Silver market shines on in gloomy economic times

ECONOMIC uncertainty in Europe has inflicted nary a dent in the silver market, with longhaul agents reporting growth and expecting further increases this year.

Comprising the elderly who travel without their children, travellers in this segment seek cultural and heritage immersion, and destinations in the Mekong region are popular, say travel consultants.

Prime Holidays Bulgaria general manager, Antoaneta Petrova, said: “The senior market saw a 25 per cent year-on-year growth in 2012, and this year we anticipate a further 30 per cent increment because we are now working with more retail agents in Bulgaria. The seniors here love to travel and many make it a point to take an annual trip. An average trip runs for 10 days.”

Travelpine.com Belgium saw a 30 per cent year-on-year growth in the segment. The agency’s product manager Asia, David Van Driessche, said full-board tours combining cultural and heritage sights with beaches were most popular among clients who chose to go with group series.

“This segment, usually in their 50s and 60s, have money to spend and typically stay in four- and five-star hotels. Many are also repeat travellers,” he noted.

Sweden’s Kina Resor chairman of the board business development, Per Camenius, expects Finnair’s new thrice-weekly Helsinki-Hanoi flights, launching mid-June, to generate interest in Vietnam among its senior travellers. The agency’s series tours to Myanmar, launched in February 2012, have seen good demand, with 17 groups handled to date.

Travel consultants observed that hotel partners were especially supportive.

Petrova said hotels had been willing to grant discounts to elderly travellers “as they are usually quiet and do not make a mess in the room”.

Noor M Ismail, director, business development at Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel Malaysia, who saw 10 per cent year-on-year growth in the senior market from Canada, said hoteliers would offer special rates and add-ons for long-stay seniors during low season.

Read more in the ATF Daily

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