A fit 51, Rick has a dream of riding his motorcycle on all seven continents. He was hoping to reach number 6 soon, but amid the coronavirus pandemic, international travel is on hold for now.
“We have friends in Portugal we were planning to see,” he says. “But now my wife and I will wait for the restrictions to improve.”
Are you ready to travel again?
We know you WANT to – but are you READY to? Everyone wants life to “get back to normal” so we can enjoy our favorite activities again. And for people over 50, travel is one of those. It’s also a main motivator for mature people who join gyms or fitness studios –whether they plan on visiting the grandkids in another state or taking a foreign adventure.
Now that the pandemic has changed everything so much, you might be tempted to let go of your healthy living habits, like exercising, eating right, and maintaining a healthy weight.
But, please DON’T – for this and countless other reasons. Believe it or not, we will be able to travel more at some point, and you want to be ready when the time comes. If you slack off now, you’ll need to wait even longer to travel just so you can regain your strength, stamina and flexibility. And if you weren’t working out with us before Covid-19 struck, then there’s simply no better time than now to start.
Traveling Later in Life: A Reminder
Before the pandemic, active adults were doing it all in travel, according to these statistics published by AARP:
- Most (99 percent) went on at least one leisure trip a year.
- The average Baby Boomer took five trips annually.
- Most of that travel was domestic, but 43 percent was international.
- Bucket-list trips were popular.
- More “adventure” trips were being booked – kayaking, cycling and more.
When we reach retirement age, we finally have the time and money to travel more. But too many people reach this stage of life and find they’re worried about frailty or functional abilities to enjoy a trip.
Come tell us about your travel dreams – for the immediate future (like road trips and hiking) and for later (as grand as they may be). We’ll work up the right program to make sure you’re ready.
Looking Ahead for Travel
Experts say it will be months before enough people are immunized for leisure travel to approach how common it was before early 2020 when the pandemic hit.
Marketing research shows 12 percent of people over 55 don’t see themselves traveling any time soon no matter what happens with Covid-19. But most still want to travel when it’s over, even if they will be more careful about choosing destinations and travel methods they believe to be safer.
For example, 78 percent of those polled by Age of Majority marketing firm said they would like to take a road trip. And 90 percent said they feel more comfortable traveling within their own country.
That’s the case for motorcycle-riding Rick and his wife, at least for now.
“We’re planning a couple of domestic road trips instead,” he says, noting the rise in RV sales among mature people with cabin fever. “But once this is over, I’d like to take my bike to Africa. I haven’t done that yet.”
Where do you want to go? Are you ready?
Holly Kouvo is a personal trainer, functional aging specialist, senior fitness specialist, brain health trainer, writer, and speaker.