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Don’t forget the oldies, says trend expert
The elderly market should not be forgotten, claims trend expert Dr Graeme Codrington.
Under the title ‘Tides of Change’ at ABTA’s Travel Convention he said so many people were living to 100 that the Queen is now only sending telegrams ‘on request’.
And he added that people in retirement are looking for adventure holidays and experiences they always wish they had done.
He said: "The new version of retirement is good for your industry. There are more and more elderly people and more than half of all the people who have ever turned 80 are still alive."
Codrington urged agents to get rid of the ‘norm’ in order to keep customers and staff happy, advising them to drop one habit a month which was stopping them changing.
He said: "Get rid of one silly orthodoxy a month. If the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, then you’re becoming irrelevant.
"The biggest problem is yesterday’s logic."
He added that the travel industry must offer customers what computers can’t with customers – social contact and connection whether online or in a shop.
He said: "Technology can do everything we do apart from bring social contact and connection."
Other speakers outlined the merits of websites and social media in engaging with clients.
Political commentator Iain Dale said: "Twitter is bringing customers closer. Some people see Twitter as a threat but we have to see it as an opportunity.
"It’s something that can improve your reputation and help you get more business. "
by Diane Evans
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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