Grey power is on the rise as the mainland's senior citizens take to the tourist trails.
Retirees in other Asian countries, especially Japan, have long been a major source of outbound and domestic travel but travellers from the mainland have lagged because tour companies have overlooked their spending power and failed to provide for their special needs, tourism officials said.
"The market is severely underdeveloped at present," Yu Ningning, president of China International Travel Service said yesterday at the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macau.
Mainland tourists over 60 accounted for only 20 per cent of total departures, compared with between 50 per cent and 60 per cent internationally, Yu said.
"The old people need to be taken care of during the tour so a nurse or doctor should be included in the entourage," Yu said.
Also, they prefer to eat foods that are less oily and salty and many of the tours cannot satisfy their needs.