Senior Citizens Targeted For Vacations

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by: Mellieha Bay
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Word Count: 643
Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 Time: 1:38 AM
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Interest rates are at historical lows, economic trends are changing, and while just a few years ago vacation companies were targeting young stay-at-homes with good disposable incomes, the emphasis now is on the older generations.

Older generations often have savings, their children have left home to start their own lives, leaving many people in their fifties, sixties and seventies with time and importantly to the travel companies money to spend during their leisure time.

Often people in their sixties have finished paying their mortgage, are receiving a pension, have savings in the bank while the previously targetted younger generations are saving hard for a deposit to qualify for a mortgage and buy their first home.

No longer are 100 per cent mortgages and the ability to immediately borrow more available for Lanzarote holidays on a whim, as the banks and mortgage companies have tightened their criteria on who to lend to, and most require an initial deposit of between 10 and 25 per cent of a property price before approving loans.

The number of mortgages being approved in the UK has slumped in recent months, and the Financial Services Authority are suggesting that this year will see more rigorous credit scoring for mortgage applicants, indicating that the younger generation aren't going to have high disposable incomes anytime soon - often now a first time buyer of a UK property is in his or her mid thirties while a decade ago it would have been while they were in their twenties.

Property prices in the UK have risen a little over the last year in most regions, and a house will typically cost 160,000, but for London it's more like double that figure. There could be some downturn in the UK housing market over the coming months with low volumes of mortgage approvals, and the European financial crisis by no means over with Ireland taking huge looans from fellow countries who use the Euro, plus the UK, with Portugal and Spain possibly next having to raise money.

In addition to relatively high property prices the first waves of graduates who have taken student loans are now in the system - which all helps explain why the travel industry anticiapte that it's the older generations who are more likely to be able to afford Lanzarote flights in 2011 and beyond, along with the ability to buy travel sites travel insurance.

In a recent survey reported by travelweekly the majority of the 2,000 respondents who said a holiday was a necessity were over 45, while under 35's and those with families were most likely to regard a holiday as a luxury, revealing the easy days of money for many are over, and have been since mortgages and loans were harder to come by since the banking crises just over two years ago.

The survey found a third of those questioned this year took a holiday overseas while one in 10, mostly families with children, took a holiday in the UK. Just over half said they didn't take a holiday at all this year.

Looking ahead to this summer, just under half of those surveyed said they planned to take a holiday, the majority of whom said they would go overseas. A fifth of the respondents said they would not take a holiday. Not good news for the Lanzarote hotels for example who specialise in family facilities.

A lot of what will happen this summer is still unknown, and the travel industry will have to wait and see if the number of people taking overseas trips next year is up on this. After all, who could have predicted a year ago that a volcano in Iceland would hit the European tourism industry just as much as economic uncertainty did?

Lanzarote will be hoping for a little less volcanic activity in 2011, and looking forward to welcoming the older generations to her shores for a relaxing vacation.

About the Author

Lanzarote vacation information is online at yourlanzarote.

Hotel companies such as Thomson currently have cheap Lanzarote hotels at good rates for the summer.