educational travel | MORAL COMPASS: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

Road Scholar, the nonprofit that is a world leader in educational travel for older adults, is having an early kick-off of their 50th anniversary celebration with a contest called the “Great Global Giveaway.”Seven lucky winners will win one of seven educational adventures to seven continents, complete with airfare for two people – among them, a trip to Banff, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Boston, Mass. — Road Scholar, the nonprofit that is a world leader in educational travel for older adults, is having an early kick-off of their 50th anniversary celebration with a contest called the “Great Global Giveaway.” Seven lucky winners will win one of seven educational adventures to seven continents, complete with airfare for two people. These seven trips, like all the programs Road Scholar offers, will have an emphasis on learning about the destination the winners are visiting through educational content and immersive experiences.

The seven winners will be drawn from a list of all or Road Scholar’s subscribers, including those already on their mailing list and anyone who signs up in 2024. To enter, starting January 1, 2024, and continuing throughout the year, anyone who’s not already on the Road Scholar mailing list can sign up at www.roadscholar.org/enter. Subscribers can also earn extra chances to win by referring friends who aren’t already on Road Scholar’s mailing list online at www.roadscholar.org/friend. Each friend referral provides another chance to win.

The Great Global Giveaway culminates in January 2025 when the winners will find a golden ticket on page 50 of Road Scholar’s January catalog. Winners will also be notified directly by phone or email so they’re sure not to miss the good news. The seven trips include:

Africa | African Safari: A Close-up on Wildlife
Antarctica | “Land Ho!” Icebergs and Penguins in Otherworldly Antarctica
Asia | The People of the Mekong: Vietnam, Cambodia and Angkor Wat
Australia | Discover a Land Down Under: Melbourne, Adelaide & Sydney
Europe | French Art Voyage: Paris, the Rhône and the French Riviera
North America | The Best of the Grand Tetons to Banff: Iconic National Parks
South America | South American Odyssey: Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Machu Picchu & More

“With more people than ever wanting to find meaningful experiences by studying abroad, we couldn’t think of a better way to stir excitement than to give away trips to all seven continents,” said Maeve Hartney, Chief Program Officer of Road Scholar. “The Great Global Giveaway celebrates our 50th anniversary in 2025 and our legacy of helping older adults find the joy of learning and exploration with friends old and new. Road Scholar has always been about active learning and fostering a love for adventure, and the Great Global Giveaway embodies that spirit,” she said.

In addition to the Great Global Giveaway, Road Scholar wants to hear the stories of its participants over the last half-century. “For nearly 50 years, six million Road Scholar participants have experienced the joys of learning and travelling with us,” said Hartney. “We’re gathering 50 of the most heart-warming, poignant, charming and funny stories from the Road Scholar community.” Past Road Scholar travelers are encouraged to share a story about their travels with Road Scholar have impacted them at www.roadscholar.org/story.

For more information about Road Scholar’s Great Global Giveaway, visit www.roadscholar.org/enter.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, not-for-profit Road Scholar is one of the world’s largest and most innovative creators of experiential learning opportunities. Founded in 1975 as Elderhostel and rebranding as Road Scholar in 2010, the tour company serves 80,000-100,000 lifelong learners annually. Programs combine travel and education to provide experiential learning opportunities featuring an extraordinary range of topics, formats and locations in more than 100 countries and throughout the United States. Alongside renowned experts, participants experience in-depth and behind-the-scenes learning opportunities by land and by sea on educational travel adventures designed for boomers and beyond. Road Scholar is a diverse community of knowledge seekers and explorers, united in the belief that lifelong learning is a vital part of overall wellbeing. For more information, visit www.roadscholar.org.

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A survey by Road Scholar on trends in solo travel finds a surprising percentage, 60 percent, of its solo travelers in 2022 are married but traveling without their spouse.

Boston, Mass. – Road Scholar, a world leader in educational travel for older adults, has released a report on trends in solo travel that finds a surprising percentage, 60 percent, of its solo travelers in 2022 are married but traveling without their spouse.

Further, 27% of married women surveyed have never traveled with a spouse on a Road Scholar program. When asked why they travel without their spouses, 42% of women surveyed said their spouse isn’t interested in traveling and 40% said they have different interests when it comes to travel.

“I cherish my time to explore and do what I want on my timetable,” says Road Scholar solo traveler Marcia Henderson, 66. “I like to walk, hike, etc. He has knee issues and doesn’t share my passion for nature, culture, and history. It would be an atrocity to not travel just because my spouse doesn’t like it. This is my passion, and he is supportive as I support his golfing.”

Road Scholar compiled data for this study from the community of 80-100,000 adults over 50 who travel with them each year, including a survey conducted earlier this year. They report that nearly 70% of their travelers are women. Compare that to the overall population breakdown in the U.S.- 58% of Americans 65 and older are women- and this suggests that women are generally more likely to travel in their later years.

There are also far more female solo travelers than male solo travelers among older adults: Road Scholar reports that 85% of their solo travelers are women. They gathered data from outside sources to suggest some reasons why so many more women are traveling solo than men, pointing out that nearly half of women over 65 in the U.S. are unpartnered, that there are far more widowed women than widowed men, and that the divorce rate is highest among older Americans and on the rise. But their finding that so many of their solo female travelers are married tells an intriguing story about the behaviors of Baby Boomer women versus men.

“I think this trend is really a mark of the population that we’re serving currently,” says Road Scholar’s PR Director Kelsey Knoedler Perri. “Two-thirds of our participants now are Boomers, and Boomer women are so much more independent than their mothers and grandmothers. It would have been far more unheard of for previous generations of women to be traveling the world without their spouses. And society has shifted to ‘allow’ older women the freedom to do it.”

Perhaps because of the increase in independence among Boomer women, Road Scholar has been seeing a steady increase in solo travel over the past 10 years. As a response to this increasing demand, they shared the exclusive news that they are developing a collection of programs for solo travelers, which they plan to debut in 2024, with departures starting in 2025.

Road Scholar is a world leader in educational travel for boomers and beyond. This not-for-profit organization was founded as Elderhostel in 1975 and has served more than 6 million lifelong learners over the past 50 years. With educational adventures hosted by expert faculty in nearly 100 countries and throughout the United States, Road Scholar truly is a university of the world. Learn more at www.roadscholar.org/about.

Read Road Scholar’s full study on senior solo travel here, and find their programs for solos here.