Older travelers aren't letting fears or the economy keep them home

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 09/08/02

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Senior travel is one of the few bright spots in an industry that has faltered since the attacks of Sept. 11 and the economy's slide into recession.

The decline in business and leisure travelers has ravaged the airline, hotel, and rental car industries, but tour operators who cater to seniors say a rebound that started earlier this year shows no sign of abating.

The surprising strength of the senior travel market is due in large part to the fact that many seniors have both the time and the money to travel. They also have lived through a lot and perhaps are less likely to be deterred from plans.

"Older people are a little more secure financially," said Marie Masse of Topsfield, who traveled to Morocco with her husband this year. "Everybody I know is traveling. I have four friends going to Thailand, a couple more headed to Australia. They're all going. They don't want to miss anything."

Grand Circle Travel of Boston, the nation's largest senior tour operator, says its business has bounced back so strongly from Sept. 11 that it now predicts 2002 will be its best year ever in terms of operating profits, up 100 percent over 2001.

"The high rate of bookings exceeds even our optimistic expectations," said Alan Lewis, chairman and chief executive of Grand Circle. "I truly believe older travelers are now leading the way toward the revival of travel among Americans of all ages."

Grand Circle expects 125,000 Americans, nearly 30 percent of them 75 or older, to travel with the company this year. That is down slightly from the 140,000 who traveled with Grand Circle last year, but it reflects a sharp uptick in per-trip bookings since the company slashed the number of trips it offers by 20 percent after Sept. 11. Company officials say they are on track to serve a record 150,000 passengers next year.

Elderhostel Inc., the nonprofit Boston educational organization, says its sales are likely to remain unchanged at last year's level of 200,000 travelers, despite the downturn in the rest of the travel industry. A company spokeswoman said numbers for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 would not be available until later this fall.

Vantage Deluxe World Travel, another big senior tour operator based in Boston, said sales are running ahead of last year's pace. "Our numbers are holding strong," a spokeswoman said.

Seniors represent only a tiny niche of the overall travel industry, but the segment's turnaround since Sept. 11 stands out. Most airlines are wallowing in red ink, and many are asking their employees for big wage reductions or heading into federal bankruptcy court. The hotel industry is also suffering, with occupancy levels expected to be 59.5 percent this year, one of the lowest levels in 75 years.

With the Bush administration openly discussing an invasion of Iraq, travel industry officials are worried that business can only get worse. But senior tour operators remain cautiously optimistic.

Joseph Cali, executive vice president of marketing at Grand Circle, says no one knows what the fallout from an Iraq war would be. But he said the company has weathered international turmoil before and is likely to do so again. Even he admits, however, that no one at his company expected the turnaround after Sept. 11.

Immediately, Grand Circle saw its bookings plunge. More than $70 million in sales were lost. The company responded by laying off 250 people and slashing prices. After controversy over cancellations, refunds, and rebookings, and a settlement with customers, the company set up an insurance plan that allowed travelers to cancel for virtually any reason and get some form of refund.

As senior tour operators braced for the worst, the unexpected happened. Sales began to turn around. In January, Grand Circle's bookings jumped 30 percent over the same month in the previous year, and since then seniors have kept on coming. More than 80 percent sign up for the new insurance plan, Cali said.

Business has been so good that the company found itself understaffed. Employees were quickly rehired, but many customers reported long waits on the telephone just to get through.

Most surprising was where many seniors wanted to go. While Elderhostel and many other tour companies canceled their trips to Egypt, Israel, and Jordan, Grand Circle kept going to those countries and others. Grand Circle says 2,025 customers went to Egypt this year and 151 to Israel, while trips to Morocco (975), Turkey (1,600), India (203), and Nepal (29) did better than expected.

The consensus seems to be that older Americans just don't scare easily. They "have lived through the Depression, World War II, and Korea," said Cady Goldfield of Elderhostel. "They are a little more stoic about these types of things than perhaps baby boomers."

Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.