Travel Survey Report 2015

New research by specialist British holiday provider Saga reveals the travel motivations and habits of the 45-65+ year olds in the UK.

In August 2015 Saga Holidays, who serve the needs of travellers aged 50+, surveyed 1,000 people across the UK aged 45 to 65+ to better understand their travel habits and their motivations for travelling.

The survey results suggested that the main motivations for travelling were relaxation (43%) and history and culture (37%). Only 28% of people said they would be interested in learning about new ways of living, while 33% rated excitement and new adventures as their most important travel motivation.

City breaks were the most popular holiday types among all travellers (65%). Previous research conducted by Saga, showed that the reason city breaks were often the top holiday option for travellers was because people book one or two main holidays a year, and then slot in several 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.

Friends and family were the most important source of inspiration (63%) before they have even considered a destination, followed by review websites like Trip Advisor (53%). Those aged 45-54 were more influenced by social media and travel blogs (22%) than those over 65.

Top ten 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 ten 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

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%). Friends and family came in a close second at 64%.

The majority of people surveyed (34%) preferred to book holidays online 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 senior travellers were comfortable with online transactions. 55% of 45-65 year olds said they would be comfortable entering their credit card details online. The main reasons signalled for those who do not feel comfortable making payments online were fraud and not being comfortable with changing their habits.

Travel reward points were mostly deemed as unimportant, particularly amongst those aged 65 and over (49%). Interestingly, senior travellers generally own at least three tech devices. Tablets, smartphones and laptops were the most popular, proving the technological capabilities of these users.

-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