How travel and culture can help Canadians 50+ thrive
Whenever we talk about retirement, I am struck by how quickly the conversation turns to money. That’s understandable: financial security shapes what’s possible… but it’s rarely the whole story. Behind the practical questions is a more personal one: What will make this next chapter feel worthwhile?
A phrase I heard years ago has always stayed with me: “Don’t retire from something; retire to something.” It sounds simple, yet it offers a very useful way to think about retirement – not simply as the end of work, but as a transition toward purpose, connection and a life that continues to feel meaningful.
Of course, retirement itself has changed shape and meaning. The old story had a reassuringly simple plot: work ended, leisure began and a predictable new stage of life followed. Yet, for many Canadians, that plot no longer fits. Some people retire fully. Others move in and out of paid work or remain employed for income, stimulation, company and a sense of usefulness. Some are not “retired” at all. Longer lives, financial pressures and changing ideas about fulfilment have made the transition less linear and much more personal.
Over 20 years of research with Canadians 50+, we’ve found the aspirations associated with later life have endured, even as confidence that good health and financial security will arrive automatically has weakened. Our Social Values research adds another dimension: today’s 50+ cohort is more likely to define meaning on their own personal terms rather than according to inherited convention or prescribed roles.
Changing ideas about meaning in later life matter for tourism and culture. Travel, recreation and the arts can help people keep learning, connecting and participating in life – often in new ways.
Freedom… but freedom for what?
Freedom still sits at the heart of retirement aspirations. Increasingly, though, Canadians don’t dream of the freedom of permanent vacation. They want greater control over their time – the chance to use that time in ways that feel worthwhile.
Among Canadians 50+, 59% describe the years ahead as a time to simplify and enjoy life or focus on what matters most. Just 11% lead with exploring and expanding their interests. Does that mean curiosity is fading? Not necessarily. It likely suggests becoming more selective: fewer obligation and more intention about what deserves attention.
This is where the idea of retiring to something becomes important. Leaving work may free up time, but it does not by itself answer the question of what that time is for. Work provides more than a paycheque. It can give shape to the week, create social contact and offer a sense of identity, usefulness and progress. When those things disappear without something meaningful taking their place, retirement may feel less like freedom than disconnection.
Canadians’ answers to questions about work tell a similar story. Among the relatively small group who expect to work after retirement, 59% say they want to remain mentally active, 52% want to feel productive or useful and 53% want extra income. These findings make an important point: money and meaning are not opposing motivations. Meaning can come from paid work in later life. It’s not something that only becomes available when the demands of work subside
This pattern may also help explain why some people return to work after retiring. If we retire from a job without a clear sense of what we are retiring to, we may discover that we miss more than the work itself.
Purpose can come from caring for someone, learning, volunteering, creating, contributing to a community or being more present in our relationships. It may also continue to come from work. There’s no universal formula.
Thriving after 50 is not a status automatically conferred by retirement, wealth or perfect health. It grows from having choices, reasons to engage, meaningful relationships, a sense of dignity and environments that make participation possible. The evolution in Social Values – which includes a greater diversity of outlooks among Canadians, and generally greater emphasis on autonomy – helps explain why flexibility matters so much. There is no single replacement for the old retirement script because a worthwhile life is increasingly self-defined – and perhaps that is the most important change we observe in the last 20 years.
Culture as a way into public life
This is why arts and culture deserve a larger place in conversations about aging.
We often treat them as entertainment: a performance, exhibition or class to fill an afternoon. Experiences of art and culture can run deeper than that, renewing curiosity, supporting identity and offering a low-pressure reason to be among other people. It’s these latter functions that may be even more important in later life, when sources of intellectual engagement and social connection may be harder to find.
Seven in ten Canadians 50+ say arts, culture and recreation are important to their quality of life. Yet only 19% participate at least monthly. About one-third take part a few times a year, while another third rarely do. That gap should make us ask what barriers to participation older Canadians may be encountering – and whether the invitation feels welcoming.
When asked why they participate in arts, culture and recreation activities, enjoyment and relaxation are the leading motivations, cited by 69%. But learning and curiosity (cited by 46%) also matter, as do staying mentally active (40%) and social connection (40%).
Cultural experiences can become part of what someone retires to: not a single overarching passion that must fill every day, but a set of interests, commitments and relationships that make life feel engaging. A weekly class can provide structure. A volunteer role can restore a sense of contribution. A cultural group can offer companionship based on shared interest rather than age.
However, interest is only part of the story. Access determines who can receive those benefits. Nearly three-quarters of Canadians 50+ say ease and accessibility – in terms of timing, cost, format and mobility – are important in arts, culture and recreation programs. The same proportion values an inclusive and welcoming experience.
These public priorities call for more than ramps or discounted tickets. Varied start times, clear wayfinding, places to rest, sensory-aware formats, thoughtful companion policies and opportunities to participate rather than only observe can all widen the invitation. Representation is part of that invitation too. In outreach and promotional materials, people over 50 should not appear as caricatures of either vitality or decline. Respectful design starts by recognizing varied tastes, bodies, resources, histories and ambitions.
Travel makes the aspiration tangible
Travel brings several dimensions of thriving in later life together at once. It creates anticipation and choice, and can also renew family ties, deepen cultural understanding and restore a sense of possibility. And it doesn’t need to be a long international journey; a short drive to visit relatives, attend a festival or spend time outdoors can deliver real benefits. A trip is rarely just a trip. It may maintain a relationship, reconnect someone with part of their identity or offer a sense of wonder. Not everyone over 50 wants or is able to travel. For many, however, a journey connects discovery with identity and belonging.
For 70% of Canadians 50+, leisure travel is important to overall quality of life. Their interests show how closely travel is tied to relationship and place: 56% are interested in visiting friends and family, while cultural or heritage travel and nature and the outdoors each appeal to 33%.
Canadians 50+ are clear about what matters in a travel experience. Differences among cohorts underscore the fact that some priorities become more important with age. Cultural or heritage travel appeals to 28% of those aged 50–59, rising to 36% among 60–69-year-olds and remaining strong at 34% among those 70+. Among Canadians 50+, 89% say comfort and dignity are important in travel, and the same share values freedom and choice. Meaningful, enriching or memorable experiences matter to 85%, as do a sense of discovery or personal growth.
The personal benefits of cultural participation can inspire travel. Among the reasons offered for cultural or recreational participation, the desire to stay mentally active rises from 32% among people aged 50–59 to 39% among those 60–69 and 51% among those 70+. Culture is not simply an optional extra once someone arrives at a destination, but it’s a part of why they go – and part of how they continue to learn, engage and feel connected.
For all its benefits, travel is not an automatic retirement dividend. Cost limits it “a great deal” for 28% of Canadians 50+, rising to 32% among those aged 50–64. Health, mobility, safety, companionship, care responsibilities and planning complexity can narrow the field further.
“50+” is not a persona
There is no one-size-fits-all specification for a generic “senior” product, and there is no single older traveller waiting to be understood.
A 52-year-old juggling work, children and aging parents may be looking for ease and a genuine break. Someone in their 60s may be experimenting with a new rhythm as work becomes less central. A traveller in their 70s may have greater flexibility but be more deliberate about pace, logistics or how an experience fits within their priorities.
Across these life stages, people may be drawn to novelty or familiarity. Some want the confidence of a detailed plan, while others want room to improvise. They may travel to connect, to learn or simply to breathe differently for a few days. Thoughtfully designed, human-centred offerings leave room for all of them. As organizations seek to tailor offerings to different segments of the 50+ population, demographics can help to illuminate the practical context of people’s choices, including life stage, while Social Values can offer insight into deeper motivations like desire for stimulation or retreat.
Keep possibility open
The next chapter of retirement is not one lifestyle. It may include paid work, caregiving, volunteering, learning, cultural participation and travel – or none of these for a time. What matters is the continuing ability to choose, adapt, participate, connect and matter.
“Don’t retire from something; retire to something” should not be interpreted as pressure to construct a perfectly purposeful second act. Travel and culture cannot produce purpose, and there is no one-size-fits-all checklist for “successful aging.” But thoughtfully designed places and experiences can create meaningful routes to curiosity, agency, participation, contribution and connection – and help sustain the sense that there is still something ahead worth discovering.
The diversity of Canadians’ retirement aspirations is not a problem to solve, but an invitation for tourism and cultural organizations to design differently – not simply to attract an age-defined market, but to keep possibility open as people’s lives, needs and definitions of a good life change. Travel and culture can give more people something meaningful to retire to – and room to write the next chapter for themselves.
