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The Specific Needs and Perceptions of Senior Travelers Understanding an unrecognized tourism market segment

The senior tourism market is seen as unrecognized due to a lack of awareness and scarce specific offers for seniors traveling. seniors have specific needs and preferences which to some extent stem from their self- perceptions.The senior market should therefore not be segmented and approached by age, but by behavioral segments, including psychographics and preferences. Some seniors feel and act younger than their chronological age, with social identities and self-categorization furtherly influencing travel preferences and behaviors among seniors.

A life course perspective to understanding senior tourism patterns and preferences. In International Journal of Tourism Research 21

Qualitative research approach and applied biographical interviews with 23 participants (older than 60 years) from Germany. Five themes are identified and presented in this paper: “role transitions,” “the loss of partners,” “stressful situations and illness,” “travel saturation,” and “perception of age.”