Age of adventure for retirees

Wang Renhe (right), Zhou Xiaojing and their grandson and dog pose at a spot along the Yellow River on a road trip to Qinghai province and the Tibet autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

And the elderly are catching up with the times. They're booking more trips online.

The number of tourists older than 60 who booked trips through Tuniu, one of China's biggest online travel agencies, grew by 252 percent in 2015 over the previous year.

Nearly 30 percent have traveled more than three times. And about 85 percent have opted for group travel, says Tuniu's publicity manager, Sun Libin.

The agency's March group-travel products for retirees were fully booked, Sun says.

"Senior citizens usually pay more attention to historical heritage, natural landscapes, comfortable stays and no additional payments when choosing travel products," he explains.

Most prefer to tour during the April-June and September-November periods, when the weather is pleasant.

"They prefer traveling by high-speed rail and with people their age," Sun adds.

Currently, their five favorite destinations are Thailand, Japan and China's Hainan, Guangxi and Beijing.

Major outbound-travel operator Beijing Utour International Travel Service Co has also reported a 10 percent growth in the number of retiree tourists last year.

Many travel to Europe and the United States, says Utour's publicity manager, Li Mengran.

"Those with time and money avoid major national holidays and choose high-end tours to have better and in-depth experiences in single destinations, such as the United Kingdom and France," Li says.

Many travel agencies have developed tailored products for senior citizens.

The National Tourism Administration has approved official standards for travel agencies' tours for the elderly, effective from Sept 1 this year.

They require a doctor to accompany groups exceeding 100 senior citizens and ban programs requiring payments not included in the package.

Tuniu announced the launch of a special series of travel products for the elderly in late March.

Tours south of the Yangtze River are also popular among the company's retiree customers.

A six-day trip from Tianjin through Jiangsu province's Nanjing, Yangzhou, Wuxi and Suzhou; Zhejiang province's capital, Hangzhou; and Shanghai costs roughly 2,600 yuan ($399) in April.

A five-day journey from Tianjin to Guangxi's Guilin and Yangshuo is priced around 2,800 yuan throughout April.