Adrenaline-Seeking Over-50s go for Scuba Diving Activities when Abroad

It's not just young travellers that choose to take part in adrenalin-pumping sports while abroad on holidays. A new survey carried out by Gnu Insurance has revealed that tourists over the age of 50 are choosing activities such as water skiing, parasailing and scuba diving during their breaks on foreign shores.

According to the survey, water skiing, parasailing and scuba diving holidays are the top favourites for mature travellers, followed closely by windsurfing, surfing and rock climbing.

Image by inkubooktest, on Flickr.

Despite the risks involved in these adventurous activities, 13 per cent of the over 50's tourists said they would go away without taking out travel insurance, and a third of these say that they are happy to take the risk.

The survey revealed that eight per cent of older holidaymakers would choose scuba diving holidays, 6 percent would go for bungee jumping activities and 5 per cent would like to go caving.

General Manager of Gnu Insurance, Paul Thilo, said: "Our research shows that an increasing amount of older travellers are throwing caution to the wind while on holiday and taking part in activities that they'd never think of at home.

Image by: hopemeng, on Flickr.

"Shockingly, a large number of over 50s are even choosing not to take out insurance as they are happy to take the risks involved."

The rise in the number of over 50's taking part in extreme sports is said to be because travellers are less inhibited when travelling away from home.

Another recent survey carried out by ABTA revealed that 20 per cent of travellers from Britain do not take out any travel insurance before heading abroad. A fifth of the participants in the survey believe that the UK government would help out with medical bills if they became ill or had an accident.

Image of diving Red Sea by: Panoramix2009, on Flickr.

Scuba diving is one of the most popular sports for traveller of all ages and over recent years, more tourists are heading to exotic scuba diving destinations such as the Caribbean, the Red Sea, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and the exotic Indian Ocean islands; in order to explore the magnificent underwater world found in warm, tropical waters, and its thousands of marine creatures including dolphins, sharks, whales, turtles, rays, tropical fish and colourful corals.