Sight-seeing seniors enjoy the ride_旅游

    wang chunfeng and her husband li jian, both in their 60s, travels around xinjiang uygur autonomous region in more than 40 days in the summer of 2008.   
    the couple rides on camels during their trip to xinjiang.
    more than 100 senior citizens, including one 75-year-old, attended a tourism promotion held by golden luck travel agency last weekend, all eager to choose their next holiday destination. many wanted to escape the bitter winter and early spring in the city, as they considered the months-long cold weather to be harmful to their health.
    "they are very experienced travelers," said song ying, an organizer of the promotion.
    "the first concern for senior travelers is value-for-money, including how many scenic spots are included in the schedule, that the schedule is not too rushed and there aren’t too many shopping excursions."
    at this time of the year, the most popular domestic destinations are coastal cities like hainan, and some cities in the neighborhood of shanghai, he added.
    wang chunfeng, 62, is packing for a trip to yunnan. "it is the best time of year to visit there, not as rainy as it is in other months," said wang.
    having retired in 2003, wang has traveled across the country with her husband, from the southern island province of hainan to the ice sculpture city of harbin in the north.
    "we don’t have specific travel plans, but we manage to travel at least once a year," she said. the couple prefers nature resorts because wang’s husband, a retired photographer, likes to paint the local scenery.
    but the couple has budget limits, about 4,000 yuan for each of them per trip. they usually take the train and stay in hostels.
    "many people prefer planes to trains to save time. but time is the one thing we have in abundance, so we often take the train. it’s safe and economical," said wang. "hostels in china are usually priced between 50 and 60 yuan, neat and clean."
    the wangs are among an increasing number of elderly people who like to explore china and the rest of the world after they retire. "many senior people are frequent travelers once they are freed from work and family duties. some travel three times a year," said jiang haizhong, marketing director of beijing uts international travel service. senior tourists account for 50 percent of their clients after the spring festival, he added.
    "the market for senior tourists has increased by 30 to 50 percent from that of last year. as of march 20, there are already two senior tour groups to europe, with an average of 40 people of each. the number of senior tour groups is on average three a month so far in 2010, while in 2009 it was only one a month," said che yan, marketing director of china space travel.
    "most of our clients have only one child. they don’t have as many burdens and family duties," che said.
    previously clients of outbound tours were just the wealthy. but since 2009, more senior tourists have been willing to travel abroad.
    "those with a large budget prefer european or american tours at 15,000 yuan while those with smaller budgets take tours around other asian countries," said che. 
   counties, such as japan and korea, with their familiar food and lifestyle are popular, although european countries including greece, italy and france are the favorites, che said, adding the foreign travel gives them something to show off among their friends.
    the tour schedules for senior tourists generally span seven to 10 days, "which is long enough to include the most popular scenic spots, and not too exhausting for them," said ma xing, an employee from ctrip.com marketing department.
    however, seniors traveling abroad tend to get nervous and need constant supervision.
    "senior tourists don’t like free activities, it worries them to be left alone. tour guides accompany them until they return to their rooms," che said.
    it is usually the language barrier that makes senior travelers nervous of overseas travel.
    "i don’t want to go aboard again. i did not know any english and when i was in australia, i constantly felt worried and helpless," said 62-year-old yue chaolan, who went to sydney last year to visit her daughter who is working there.
    "i seemed to be deaf and dumb when i was there. i couldn’t watch tv and dare not go outside alone. i had to stay home all day just waiting for my daughter to come home from work," yue said.
    for their children, the well-being of their parents is their main concern about them travelin

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