Surge in Digital Literacy Among Over 45s

New research by specialist British holiday provider Saga reveals digital literacy of over 45s in the UK.

Recent research by Saga Holidays, who serve the needs of travellers aged 50+, surveyed 1,000 people across the UK aged 45 to 65+ to better understand how digitally savvy they were when researching and booking their holidays.

• When it came to the sources that senior travellers used to research their holiday destination and plan holiday activities, online research was preferred, with review sites such as Trip Advisor topping the charts (68%).

• The majority of people surveyed (34%) preferred to book holidaysonline directly through a holiday provider site. Online comparison sites were popular among the 45 - 54 age demographic (17%), but were not highly regarded in the 65+ category (9%). Women of 65+ came out with a majority when it came to booking via price comparison sites (75%)

• Most were comfortable with online transactions. More than half of 45-65 year olds said they would be comfortable buying online. The main reason signalled for those who did not feel comfortable making payments online was the risk of fraud.

• Six out of ten over 50s couldn't live without online banking, according to a survey done by Saga earlier this year.

• Interestingly, older travellers generally owned at least three tech devices (65%). Tablets, smartphones and laptops were the most popular.

• However, travel reward points were mostly deemed as unimportant, particularly amongst those aged 65 and over (49%).

According to a consumer spending report released by Saga in 2014, the over 50s are estimated to account for more than 50% of the UK's incomes , 68% of the UK's wealth and 76% of the UK's financial wealth.

Even though today's digital environment is perceived as the playground of the young, these results demonstrate that the real revenue is coming from people aged 50+ who have the time, the disposable income and are far savvier about the internet than they are given credit for.

Saga's research also highlights that the number of over 50s in employment has grown remarkably in the past 20 years. In fact by the end of 2014 over 50s represented the second largest proportion of total people in employment in the UK.

Additional information:

City breaks were the most popular holiday types among all travellers (65%) predominantly because many people book one or two main holidays a year, and then slot in short city breaks in between.

Beach holidays were still very popular among 45-54 year olds (61%), but those aged 65+ were less likely to want to just lie on the beach (36%).

Some participants showed interest in other options, with some of the favourites being self-managed holidays, ski holidays, volunteering holidays, visiting overseas friends and villa holidays.

Top 10 most inspirational publishers for senior travellers:

1) TripAdvisor
2) The Telegraph
3) National Geographic
4) The Guardian
5) Daily Mail
6) Wanderlust
7) Rough Guides
8) Taste and Travel Magazine
9) Woman's Weekly Magazine
10) Fodor's

Top 10 most inspirational blogs for senior travellers:

1) Walkhighlands.co.uk
2) Sidetracked.com
3) Thequirkytraveller.com
4) Nomadicmatt.com
5) Journeywoman.com
6) Boomeresque.com
7) Travelpod.com
8) Tipsfortravellers.com
9) Globalgrasshoper.com
10) Thepoortraveler.net

-ENDS-

About Saga

Saga is an award-winning British travel company focused on serving the needs of those aged 50 and over. Saga provides package holidays, tours and cruises across the globe to its 2.7 million customers. It owns and operates the cruise ships MS Saga Pearl and MS Saga Sapphire and also owns and operates the Bel Jou Hotel in St Lucia, as well as Titan Travel.

Saga is a winner of 7 British Travel Gold Awards 2014.

About Caliber Interactive

Caliber Interactive is an international organic marketing agency specialising in content, social and search marketing. Caliber Interactive supports brands in generating organic traffic to increase their visibility, market share and revenue.

For more information contact:
Name: Tanya Korobka
Email: tanya.korobka@caliberi.com

Phone Number: +44(0)20 7841 9167