Australians continue to rank travel above health and hobbies as an important investment for their retirement savings with a whopping 71 per cent saying it’s their top priority, according to a new survey. And it’s a demographic that values travel advisor expertise.
Travel easily outranks health (56%) and hobbies and interests (55%) for retirement spending among more than 2,000 Australians surveyed by Equip Super.
While Australians have always been inclined toward retirement travel (hello, grey nomads!), this upsurge in interest marks a turnaround from a few years ago when retiree appetite for travel remained low, Equip Super Head of Retirement Sam Higgle noted.
“This trend underscores a desire for adventure and exploration in retirement; we are finding more and more members see retirement as an opportunity for new experiences and pursuing passions,” he said.
The survey shows a mindset shift towards an increasing focus on self-fulfilment and recreation in retirement, including travel.
Other research supports these findings with a recent study highlighting that Boomers and Gen X are leading the solo travel trend in Australia as they eye retirement travel.
Virtuoso luxury travel network data also points to other significant trends that advisors can tap into for retirement travel, such as the surge in cruising and wellness tourism.
Retirement travel in action
Australian couple Sharyn and Tim Nilsen took early retirement and have travelled the world since 2010, visiting more than 140 countries and territories, and using super and passive income streams to fund their travels.
Some of their retirement travel adventures include cycling from the Arctic Circle to Budapest, Hungary, crewing on a yacht in the Caribbean and driving overland across Africa.
Showing no signs of slowing down in retirement, Sharyn Nilsen said of the couple’s upcoming travel plans: “We’ll finish our cycle tour in Europe around October and then we’ll head south for the winter via parts of Northern Africa and the Middle East we’ve yet to visit.”
