Of all the ways of spending time in retired life, one of the most enjoyable is through travelling. Particularly if you have physical strength, a like for moving and have some good financial reserves to spare, there is nothing like travelling. There are several reasons as to why traveling is considered good and favored by many elderly people. First, it is action-filled life going out and spending time seeing new places. Second, it reminds us of the adventures and romanticism of youth and feel-good factor that we can also move out and run.
Third, it gives an opportunity to see and enjoy those places that we wanted to see but could not earlier because of some reasons or the other. Fourth, it induces a sense of confidence and brings positive energy to the mental state of elders. Fifth, travelling always helps to develop new friendships, some long lasting. Sixth, it facilitates the elders to visit the people they want to do like seeing an old classmate or seeing the native village, etc. And finally, finding new life outside the home and enjoying diverse type of food / culture in different parts of the country / world have its own charm.
Drivers of traveling:
For some people including elders, traveling is a passion. For some others, traveling is a part of ‘life habits’. Few have penchants for traveling abroad. We see many elders describe proudly seeing so many countries and have dream of visiting many more in future. They also become anxious when they cannot travel because of some restrictions like forced stay at home during Covid. We also see that many elders form their own “travelling groups” or taking the guided tours from tour operators exclusively for elders.
There is also an emerging trend among many elderly people who are not physically active but become very happy to hear the news of marriage of some distant relative in far off place; they want to go there not only to enjoy the marriage but the very idea of travel outside home energizes them to move ahead.
Travel is one of the best hobbies; but deep down, there are different drivers for travel for various people. For some, travel means being with nature. They enjoy the proximities with nature whether near or far away from home. For some others, seeing new places is the driver behind travel. They like to see different places, meet new people and understand their culture. For some, exploration of the past and deeper understanding of archives is the driver behind travel.
These drivers cut across all ages, but one of the most important ones of travel for many seniors has been “spirituality” and a wish to see the religious places. Religious tours have thus become part of the organized activity of many tour planners. We see many state governments taking active role in organizing religious tours for elders taking them around specific places all across India like “Shiva Temples” or “Jyoti Lingams” or “Char Dham”, etc. These are very popular modes of travel among seniors at large in India. Considering the emerging trend of travel savviness among elders, many travel operators have taken this as business opportunity and opened separate domains for travel exclusively for senior citizens.
Precautions to take:
However, we must remember that elders are among the most vulnerable group for any external infections or physical accidents. They, therefore, need to be extra careful while planning for any travel outside. Carrying a medical kit is obligatory along with essential as well as non-essential medicines in extra dose. There have been cases of accidental deaths of elderly people while traveling to high altitude places due to lack of oxygen. The elderly must, therefore, be choosy and careful in selecting the places where they can go considering their physical limitations. “Acts of heroics” must be avoided.
They should also be in constant touch with their children and / or other near relatives wherever they are going out for travel with outside friends. If there are people travelling in a group that is heterogenous in terms of age, they should avoid those patches of travel that are not age friendly. For example, activities like trekking or swimming or walking for a long time may be avoided. They need to take care of their health besides enjoying the beauty of nature or developing new friends.
Moving Ahead:
Overall, traveling is a great way of spending time as it enables us to see and feel what we cannot see in our boundaries of daily activities. It also enables us to appreciate majesty of the “Planet” and the “Creator”. Besides inducing a feel-good factor, traveling is an enabler of new energy for elders. For the 2nd and 3rd generation elders (60 to 75 years of age), traveling at least once in two years, health permitting, is an ideal option that every elder should explore. The more we travel, wiser we become. It enhances our life experience. Let’s try to become “elder travelers” to become better citizens of the world.
This article is written by A K Sen Gupta, Chief Trustee, My Retired Life Foundation (MRLF).
