Travel News: “Not Travelling Enough” is a Top Regret for Over 50s

21 February 2013

“Not Travelling Enough” is a Top Regret for Over 50s

Not seeing enough of the world seems to be something that concerns adults across the UK, as the new research by www.sunshine.co.uk has revealed that out of all the things that those over the age of 50 regret, “not travelling enough” is top of the poll.

A huge majority of over 50s, 91 per cent in fact, claim that they had been on holiday, on average, less than once a year throughout their lifetime.

Chris Clarkson, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, said: “Travelling is something that I think every person should have high up on their list of priorities in life, because, as this poll has shown us, it’ll only lead to regrets if they don’t.

Just make sure that every holiday, or at least every other holiday you go on, is to somewhere brand new. You’ll get to see the world bit by bit, but your bank balance won’t suffer as much...

“Unfortunately, many people picture ‘travelling’ and imagine six month long stints in exotic countries, but seeing the world is much more achievable than that and you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg or pack in your job.”

The online travel agency carried out the poll as part of ongoing research into the travel and holiday experiences of people in the UK, and surveyed 2,107 UK adults over the age of 50 about the holidays they had been on and what regrets, if any, they had in life.

Career choice, bad relationship choice, not staying healthy and having children too late also featured in the top 10 list of regrets for those over 50, while 53 per cent regretted losing touch with certain friends; 46 per cent regret being careless with money; whilst having children early was a regret for 27 per cent of those polled; and a quarter said worrying too much was their regret. Furthermore, nearly a fifth said, not being a ‘yes’ person was a regret for them.

When asked what places they would most like to have visited that they hadn’t got round to yet, Australia, the USA and South Africa were the top answers given, with 78 per cent, 71 per cent and 65 per cent of the vote respectively. Furthermore, 63 per cent said they planned to see more of the world once they had retired.

Chris added: “Just make sure that every holiday, or at least every other holiday you go on, is to somewhere brand new. You’ll get to see the world bit by bit, but your bank balance won’t suffer as much as if you were to fly out to Thailand for three months. Give it a go!”

According to the study, the top 10 regrets of those over the age of 50 in the UK were as follows:

1. Not travelling enough – 91%

2. Career choice – 72%

3. Bad relationship choices – 64%

4. Not staying healthy (diet/exercise) – 55%

5. Losing touch with certain friends – 53%

6. Being careless with money – 46%

7. Having children too early – 27%

8. Worrying too much – 25%

9. Not being a ‘yes’ person – 19%

10. Having children too late – 8%

For more information and holiday deals, go to www.sunshine.co.uk