In it’s The effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on people over 50 , SunLife asked more than 1,000 people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s what is the ONE thing you are most looking forward to getting back after lockdown, and holidays/travelling came out on top; the research follows reports that holiday and tour operators have seen a doubling in demand from over 50s expecting to haven received their Covid-19 vaccines by the summer.
As older generations are being vaccinated first, they are poised to drive a surge in spending, particularly in some of the hardest hit areas of the economy, such as travel, bars and restaurants and beauty.
SunLife’s Finances After 50 Report, which looks at the day to day spending of over 50s households, reveals that over 50s usually spend £1,553 going on, on average, two holidays a year, and with around 18million over 50s in the UK that holiday regularly, that’s around £28bn potentially waiting to come back into the economy. Even if they only spend half of that ‘normal’ holiday budget, that is still a potential spend of around £14bn.
SunLife’s research shows that 83% of people over 50 who had a holiday booked between March and December 2020 were impacted by coronavirus, of those, 98% had it cancelled and 2% had to quarantine, so it is no wonder so many are desperate to travel again.
Apart from ‘seeing family’ which came straight after ‘holidays’ and other activities relating to seeing people socially, some of the other things over 50s are desperate to get back to include ‘having a pint without a substantial meal’ and ‘shopping freely’ as well as going to events, gigs and hobbies again – the full list is available here: www.sunlife.co.uk/covid-19-and-over-50s
And, given that over 50s also usually spend around £29 a month on health and beauty - going to the hairdressers, beauty appointments etc, £56 a month eating out, £29 a month on days out and trips to the cinema and theatre, and £11 a month on hobbies so that is a boost of around £125 a month (£3.1bn Uk-wide) to other sectors too.
Ian Atkinson, marketing director at Sunlife said: “It’s clear from our research that there are plenty of things that people over 50 are desperately missing and can’t wait to get back to. We found that four out five who had a holiday booked between March and December 2020 had it cancelled, so it is perhaps no surprise that holidays top the list.”
|
