Affordable group rates turn retirees into globetrotters
AARP
Travelers say “Aloha” during the first NRTA-AARP trip to Hawaii, in 1966.
En español | Many retirees wanted to see Europe — but travel was often too costly and the logistics too difficult to navigate — so AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus decided to help turn armchair travelers into savvy tourists. A new group travel plan was developed by the National Retired Teacher's Association (NRTA), the organization Dr. Andrus created in 1947, before founding AARP (NRTA became a division of AARP in 1982). It marked the first time that group tours had been designed for older travelers who weren't wealthy.