Surge in vacationing Chinese seniors drives travel business

Statistics show as much as 40 percent of the senior Chinese are willing and able of going on a tour, at home and abroad. [Photo by Liu Qinli / China Daily]

"Senior citizens in China love to go on a trip with companions, such as neighbors living in the same community, former colleagues and alumni or travel friends," said Zhong Hui, CEO of China Environment International Travel Service. "They form a small group tour and hope the travel agency can design the travel route according to their specific preference."

Yan Shuizhen, 68, and her husband Chen Ying'en, 69, both retired teachers in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, have been entertaining themselves through frequent travels at home and overseas since their retirement.

"After we retired, we started planning how to spend our spare time not only because of a more-than-enough monthly disposable family income of at least 12,000 yuan, but also because we have not yet had a grandchild to take care of, like what most Chinese at similar age are always occupied with," said Yan.

Chen joined a community badminton club, of which many members are also seniors and travelers. Once in a while, they organize group tours by themselves across the country and when going on trips within the province they prefer to drive their own cars, as it is more flexible than renting a tour bus or taking trains.

As for outbound tours, the couple would still like to turn to help from travel agencies that would arrange a variety of choices catering to their special needs. In the year 2014, the couple booked a two-week package tour to the United States at the beginning of this year, which cost about 30,000 yuan for each person. In late October, they went to Japan for a week, escaping the rush during the National Day holiday.