The wraps are being taken off a new upmarket travel brand specialising in holidays for people aged between 50 and 65.
High50 Travel is being unveiled to the travel trade today (Monday) with a consumer launch planned for Boxing Day.
The company will curate a selection of the best deals, from city breaks and beach holidays to cruise and ski trips, working with “carefully selected” partners.
High50 Travel will also offer added-value options, including free city tours, half-price airport lounge access and six free bottles of wine on booking.
The new travel start-up is an arm of lifestyle website high50.com for “contemporary 50-somethings”, launched in 2011 by advertising entrepreneur Robert Campbell and led by former national newspaper editor Stefano Hatfield.
It covers travel, health, beauty, careers, relationships and money for 50 to 65 year-olds. A financial services offshoot is also in the pipeline.
High50 Travel managing director, Chris Woodbridge-Cox, who has held senior roles with tour operators including Unijet, Virgin and Club Med, said: “Upmarket holidays are something we know that people over 50 love. This age-group takes an average of three holidays a year and makes up 80% of the UK’s spend on luxury travel.”
By 2020, 42% of the UK population will be over the age of 50, and it is a group that accounts for 79% of all disposable wealth in the country.
High50 has profiled this audience to enable access to a network of five million customers.
Woodbridge-Cox added: “These customers now have more access to their own wealth following the pensions changes that came into effect earlier this year, allowing people over 55 to take a lump sum from their savings without a huge tax penalty, so this feels like the right time to be launching High50 Travel.”