Over 50s pack a piece of home in their suitcase

A poll of almost 8,000 over 50s shows that one in three can’t go without a cup of tea as they take tea bags on holiday with them.

In fact, one in five say they pack travel appliances, such as a travel kettle, so they can make a cup of tea while they’re away.

More than a quarter of over 50s also fill their suitcases with their favourite treats, such as cereal and chocolate. Some of these people also say they take a jar of marmite (3%) on holiday with them so they can enjoy a taste of home while they’re away.

However, it’s not just food and drink that over 50s pack in their suitcase. Around 6% of people travel with photos of their family, 2% take a picture of their pet with them and some over 50s even take their own pillow with them.

It seems that while focusing on packing home comforts, the over 50s overlook some holiday essentials. The most common items people forget are travel adaptors (13%), phone chargers (9%) and sun cream (6%).

Saga understands it can be easy to forget some holiday essentials, especially when people are excited about going away so it has recently launched a trip planner website to help the over 50s prepare for their holiday. Customers can visit the website and use ready-made packing lists so they don’t forget things like their sun cream or adaptors and buy their travel insurance and airport parking. The over 50s can also input their travel details and check the status of their flight, baggage allowance and what the weather will be like so they know what clothes to pack.

Roger Ramsden, Chief Executive, Saga Services, commented: “Everyone looks forward to their holiday but there are lots of things you need to take care of before you go away such as buying your travel insurance and booking your airport parking. We know that our customers like to be prepared and are savvy with their money so we have launched our new trip planner site to help them plan their holiday, as well as save money on things like car hire and airport hotels.”