Saga has become the latest holiday firm to report a spike in interest from older clients in recent weeks, with this confidence being linked to the arrival and rollout of various Covid-19 vaccines.
The over-50s specialist said it had experienced "a notable increase in interest for holidays" in recent weeks, particularly for once-in-a-life trips – with Uzbekistan and Uganda proving popular.
However, UK and Ireland trips are also generating more interest, according to Saga.
It comes after escorted touring specialist Titan Travel said on Thursday (14 January) that 2022 bookings were "beginning to take off", while Tui reported a significant uplift in the number bookings from the over-50s market in the past market.
Trends observed by Saga include an increase in the number of people booking long-haul and once-in-a-lifetime adventures, with interest for these trips for 2022 up more than 90% on the same period last year.
Additionally, Saga says people want to go away from longer, with the average length of trip being sought up from 13 to 18 days.
It has also seen a 16% increase in traffic to its holidays website, with a 98% increase in conversions to sale. This Saga is interpreting as consumers having increased confidence to book.
Chris Simmonds, Saga Holidays chief executive, said people over 50 are “hungry to travel”.
"Once-in-a-lifetime trips next winter to destinations such as Uzbekistan and Uganda proving particularly popular," said Simmonds.
He added that Saga’s customers were keen to "spoil themselves" after Covid curtailed many people’s travel plans last year.