New report highlights the health, economic, and societal benefits of travel for aging populations

NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES – March 20, 2025 – The Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and nonprofit Transamerica Institute today released Leveraging Travel as a Catalyst for Healthy Longevity, a report highlighting the transformative role of travel in fostering longer, healthier lives. Whether taking a daytrip to local attraction, a weekend getaway, or a longer vacation to a faraway place, travel can yield these health benefits across all budgets. Drawing insights from an expert roundtable conducted in Fall 2024, the report recommends integrating travel into public health strategies and economic development plans.

Research shows that travel enhances physical health, cognitive resilience, and social engagement – key parts of healthy and healthful aging. Regular travel is linked to a 36.6% lower mortality risk and up to a 47% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease through activities that promote movement, cultural engagement, and community connection.i,ii,iii Despite these benefits, the role of travel in healthy aging remains unrecognized.

“The travel sector, like healthcare and financial services, should be booming as the world’s age 50+ population grows. Yet, despite their spending power and increasing recognition of travel’s health benefits, older adults are often overlooked as a market opportunity,” said Michael Hodin, CEO of GCOA. “It’s time to reposition travel as an essential part of healthy aging and economic growth, rather than just a recreational activity.”

The report’s key takeaways include:

• Travel ranks among the top retirement aspirations among people around the world.iv
• Travel plays a transformative role in healthy aging.
• Travel connects people and fosters community across generations.
• The healthy longevity opportunity could be a game changer for the travel industry and global economy.
• Public-private collaborations are needed to maximize the full potential of travel for healthy aging.

Yet, fully realizing these opportunities requires strategic action. The report outlines three key recommendations to do so:

1. Increase Awareness & Research – Strengthen the narrative on travel’s health benefits through evidence-based advocacy. Elevate travel’s role in healthy aging through a compelling narrative and data-driven advocacy.
2. Engage Policymakers – Integrate travel into public health and economic strategies.
3. Foster Public-Private Collaboration – Work across sectors to create more inclusive, age-friendly travel experiences.

“Public-private collaborations are essential to unlocking the full potential of travel as a catalyst for healthy aging,” said Catherine Collinson, founding CEO and president, Transamerica Institute. “By combining efforts, expertise, and vision, we can create opportunities for older adults to thrive, improve well-being, and drive economic growth in ways no single entity could achieve alone.”

In the coming months, GCOA and Transamerica Institute aim to work with roundtable participants and invite additional stakeholders to come together in partnership to fully leverage travel as a path to healthy and happy longevity.

Leveraging Travel as a Catalyst for Healthy Aging is a follow-up to the collaboration between GCOA and Transamerica Institute on Journey to Healthy Aging: Planning for Travel in Retirement (2013). For additional research and insights, visit GCOA at www.globalcoalitiononaging.com and Transamerica Institute at www.transamericainstitute.org.

For more information, please contact:

Danny O’Keefe / Global Coalition on Aging

[email protected]

About Global Coalition on Aging

The Global Coalition on Aging aims to reshape how global leaders approach and prepare for the 21^st century’s profound shift in population aging. GCOA uniquely brings together global corporations across industry sectors with common strategic interests in aging populations, a comprehensive and systemic understanding of aging, and an optimistic view of its impact. Through research, public policy analysis, advocacy, and strategic communications, GCOA is advancing innovative solutions and working to ensure global aging is a path for fiscally sustainable economic growth, social value creation, and wealth enhancement. Visit globalcoalitiononaging.com.

About Transamerica Institute

Transamerica Institute® is a nonprofit, private operating foundation dedicated to identifying, researching, and educating the public about retirement security and the intersections of health and financial well-being. Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies®, a division of Transamerica Institute, conducts one of the largest and longest-running annual retirement surveys of its kind. Visit www.transamericainstitute.org.

References:

[i] Global Coalition on Aging. (n.d.). Destination Healthy Aging: Social Benefits of Travel. Global Coalition on Aging. https://globalcoalitiononaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/destination-healthy-aging-white-paper_final-web.pdf

[ii] Qiao, G., Ding, L., Xiang, K., Prideaux, B., & Xu, J. (2022). Understanding the Value of Tourism to Seniors’ Health and Positive Aging. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031476

[iii] Fancourt, D., & Steptoe, A. (2018). Cultural engagement predicts changes in cognitive function in older adults over a 10-year period: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Sci Rep. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28591-8

[iv] Aegon, Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, and Instituto de Longevidade MAG, The New Social Contract: Future-Proofing Retirement, (2021). https://www.transamericainstitute.org/research/publications/details/the-new-social-contract-future-proofing-retirement