Let’s go, Grandma! A new program helps retired seniors in France leave on vacation
January 31, 2008 // 0 CommentsIn order to give older people in France a chance to enjoy a time-honored French tradition—the vacation– the ANCV (National Agency for Vacation-Cheques) has launched the program “Seniors on holiday” 2008.
The program is intended to give seniors with modest incomes direct financial assistance and also connects them with preferential rates from professionals in the tourist industry. The agency is responding to a statistic stating that over 42 % of people who can’t afford to go away on vacation are older retired folks.
The French program is modeled on a similar plan begun by the Spanish ministry for social affairs, which benefits 1 million retired pensioners every year. Seniors on Holiday has a double mission. The first part is social: to foster well-being in elderly and retired people in France whose means are limited and whose lives are most isolated . The second aim is economic: to energize the tourist economy by lengthening the vacation season. Benefits for Seniors on Holiday are only applicable for vacations taken outside of July and August, the months when most of France is on holiday. The idea is that freed from the restraints of a schedule tied to the work or school year, seniors in France have much more flexibility when choosing when to take a vacation. Having more tourists travelling in the off-season while giving cash strapped seniors in France a better quality of life would seem to be a win-win proposition.
With so much at stake, the French Secretary of State for Tourism, Luc Chatel, wanted to boost “Seniors on Holiday”, so he entrusted it to the ANCV with the objective to grow the number of beneficiaries of the program from 10,000 people per year in 2008 to 500,000 people by 2010.
The Agency also unveiled offers of vacations at discount prices designed for groups of 30 to 80 people willing to travel outside of the traditional tourist season, and to finance half of the cost of these stays. To qualify, people must be at least 60 years old, and neither the beneficiary nor his or her spouse can be employed. They must be willing to pay for transportation to the vacation venue, and also be resident in France. Next year the program will add an arm specifically devoted to elderly vacationers who are disabled.
The ANCV’s mission is to extend free access to recreation and vacations to everyone in France. Responsible for the emission of vacation vouchers, which have benefited nearly 3 million people, the agency devotes 100% of its administrative surpluses to the assistance of populations in difficulty.
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