Silver Travel Advisor managing director Lisa McAuley argues travel companies should not group the over-50s together as one homogenous group
“The thing is Lisa, you look just like us, and if you can do it, we can do it!”
This was the comment made to me by Sue, a sixty-something psychoanalyst, as we made our final 300-metre descent to Issoumar in the M’Goun Valley. We’d been trekking as a group of 12 women aged over 50 for four days in Morocco, and this particular day had tested everyone.
Most of the group hadn’t encountered terrain like this before, and I found myself offering words of encouragement to distract from the challenge. I gave impromptu tips to my fellow hikers that I myself had picked up on previous treks, and doled out hugs as our group opened up and shared personal stories that had been kept under wraps for years.
One lady – who by her own admission was more accustomed to five-star luxury holidays, during which she’d lounge around by the pool – said the trek was the best holiday she’d ever had. As they say in small-group touring, you arrive as strangers and leave as friends, and this group was no different.
It’s easy to refer to the over-50s as one homogenous group, but let’s think about that for a moment. Someone who is 50 today is 20 years away from being 70, and the characteristics of many people between these ages is significantly different, largely due to changes in health. You wouldn’t group teens with thirty-somethings as a target audience and use the same tone of voice, so why is that the case with over-50s?
Inclusive communication
But it can be difficult to get right, and we spend a lot of time at Silver Travel Advisor refining our communication to be as inclusive as we possibly can. While we write many features focusing on what’s best for travellers in their 50s, 60s and 70s, we still hold firm with the belief that age is less relevant – it’s attitude that matters.
You wouldn’t group teens with thirty-somethings as a target audience and use the same tone of voice, so why is that the case with over-50s?
According to the ONS, 65 has traditionally been considered the start of ‘old age’. However, given today’s extended life expectancy, there is an argument to support this moving up to 70. Depressingly, the word ‘old’ carries a negative connotation – a quick google of alternatives offers up: elderly, senior, decrepit, mature, doddery and even long in the tooth! The members we encounter at Silver Travel Advisor in this age range are anything but long in the tooth or doddery.
Different skillsets
I then decided to google celebrities who turn 60, 70 and 80 in 2023, and discovered that Brad Pitt turns 60 in December. I bet many of you didn’t realise he was that age! That’s the thing about the word ‘old’ – I’m yet to come across anyone who considers themselves old, including my 80-year-old father.
The age of the Silver Travel team ranges from people in their 30s through to their 60s. It’s a great reflection of the skillset across the business and everyone not only recognises each other’s strengths but also respects their own lived experience as well. People buy from people, and when those very people can see themselves in you, they feel a sense of reassurance.
In the same way that we like to showcase our understanding of differing needs across the decades, we also speak with authority on the type of traveller we appeal to, whether that’s travelling solo, as a couple or in a group. Our brand position is ‘Tried. Travelled. Trusted.’, which is a more eloquent way of saying ‘We’ve been there and got the T-shirt’.
And so back to my opening line, to Sue’s comment. I had been reassuring her throughout the trek that we’d be fine, and the fact that I “looked like” her, and not some sprightly young thing, stopped her from linking her age to her ability but rather linked it to her attitude. Again, that’s what it all comes down to.
I’d like to finish with one of my favourite quotes on ageing, a line from the inimitable Walt Disney: “Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.”
Let’s keep having fun, folks!