year, said: "It is no longer all about two weeks in Spain or saving up for a cruise - we are the generation who thinks retirement is the chance to do all the things we ever wanted to, from safaris to sailing down the Mekong."

However, the FCO is concerned that some over-50s are not making the correct preparations for travelling abroad, with recent years seeing an upsurge in this age group seeking help at Foreign Office consuls.

FCO research revealed that 65 per cent of over-50s polled didn't take out travel insurance on their last trip while half didn't research their destination and just 27 per cent made a note of their credit card number.

Growing popularity of trips abroad

More British people are heading out on trips abroad than ever before, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics.

The government organisation said that there were 66.4 million trips overseas taken from the UK in 2005, which is over three times the number taken in 1981.

Britons were choosing a range of destinations for their visits abroad, but the most popular proved to be Spanish holidays and other trips to mainland Spain, plus visits to the Canary Islands.

Second most popular were American holidays and other trips to the US, followed by visits to Ireland.

Also identified in the report was that more people were travelling by plane, with air travel accounting for 81 per cent of all overseas trips in 2005, a rise from 60 per cent in 1981.

"The increase in the number of people travelling by plane over the last two decades is both a continuation and an acceleration of a long-term trend," the report stated.

While the statistics showed a dip in the popularity of trips taken from the UK by sea, recent figures from the Passenger Shipping Association have indicated that the number of Britons taking sea cruises has doubled in the past decade to 1.2 million last year.

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