Senior Tourism and Quality of Life

Abstract

The World Tourism Organisation's Recife Charter on Senior Tourism was the first document of its kind to make the explicit connection between senior tourism and quality of life. At the same time, this important declaration called for a much needed research agenda to examine such a linkage, since up to that point most studies either had tended to view those who had retired simply as a market niche with disposable income that could travel out of season, or else had considered this growing sector of the population solely in terms of another type of tourist. After discussing the meaning of life quality, this paper seeks to respond to the WTO challenge by outlining a number of hypotheses which collectively form a useful theoretical base for subsequent empirical investigation. More specifically, it focuses on such factors in the home environment as loss of freedom, relative deprivation, declining status, discrimination and social exclusion-experiences of the elderly which can be alleviated by the ego-enhancing properties, settings and opportunities of tourism. The article also seeks to identify researchers willing to undertake this sort of inquiry.