Over 80s are travelling the world

Corbis

New research from charity Age UK reveals that older people are enjoying travelling the world well into the 80s.

According to Age UK Enterprises, which is the commercial services arm of the charity, last year almost a third of all Age UK travel insurance policies were bought by customers aged 80 and over.

Travellers aged 65 to 69 accounted for a fifth of all sales, and customers aged 70 to 74 accounted for a similar proportion.

In the last three years, Age UK Enterprises has seen a 20 per cent use in the sales of annual trip cover to those aged 50 and over, which indicates that increasing numbers of customers are enjoying more than one trip per year.

Europe is the preferred destination of people over 80, with more than half purchasing cover for a European trip. However one in ten bought a worldwide policy.

January is the most least popular time to travel, followed by February and December. But travel insurance claims peak in spring and summer, indicating that this is when older travels are most likely to make their trips.

Managing director of Age UK Enterprises, Gordon Morris, said: "We believe it's wrong that so many travel insurance providers impose a maximum age limit which excludes older people purely because of their age.

"People should be able to fulfil their travel aspirations - no matter how old they are. This is why it's so important they can access products like Age UK travel insurance, that have no upper age limit and provide appropriate cover for their needs."

Click on the image below to find out which are TripAdvisor's top holiday destinations for 2012...

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-145420%