São Paulo – On her last birthday, retiree Clarice Lepori Macedo, aged 85, received as a present from their children a video featuring, among other footage, a map of South America with over 40 cities marked. They all were places that she has visited recently. Among them are the Brazilian cities of Salvador (in the state of Bahia), Brasília (the Federal District), Gramado (state of Rio Grande do Sul), Poços de Caldas (state of Minas Gerais) and Bertioga (state of São Paulo), as well as Chile. "I usually don’t go on excursions. The weather is mostly excellent, I love it," says she, who counts on her family’s support to set out on the road. "I would rather pack my mother’s bags than take her to the hospital," claims Regina Macedo, the secretary general of the Anglo school in Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, and the traveller’s daughter.
Mrs Clarice is part of a group of tourists that is growing constantly in Brazil: senior citizens. Not by chance, this crowd is being targeted by the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism (Mtur) and tour operators. Established in 2007, the Viaja Mais Melhor Idade (Travel More, Best Age) program, which provides discount services geared toward this set, has supplied 389,000 packages up by the end of last year. In the first four months of 2010, another 92,000 packages were sold. The most sought after destinations are the cities of Natal state of (Rio Grande do Norte), Fortaleza (Ceará), Lins (São Paulo), Caldas Novas (Goiás) and Serra Gaúcha (the Rio Grande do Sul Mountain Range).
"In the beginning, Viaja Mais Melhor Idade involved packages only," says the program’s technical coordinator at the MTur, Bruno Reis. "Now it also features discount prices on hotel rates and air tickets, plus an exchange program for elderly passenger with Chile, for which we have a special program," he explains. The program now counts on eight tour operators, 2,100 travel agencies, 2,046 hotels and the Trip airline.
Why are so many companies keen on treating the elderly well? The national manager of Viaja Mais Melhor Idade at the Brazilian Association of Tour Operators (Braztoa), Enzo Arns, explains: "Senior men and women are usually retired, meaning that they have cash, a guaranteed income to invest in trips," he says. "Not to mention that they have free time to travel and therefore do not need to set out in high season."
Another feature that sets this crowd apart from the average is loyalty in their relations with the service provider companies. "The elderly are a loyal bunch. The rate of repurchase, i.e., of those who purchase other packages after the first one, is 78%," explains Arns.
Such loyalty is confirmed by tour operator Marsans Viagens. "Our clients over 60 travel with us twice a year on average," explains the company’s Marketing and Product manager, Paulo Pimentel. According to him, the company, which has existed for 37 years, has always offered packages targeting the elderly. Now, it is one of those that provide services under the Viaja Mais Melhor Idade program.
Marsans’s products specifically targeted at the elderly include routes that include tours and meals. "The aim is to make life easier for these travellers and allow them to keep their disbursements to a minimum during the trip," says Pimentel. According to the executive, the operator is expecting growth of 150% in package sales under the Viaja Mais Melhor Idade program, and of 25% in sales of packages in the company’s own portfolio for the elderly.
The executive, who interacts with clients in the age bracket, is a witness to the high spirits of elderly passengers. He tells stories such as that of a 98-year-old lady who spent ten days on a tour of Lisbon, in Portugal, and Madrid, in Spain, this year. "There was another case, of an 80-year-old woman from the Brazilian state of Alagoas who left [the state capital] Maceió and came to Rio de Janeiro to watch the final [Brazilian soccer championship] match between Flamengo and Grêmio at the Maracanã [stadium, in Rio]," he says. "She was a real big fan of Flamengo’s. She came against her cardiologist’s order and everything went well," he reminisces.
Retiree Elenita Soares Freitas is another enthusiastic client of Marsans’. At 73 years of age, she travels "whenever she can." Preferably in the company of her friend Célia, who is also retired. According to her, travelling "eases the mind." "I get back home calmer," says Elenita, who claims that she has "full support" from her children to explore Brazil and the world. The list of places that she has been to includes Natal (Rio Grande do Norte), Poços de Caldas (Minas Gerais), Maceió (Alagoas) and Belém (Pará), plus Argentina and Chile. Plans for 2011? Of course. "I want to go to João Pessoa, in [the state of] Paraíba, and return to Argentina in February," says she, who is cheerful and willing to keep the country’s tourism industry going alongside her senior companions.
Service:
Viaja Mais Melhor Idade (in Portuguese):
http://www.viajamais.com.br/viajamais/
Braztoa:
http://www.braztoa.com.br/home/index.php
Marsans Viagens (in Portuguese):
http://www.marsans.com.br/site/index.php
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
