Abstract
Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in Europe, with growth mostly centered in major cities and urban locations. Nevertheless, remote destinations can also offer tranquility and accessibility, as well as both unexploited and unknown development potential for active senior travelers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, on the basis of information gathered from 1705 questionnaires, senior touristic behavior, including motivations and decision-making issues for senior travelers in 11 remote regions of nine European countries (Finland, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain, Ireland, and Greece). A mixed-methods approach was used to fulfill the research objectives. Both interviews and the survey method were applied to generate data from senior tourists. The present study will focus on the key factors explaining senior tourists’ motivations and barriers to travel. The results of surveys conducted within the TOURAGE project indicate the significant potential of remote regions in the development of senior tourism. For senior respondents, a very important reason for going on holiday is the possibility of enjoying rest and silence. Safety, nature, historical sites, quality of services, and easy transportation connections are the top five attraction factors for seniors when choosing a destination. At the same time, according to the interviews, among the important problems negatively influencing the size of the senior tourism market in remote regions are: difficulties in reaching seniors with tourist offers, a lack of promotion of local tourist products aimed at seniors, and finally a lack of financial resources for the implementation of local projects supporting the development of senior tourism.
Highlights
New political framework for tourism in Europe, revealed for the first time that, in addition to challenges such as economic crisis, climate change, and the development of new technologies, the European tourism sector should take into account the issues that result from the wide-reaching aging of society
The above changes will require a fast reaction from the tourism sector so that it can maintain its current level of competitiveness
This confirms the demographic fact that women are a majority of elderly people. It signals that they are more active participants in activities where the questionnaires were distributed. This higher representation of women affects the results of the questionnaire, as the answers concerning the motivations and needs of seniors with respect to tourism reveal the interests of women more than men
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The progressively aging population observed in recent years is among the most important social and economic issues of the modern world. Compared to 2000, when the percentage of women over 60 and men over 65 was 14% of the total population, demographic predictions for 2030 anticipate that this share will increase to 24%, amounting to a total of 9 million, 290 thousand people on average in Europe (Zielińska-Szczepkowska and Samusjew 2015). Eurostat forecasts indicate that elderly people will be close to 28% of the population in the European Union in 2050 (Żmuda-Pałka and Siwek 2019)
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