The Big Divide in holiday dreams
LONDON – The over-60s are saying “to hell with it†and refusing to let the recession kill their holidays.
They are spending the kids’ inheritance with the policy of “lets live and enjoy today because who knows what will happen tomorrow?â€
The Grey Market makes up nearly two thirds of the 54 per cent of people who have declared their holidays sacrosanct and decided to ignore completely the economic downturn.
They insist on maintaining their annual summer plans.
The “nothing comes in the way of our treasured holiday†brigade has been revealed in a poll of 1,030 people, all of whom went on a summer holiday this year, by World Travel Market.
“Eighty percent of the public sampled admit issues such as poor currency exchange rates and flight taxes won’t deter them. And of those people, the over-60s is the biggest grouping (84%),†said Fiona Jeffery, chairman of World Travel Market.
“They are fitter and more adventurous and are not prepared to let a recession spoil their fun,” added Jeffery.
The Old ‘Un’s attitude is in stark contrast to the cash-strapped Young Ones. The forecast for them is overcast with gloomy stay-at-home prospects.
This air of despondency is in the 16-24 age brackets. They are cautious about whether they will be able to afford to pack their swimwear and sun oil to get away from it all.
Meanwhile, the 25-40 category of travellers are having to scale down their holiday habits.
If this year’s experience is anything to go by, there will be far less of them adding short breaks or second overseas trips to their coveted main summer time off.
Overall there are three major areas stopping people going abroad – price, the airport experience and environment.
Holiday costs and queue and security congestion at the airport are big turn offs for the public.
Environmental matters are also likely to make tourists fly less and take domestic holidays. An astonishing 51 per cent said it would impact on decisions about whether to go overseas in future.
And tax increases will persuade 13 per cent to stop flying.
Note: This report was researched in the context of the UK market
Ian Jarrett
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