A tourism “trend” that first hit the headlines in 2007 is making waves again as workers aged from Gen X upwards increasingly take extended breaks from their jobs to achieve their travel and leisure dreams.
Unlike digital nomadism, in which people of working age continue earning while on the move, “micro-retirement,” a term coined nearly two decades ago in The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, sees workers planning long-term periods away from employment to instead undertake adventure travel, devote themselves to their hobbies, and get to know destinations that invite a deeper dive.
A survey of 2,000 UK residents by tour operator Explore Worldwide revealed that 29% would consider a break of one to three months away from work commitments, while nearly half (48%) said they would devote the period to travel. “Among mid- and later-life age groups, millennials are at 75 per cent ‘likely’, Gen X 38 per cent, and boomers 42 per cent,” Explore Worldwide Managing Director, Michael Edwards, said.
Similar in some ways to a “sabbatical,” the idea of micro-retirement is about “stepping back, resetting and rediscovering. It’s a chance to get away from the daily grind and immerse yourself in new places – offering a fresh perspective that no office routine can provide,” Edwards added.
The wide range of age groups to whom “micro-retirement” appeals shows that there is a market for extended travel opportunities beyond the student “gap year” and the pensioners’ cruise. Edwards explained: “As we live and work longer, retirement can feel so far away, there’s a sense of ‘why should I wait?’ None of us know what the future holds and for many retirement might feel too late to do the sort of travelling we have our heart set on. Mid-life is also a time of change, and as older children fly the nest we can find we have more time and income to spend on ourselves.”
Bucket list destinations that, according to Explore Worldwide, lend themselves to the concept of micro-retirement include an excursion along the Silk Road through the “Five Stans of Central Asia” (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). A blend of rail, road, and internal flights could take micro-retirees to locations such as the Fann Mountains and ‘Seven Lakes’ of western Tajikistan, introduce them to the architecture of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, and offer them the chance to sleep in a yurt on the banks of the “Pearl of Kyrgyzstan”, salt-lake Issyk Kul.
Alternatively, train enthusiasts with a big budget could consider a trip “Around the World By Train in 100 Days” organised by Adventures by Train, an Undiscovered Destinations brand promising to take passengers by rail across Europe, Asia and North America, embracing 14 different countries: France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Japan, Canada and the USA.