Older travellers 'getting more adventurous'

Over-50s are increasingly looking beyond standard beach holidays when considering their travel options, according to one expert.

Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents said that there is now a "growing market" for gap years for older people as they choose more active breaks over sedate ones.

He added that over-50s are now likely to consider travelling to places such as Nepal or elsewhere in the Far East to make up for not being able to see the world earlier on in their lives due to work and family issues.

"People have been going abroad in large numbers since the 1960s and people in their fifties have been taking foreign holidays for 45-odd years," Mr Tipton commented.

"So with a lot of the more traditional things, they've already been there and done it. They want something else."

Earlier this year, research from insurer Hiscox revealed that more than one-third of Britons aged between 45 and 54 are thinking about taking a break from their careers in order to travel.

The survey found that popular destinations for this age group's so-called "grown-up gap years" included Australia, New Zealand and the USA, as well as countries within south-east Asia.

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