Travelers: Retirees’ consumption power grows

3,500 yuan per trip, ordered about 16 percent of tailored trips this year. Keywords most frequently mentioned in tailored trips included “five-star airlines”, “comfortable” and “special food”, the report said.

Chen said part of the reason is that the newly retired group has greater consumption ability and has more experience in adapting to unfamiliar outside world.

He said the trend is also largely influenced by the preferences of their children or grandchildren, since a cross-generation family trip is very common.

“Marketing and travel products should be designed to target their offspring instead, since they are more likely to be the decision-makers.”

According to the report, average consumption of the post-1950s reached 3,115 yuan for each overseas package tour, the highest among all age-groups.

Popular products at Ctrip have elements like no shopping, small group, pick-up services and sufficient time for free activities, the company said.

David Gosset, founder of the Europe-China Forum, said: “For older people, culture is more attractive than entertainment. And what young people would consider fun could be simply noise for them.

“A destination like Hainan whose climate is agreeable could play a major part in tourism choices. The scope of health tourism would enlarge if resorts or companies specially target older people. Adapting the concept of wellness to older people could also have enormous potential.”