Pensioners crave adventure holidays like jumping from plane, study finds

Martin Lewis outlines protections against holiday bookings

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A survey of 1,000 over 65s revealed more than half (53 percent) regret not travelling when they were younger. Given the chance, almost a third (30 percent) fancy a road trip across the USA, while a quarter (23 percent) want a ride on Interrail Europe. Trekking through the jungle in Peru is on six percent of pensioner’s dream travelling to-do list, while five percent would love to attend a beach party in Thailand, according to Hotels.com. OAPs are also showing their hunger for adrenaline-fuelled activities, with 13 percent wanting to go white water rafting on their next holiday.

Nearly one in five (19 percent) fancy scuba diving, 18 percent want to go quad biking and 12 percent want to jump out of a plane and go skydiving.

Overall, more than half (54 percent) are now travelling more now than they did in their twenties.

The research was carried out by Hotels.com which has teamed up with football legend Harry Redknapp to treat an over 65 to an adventure of a lifetime with the chance to win a £5,000 voucher to kickstart their Golden Gap Year.

Harry, 74, said: “It’s been a tough year for us golden oldies, but I certainly don’t feel my age and I’m buzzing to get out and about again.

“Adventure is ageless, and my granddaughter Molly has convinced me that it’s never too late to go on my own trip of a lifetime.”

The study also found that when it comes to staycations, a UK road-trip (32 percent), a party house in the Cotswolds with friends (12 percent) and pub hopping round the west country (14 percent) top the list of trips over 65s would like to go on post lockdown.

And three percent of respondents said they are planning on going to a music festival.

Emma Tagg, head of global and EMEA brand communications at Hotels.com brand, added: “It’s been a hard year for everyone, but particularly senior citizens who are ready for an adventure more than ever.

“Half of those aged 65-plus have booked or are planning to book a trip when restrictions lift, and we’re here to help them plan the holiday they’ve always dreamed off.

“Think yoga retreats, bungee jumping and diving with sharks, it’s never too late to embrace your wild side. With our flexible booking options, there’s no stress if your plans change”.

To enter the competition, nominate your Golden Gap Year OAP by sharing a snap of them and explain why they deserve to win on social media using the hashtag #GoldenGapYear.

On Twitter, tweet @hotelsdotcomUK and on Instagram, upload a feed post tagging @hotelsdotcom. People aged 65 and over can nominate themselves.

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