Midlife escapes: Half of holidays abroad are taken by older travellers

Around half of all holidays abroad are now taken by older travellers, according to a report.

The proportion of overseas trips taken by those over 45 has risen from 47% in 2006 to an estimated 50% in 2011, the report by holiday company Page & Moy found.

Those Britons aged 45-54 take more foreign holidays than any other age group, while those aged 45-64 accounted for 41% of all expenditure in holidays abroad in 2010 and 2011.

From Page & Moy's specialist company Travelsphere in association with Mintel Research Consultancy, the report said UK tourists over 65 years old were the most prolific of the over-45 market - with 28% of them taking two or more foreign holidays a year against an all-age average of only 19%.

The over-65s also take the most domestic trips, with a quarter having two annual UK breaks and a fifth taking three or more.

As many as 40% of over-65s' trips abroad in 2010 were 14 nights or longer in length, with around 9% of trips being a month or longer.

Two in three over-55s see holidays as essential compared with only half of 45 to 54-year-olds and 45% of those under 45.

Those aged 45-64 spent a total of £8.5 billion on holidays in 2011, while those aged 55-64 were the only age group to increase the number of long-haul trips between 2008 and 2010.

Travelsphere's top long-haul destinations are USA, Canada, China and India.

Page & Moy Travel Group's chief executive Ian Smith said: "Many of today's older travellers have time, money and the internet at their fingertips to entice and enable.

"The UK's older population is growing at the fastest rate, accounting for 17% of our population today, but is expected to rise to 23% by 2035, so older travellers will continue to dominate the tourism offering at home and abroad."