Tag Archives for BVTC

Tourism Council Starts Intergenerational Trips

Published in the Pawtucket Times on April 8, 2002

A growing number of affluent and travel-savvy seniors are fueling the demand for grandparent-grandchildren travel. It’s becoming big business for the travel sector.

According to a recent issue of “Time” magazine, a survey performed by Zogby International for American Demographics found that last year about 20 percent of U.S. grandparents traveled with their grandchildren. Experts believe that this travel trend will continue especially with more than 77  million aging baby boomers who are taking on the role of grandparent. The popularity of seniors taking their young grandchildren on trips is also documented by the National Tourism Association (NTA). According to NTA, children’s tours ranked number 9 out of 50 for top national and international travel tours.

Bonding and getting close to their grandchildren are just a few of the benefits of this trend in fueling the demand for intergenerational travel.  Deepening of the bonds  between generations can occur without the frustrations of planning the details of a trip.

Recognizing this increasing popular travel trend, The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council (BVTC) is finalizing the travel itinerary for four affordable, intergenerational trips. The new series, “Bring Your Grandparents to the Blackstone Valley,” will feature the valley’s historic sites, museums and the Blackstone River.  Additionally, these day trips will also feature fun destinations such as the zoos, waterslides, nature areas and orchards in the valley.

The first day trip, scheduled for April 17, is planned to coincide with school vacations, notes Mary Harrington, BVTC’s Group Tour Manager. With a lot of parents working during school vacations, grandparents can easily step in to take  care of the youngsters, she says.

On this day trip, grandparents and grandchildren from kindergarten age up to 12 years of age, can explore the history and culture of the Blackstone Valley Corridor by watching an award film, “Hidden in the Blackston Valley,” in a theater in the City’s Visitor Center.  The 20-minute film tells the story of the rise and decline of the  textile industry and the role it played in setting the American Industrial Revolution in motion.

Meanwhile, trip organizers are hopeful that both generations learn more about ecology along the 46-mile Blackstone River by scheduling an hour-long riverboat ride on the Explorer. During the ride, an ecologist will perform water quality tests. Youngsters will also find out more about the plant and fish and animal species that live in and along the riverbanks and even learn how to help clean up the river.

Also, included in this affordable travel package is a child-friendly lunch were hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled  cheese sandwiches and French fries will be served at Pawtucket’s Modern Diner. The custom-built Sterling Steamliner is recognized as the first diner to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Finally, a child-oriented tour of Slater mill, the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, is planned. Both young and old can see a replica of an early 19th century waterwheel turning real machinery and see flax spun into linen. They will even learn more about child labor laws and how the 19th century industrial revolution changed virtually every aspect of daily life. After the tour both grandparent and grandchildren, supervised by a Slater Mill educator, can work together on a traditional fiber arts craft project.

“We came up with this trip package that takes care of all the details,” Harrington said. “It is not always for grandparents to figure out what to do.”

With many seniors living on a fixed income, the costs of each day trips will be kept affordable and interesting, Harrington says. She says that the price tag for a day trip is only $22, covering the registration of both the grandparent and their youngest charge. However, for the first day trip, the ecology program on the Explorer will cost an additional $6 per person.

For details, call Mary Harrington at the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council at 401-724-2200.  Deadline for registration is Monday, April 15.

Elderhostel Brings R.I. History Alive

Published in Pawtucket Times on Oct. 15, 2001

Some seniors age 55 and over have traveled to small French villages to see where Monet once walked and view his masterpiece artworks in Parisian museums.

Or those with a strong appreciation of music have traveled between cities, from Memphis to New Orleans, to learn about America’s greatest music – spirituals, blues and jazz.

The more adventuresome have immersed themselves in India’s 2,000 years of history and exotic culture by visiting the country’s ancient forts, temples, and palaces, traveling from Delhi to Jodhpur.

The described trips are just a few of more than 11,000 programs offered annually in more than 100 countries by the Boston-based Elderhostel, a nonprofit group considered to be one of the world’s largest educational and travel organizations that offer travel packages to seniors age 55 and older.

For Elderhostel’s fall programming, more than 34,226 seniors have attended in-depth lectures, field trips and cultural excursions as 1,847 enrollment sites throughout the world. In Pawtucket, Marcia Sandeen, 76, along with 39 other hostelers from Texas, Colorado, Nevada, New York, and as far away as Florid, came to learn Rhode Island’s history and view its quaint colonial streets, explore English-style mill villages and rare New England stoneenders.

Planned by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council (BVTC), presentations by local historians and travel to local historical sites create an exceptional learning experience about Rhode Island’s history and and architectural treasures. Throughout the five-day jam-packed itinerary the older hostelers traveled throughout the Ocean State visiting an array of sites, from the Friends Meeting House in Lincoln to Pawtucket’s historic Slater Mill, the John Brown House, Pendleton Houses and a tour of Benefit Street in Providence, to a Newport mansion, “The Breakers.”

Even meal time brought history alive to the seniors who ate lunch at the Modern Diner in Pawtucket, a customized and factory-built Sterling Steamliner diner that was the first diner to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The group also dined at the Hose Company No. 6, a renovated 1895 fire station in Pawtucket and the Stagecoach Tavern Restaurant in Chepachet, located in an old tavern occupied by soldiers during the Dorr rebellion in 1842.

Sandeen admits “a retied teacher never stops learning.” And she hasn’t either. Since 1987, the former Houston elementary school teach who now resides in Las Vegas, has traveled to 35 Elderhostel programs across the United States, even traveling to four foreign countries.

Why come to Rhode Island? “It’s fascinating to be here because of its heritage and history,” she tells All About Seniors, adding that her favorite programs are always “historic and scenic.” That sums up Rhode Islan

During a tour of Pawtucket’s Slater Mill, Sandeen was clearly impressed with the preservation of the old mill complex.

The birthplace of America’s Industrial Revolution was a great onsite classroom for the older hostelers, too. “The tour guides were excellent and you could tell that they really love the subject,” she mentioned, as she walked with her group through the historic mill built in 1793.

Last month’s horrific terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C. and New York City did not stop 70-year old Lillian Mordas and her husband Joseph, 75, of Beacon, N.Y., from attending the Elderhostel program in Rhode Island. The retired elementary school teachers have visited eight states during their 10-year involvement with the Elderhostel organization.

Tourism should not be stopped by fear. Lillian Mordas says, with her husband nodding in agreement. The couple have lived through the Depression, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars. “We’ve seen quite a bit and we must show the younger people that you should not be fearful of traveling. You manage to survive through the tough things,” she stated.

Before coming to Rhode Island the Mordas did not realize that the state was so industrial and had so many mill buildings. Now it’s obvious to them. “We’re overwhelmed at being in a state that is considered the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and one that has made so many contributions to religious freedom,” Lillian added.

“So many cultures and life experiences come through Rhode Island’s Elderhostel program,” notes Bob Billington, BVTC’s executive director, who has organized 20 Elderhostel programs in Rhode Island during the last six years. “The programming must meet all the educational requirements and standards set forth by Elderhostel,” he says. But add to travel, meals, gratuities and medical or insurance coverage, you get a great deal of value, he says.

But for the older hostelers, a zest for living and curiosity of exploring new places and a desire to learn from each other are the right ingredients to keep them coming back for years.

Elderhostel’s programming is offered in all 50 states and more than 80 countries. For m ore information call the toll-free registration line at 1-877-426-8056, or visit the groups website at http://www.elderhostel.org.