Nation's seniors show strong sense of wanderlust

China's seniors have exhibited a growing willingness to travel this year and are expected to be prominent consumers during the current tourist offseason as they strive to get more bang for their buck from their trips, according to travel agencies and tourism experts.

Travel portal Trip.com said that in the first nine months of the year, bookings by people 50 and older increased 26 percent year-on-year on its platform. Even more recently, from Oct 8 to 14, such bookings were up 20 percent compared with the same period last year.

Moreover, reservations by users between 61 and 65 years old on the platform surged 58 percent year-on-year, showing the fastest growth of all age groups.

Tuniu, another travel agency, said that nearly 40 percent of the tourism bookings made from Oct 7 to the end of the month have been made by users 50 and older. The agency said people in the age group tend to have more free time for traveling in the offseason, with cheaper flights and hotel rooms available that meet their budgets.

"The growing ranks of the elderly are mainly retirees with stable pension incomes, greater spending power and more open ideas on consumption. Tourism is now a 'rigid demand' among seniors," said Cai Muzi, a researcher from travel portal Qunar's data research center.

Based on Qunar's figures, Cai said that travelers between 55 and 65 years old are so far the "definite main forces" of tourism consumption on its platform. The silver tourism sector boomed in the first half of this year, she said, adding that seniors took an average of 2.14 flights from January to June, and an increasing number of them took more than one trip during that time.

Considering their more flexible traveling schedules and superior spending power, older adults usually prefer long-distance destinations, both domestic and foreign.

They also prefer not to travel during peak seasons such as July and August so they can save money.

Qiao Chengwei, a manager in charge of domestic leisure products at Tuniu, said leisure trips focusing on viewing landscapes, enjoying natural springs and slower-paced cruises are among the top choices for seniors.

Domestically, they prefer visiting Beijing, Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Chengdu in Sichuan province, while favoring overseas destinations with easier visa access and greater value, Qiao said.

"Elderly travelers take up 60 percent of cruise ship cabins on trips to neighboring Japan and South Korea, and that proportion rises in the offseason," he said.

The travel agencies and experts also noted that more senior travelers have been booking tours online and sharing their travel photos on social media thanks to easier access to such travel products and their increasing acceptance of online platforms.

Figures from Trip.com show that over 10 percent of travel strategies or tourism-related content are produced by older adults on its platform, and that proportion has grown rapidly this year.

The company said that the silver-haired content creators currently comprise 7 percent of the platform's total content contribution.

Unlike younger travelers planning individual or self-driving trips, seniors usually take group tours due to their relative safety, comfort and cost effectiveness, Qiao said, adding that the older travelers also care about the itinerary pace, tour guide quality and accessibility to barrier-free facilities.

However, tourism-related products and services for those over 70 have yet to be optimized.

"As far as I know, many tourism companies don't accept travelers 70 and older due to possible safety and insurance issues," said Cai from Qunar, who added that it's necessary to develop or enhance tour products for older travelers allowing for people's increasing life expectancy and advancement of healthcare, alongside the growing traveling willingness of older people.