NEWS Silver Travel Advisor, Accord and the Singapore Tourism Board. Benjamin Coren reports SPECIAL REPORT
KATHY LETTE ON TRAVEL
My new novel next year, called HRT – Husband
Replacement Therapy, is set on a cruise around the Pacific and its about three sisters who go travelling and rediscover their sexuality, their friendship and their fun gene. I want to go on a cougar
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cruise where young men go free, [and] they are called cubs. I wouldn’t choose something
for the age group, I choose it for the adventure. The worst trip I ever did was
mentia’
trip with Ruby Wax in Bordeaux, I go with my sisters to a lot of places and it’s always something active. “Women like talking and walking
because then you can be burning off the calories while catching up. We want to keep fit and have a lot of fun.” Lete said: “I expected to feel like
a human version of an orthopaedic sandal at 60 – comfy, well-worn and unremarkable. Being adventurous in bed would mean kniting while watching Newsnight. Sixty sounded so ancient. If a 60-year-old woman was a building, surely she’d have subsidence; she’d be listed? But now the age is upon me I don’t feel antiquated at all. “I feel like swinging from
chandeliers with a toyboy between my teeth. Te combo of experience and a youthful atitude has afforded me a devil-may-care atitude, which is truly liberating.” Lete’s perspective is perhaps one
worth keeping in mind when puting together your next solo tour package for an older traveller.
travelweekly.co.uk
when I was in Dubai. It should be called “do-buy” because that’s all you do, buy stuff! When you have kids, you
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MATURE MARKET
Richard Twynam, managing director, Azamara “Our baby-boomer audience want to do more than cruise. If they are going, for example, on a cruise that stops in Chile, they want to see the Atacama Desert and the salt flats.”
Claire Ross, head of specialist products, Kuoni “The grandparents, their children and grandchildren are all travelling together more. We are seeing a lot more multigenerational travel.”
Michelle Laverick, head of sales and marketing, HF Holidays “Don’t underestimate the strength and determination of the over-50s market. They are fit and healthy and they want to mix that with culture and creativity.”
Joe Ponte, managing director, Explore “The average age of our customers is 54. Their responsibilities change when the kids fly the nest and they ask, ‘what do we want to do?’”
Lynne Kirby, managing director, Enable Holidays “Agents are nervous about selling [mature travel]. You must ask tough questions so that you can understand their needs and deliver.”
are looking at fly-and-flop holidays, but women have this reawakening that hits you just after the menopause and it’s like a second act – it’s bloody fabulous. You want to get out of your
comfort zone, but be in a bit of comfort. I do not want to go camping, but glamping is a whole different thing. When you go on holiday,
you want to get away from your family. I’m in a different stage of life. I’m not saying blokes aren’t fun, but they should still be up for adventure.
14 NOVEMBER 2019
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PICTURES: Steve Dunlop, Neil Cooper, Shutterstock
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