KOCHI: Having retired from good jobs, with children who are well-settled and enough money to spare, it would be safe to assume that they would be confined to the four walls of their residences or care homes. But then, assumptions can be deceiving.
A large number of Keralites in their 60s and 70s, and some even over 80, have taken to an itinerant lifestyle, constantly travelling the globe and the country, as if to make up for lost time. Make no mistake, this new tribe of globe-trotting Malayalis are veering away from the well-worn pilgrim paths, including the Holy Land and Haridwar-Kedarnath, associated with senior citizens, say travel operators.
Take the case of Asha Saraswathy, who retired in 2009 as head of the department of English at Thiruvananthapuram University College. Her journeys, which began a year after her retirement, have been so hectic that she has so far covered 60 countries and most Indian states, with the exception of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, and Manipur.
“You have just one life and you have been placed by some unknown power on the only inhabited place in the solar system, so it becomes your duty to explore each and every place on the planet. You should meet people, and learn about different cultures and traditions,” says the 70-year-old, whose husband passed away in 2014 and her two daughters have done well with their lives.
The trend of elderly people, or more appropriately retirees, going on tours caught on especially after the lifting of Covid restrictions, says Robin V M, an outbound tour guide and operator.
‘Increase in elderly travel is a post-2021 phenomenon’
“The realisation that life is short and saving money for their children is no longer necessary has got these retirees, especially those who were highearning professionals, business people and even big farmers, on a travel high. Even as inbound tourism has decreased, and is still at just 30% of pre-pandemic levels, outbound tourism has picked up significantly,” says Robin V M.
Ramesh Mathew, who recently returned from a trip to East Europe, says, nearly everyone in his group, except for a doctor- couple, was 55 or above. “The oldest was an 86-year-old former KSEB official. The majority were between 60 and 72.
Only three or four of us were in the 55-60 age group,” he says. “Most of the members of the group had visited no less than 15 countries. People seem to know where to go, when to go and what to do,” adds Ramesh. According to Haris T K, retired deputy registrar at Calicut University, the spurt in elderly travel is a post-2021 phenomenon.
“Various factors have led to this trend. With children going out of the country for education or employment, parents have a lot of free time on their hands. Once the children start earning, parents no longer have to support them financially,” says the 60-yearold. As K G Krishnan Nair, a retired KSEB official, says, “I have my pension and have saved up some money.
So I can do whatever I want. I don’t have to answer to my children, who of course worry. But I am healthy and capable of taking care of myself, so why shouldn’t I travel and visit places?” The 86-year-old used to travel a lot as part of his official duties. “But I didn’t have time to enjoy the places. Now I want to travel to satiate the traveller in me and enjoy the sights and sounds of the places I visit.”