tourism in old age

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Tourism trends and ageing

Data extracted in January 2024

Planned article update: January 2027

Tourists aged 65 years and over accounted for nearly 1 in 4 tourism nights for private purposes spent by EU residents in 2022.

More than half of European residents aged 65 years and over did not participate in tourism in 2022, compared with 33 % of persons aged 15-64 years.

Senior tourists make longer trips, preferably in their country of residence and stay at non-rented accommodation.

This article looks at the relationship between age and tourism behaviour, focusing on senior citizens. European statistics on trips of EU residents , the main source of data for this article, cover trips for personal and for professional reasons. Since this article focuses on comparing senior citizens with the rest of the population, only trips for personal purposes are considered for this publication (data shows indeed that only 2 % of trips made by EU residents aged 65 years and over were for professional purposes, while in the other age groups business trips accounted for 11 % of all tourism trips made). The article analyses tourism preferences of senior citizens in terms of destination, period of travel, length of stay, type of accommodation used and expenditure habits during trips. The data refers to the year 2022, unless footnoted differently.

Full article

Does retirement boost travel.

Tourists aged 65 years and over accounted for nearly 1 in 4 (24 %) tourism nights for private purposes spent by EU residents aged 15 years and over (see Figure 1). This figure was close to this age group's share in the population aged 15 years and over (25 %).

Figure 2 shows the share of each age category in the total number of tourism trips and nights and in the total population aged 15 years and over. The differences between the share of tourism and of the population until the age of 65 years were relatively small. In other words tourism behaviour was not affected significantly by age. However, people between the ages of 65 and 70 years travelled more intensively, making longer trips — probably because of the available time following retirement.

Looking at the population groups in greater detail, we see that people aged 60-74 years generated 23 % of trips and 26 % of tourism nights for private purposes but represented 21 % of the population aged 15 years and over. On the other hand people aged 75 years and over generated 5 % of trips and 7 % of tourism nights for private purposes although this group represented 12 % of the population aged 15 years and over. People over 75 years tended to travel less (in relation to their share of the population) — possibly due to a decreasing motivation to travel or to health issues.

Older people participate less in tourism

Table 1 shows that 18 % of the total number of EU residents who participated in tourism in 2022 were aged 65 years and over while this age group represents 25 % of the total population aged 15 years and over. The share of each of the other age groups in the tourist population was at least equal or higher to the share of the respective group in the total population, except the age group from 15 to 24 years.

However, there were major differences between countries. In Sweden the share of the age group 65 years and over in the tourist population (28 %) was higher than the share of this age group in the total population (25 %). On the other hand, in Bulgaria and Croatia this age group amounted to less than 10 % of that country's tourist population, while people aged 65 years and over made up respectively 25 % and 26 % of the total 15 years and over population.

In 2022, 38 % of the EU residents aged 15 and over did not participate in tourism, which means that they did not make any trip for personal purposes with at least one night away from home. Looking at age groups, more than half (55 %) of people aged 65 years and over did not undertake any trip (see Figure 3); this is by far the highest proportion of people not participating in tourism in any age group. Among the rest of the population (people aged 15-64 years), only 33 % on average did not make any trips. Furthermore, more than half of the tourists aged 15-64 years (51 %) only made domestic trips, while this share was much higher for the tourists aged 65 years and over (62 %).

Table 2 shows that in all Member States the share of older people not participating in tourism was higher than the share of the general population aged 15 years and over not participating in tourism.

There were still major discrepancies between countries. The Netherlands had the lowest general non-participation rate (only 16 % of the population aged 15 years and over did not engage in tourism), followed by Luxembourg and Finland (with 17 % and 19 % respectively). These 3 countries, together with France, also recorded the lowest rates of older people aged 65 years and over not participating in tourism, with 28 % in the Netherlands and France, followed by Luxembourg (32 %) and Finland (33 %). It should be mentioned here that Norway had even lower shares, with only 11 % of the population aged 15 years and over and 17 % of people aged 65 years and over not participating in tourism.

On the other hand, Bulgaria and Romania had the highest general non-participation rates (both with 72 % of the population aged 15 years and over), while the share of people aged 65 years and over not making any trips was respectively 89 % and 86 %.

Two out of five Europeans aged 65 years and over who do not make tourism trips mention health reasons

Europeans aged 65 years and over had very different reasons not to travel compared with other age groups. 41 % gave health as one of the main reasons, and this was the most frequently cited reason (see Figure 4). Among the rest of the population (aged 15 to 64 years), only 9 % cited health.

Two out of five (44 %) Europeans aged 15-64 years who did not make tourism trips mentioned financial reasons, while only one out of four (28 %) persons aged 65years and over cited financial considerations as a reason for not travelling.

Furthermore, 34 % of persons aged 65 years and over showed no interest in travelling, while in the 15-64 age group, this figure was 20 %.

This disparity was mirrored at national level. In Table 3, the most frequently cited reason for not travelling is highlighted for each country and for each age group (15-64 years and 65 years and over). Looking at the 15-64 years age group, in 23 of the 27 EU Member States, financial reasons were mentioned most frequently. Among people aged 65 years and over, health reasons were the most commonly stated reason in 19 out of the 27 Member States, followed by no interest to travel in five Member States and financial reasons in the remaining three Member States.

Seasonal patterns

In order to observe how the seasonal patterns of travel habits change with age, this chapter compares the distribution of nights spent by the two age groups 15-64 years and 65 years and over over the year.

Figure 5 shows that younger people tend to travel during school holidays and were therefore overrepresented in the summer season, while older people travelled more in the 'shoulder season', i.e. the travel period between peak and off-peak seasons, with a less pronounced summer peak. The difference between 65 years and over and the younger age groups was most pronounced just before summer (May, June) or autumn (September, October, November), meaning older tourists are extending the peak tourism season.

The peak season, the shoulder season and the winter season for the two age groups are now analysed using pie charts. As shown before, for people aged 65 years and over, the shoulder season was much more pronounced (more than half of all nights were spent during this time) than the typical peak season (29 % of their tourism nights were spent in July or August) (see Figure 6).

Travel preferences and expenditure of tourists aged 65 years and over

Within the trips for personal purposes, the share of trips for leisure, holidays and recreation was lower for senior travellers, while the other two categories "visiting friends and relatives" and "other personal trips" (including trips relating to health treatment) were higher (see Figure 7).

Tourists aged 65 years and over were more likely to make longer tourism trips, trips within their country of residence (domestic trips) and trips spent at non-rented accommodation , for instance at holiday homes they owned or visiting relatives and friends (see Figure 8).

These findings were mirrored at national level as can be seen in Table 4. The overall conclusions at EU level are the same for most Member States.

The share of domestic nights was higher for people aged 65 years and over than for people aged 15-64 years in most EU countries. Only in Bulgaria, Estonia and Luxembourg the share of domestic nights was lower for senior tourists compared with the other age groups.

EU residents aged 65 years and over made on average longer trips than people aged 15-64 years, with the exception of Lithuania and Hungary. Furthermore, the older age group spent more nights in non-rented accommodation when compared with the younger age groups except for Germany and Austria.

The above findings are significant when you consider the expenditure per night of people aged 65 years and over, since older tourists spent less on transport and on accommodation as domestic holidays and non-rented accommodation are generally cheaper.

On average, i.e. regardless of the type of the trip, tourists aged 65 years and over spent less. Figure 9 shows that people aged 65 years and over accounted for 24 % of all nights spent by Europeans, but their share of tourism expenditure was 20 %. This can partially be explained by the travel habits of older tourists outlined in the previous paragraph.

Figures 10a to 10d look at groups of trips that are similar in nature in order to reduce the structural effects of the trip's characteristics. In other words: do senior tourists show different expenditure habits when considering comparable types of trips?

Figure 10a shows the overall difference regardless of the type of trip: on average older residents spent less all year round (-18 %). However, when taking into account the observations on the travel preferences highlighted above (see Figure 8) and looking at the differences in spending between age groups for similar types of trips, the effect is far less pronounced.

Figures 10b to 10d show the difference in expenditure for the three most popular types of trips that accounted for more than two thirds of all nights spent by EU residents. During long domestic trips spent at rented accommodation, the average daily expenditure of persons aged 65 years and over was 5 % lower than the expenditure of people aged 15-64 years (Figure 10b), while for similar foreign trips (Figure 10c) the average expenditure was higher for senior tourists (+1 %).

However, when looking at long domestic trips spent in non-rented accommodation, Figure 10d shows that the average daily expenditure of people aged 65 years and over was 10 % lower than that of people aged 15-64 years.

Source data for tables and graphs

Data sources

Collection of annual data on trips of EU residents

The collection consists of harmonised data collected by the Member States in the frame of the Regulation 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism .

The data come from household surveys carried out by the national statistics authorities in the Member States. Data are collected partly using questionnaires to gather information on trips made, the purpose of the trip, the destination, the main means of transport, the type of accommodation and expenditure. Information is also collected on the month of departure and the age of the traveller.

The EU is a major tourist destination, with four Member States among the world’s top ten destinations for holidaymakers, according to UNWTO [1] data. Tourism is an important activity in the EU which has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas. These characteristics drive the demand for reliable and harmonised statistics within this field, as well as within the wider context of regional policy and sustainable development policy areas.

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• News release on ageing and tourism at the occasion of the 2016 World Tourism Day
• Tourism trips of Europeans (online publication)
• All articles on tourism statistics
• Tourism (t_tour) , see:
• Tourism (tour) , see:
• Tourism statistics
• Recent Eurostat publications on tourism
• Trips of EU residents - annual data (ESMS metadata file — tour_dem)
• With 2012 as reference year:
• Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of 6 July 2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and repealing Council Directive 95/57/EC.
• Summaries of EU Legislation: Tourism statistics
• Regulation (EU) No 1051/2011 of 20 October 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism, as regards the structure of the quality reports and the transmission of the data.
• Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism (Communication from the European Commission, October 2007)
• European Commission - Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs - Tourism
• Virtual Tourism Observatory
• ↑ UNWTO data
• Industry, trade, and services
• Residents' trips and destinations
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Special Issue on Aging in Tourism and Hospitality

The global demographic shift towards an aging population has significant implications for the tourism and hospitality industry. As life expectancy increases and retirement ages extend, older individuals play a crucial role in shaping tourism demand, employment patterns, and destination development strategies. Recognizing the importance of this emerging trend, this Special Issue aims to explore the multifaceted aspects of aging in the context of tourism and hospitality.

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Scope & Aim

We invite researchers to submit conceptual and empirical research papers utilizing a variety of research methodologies, such as quantitative, qualitative, experimental design, case study, and mixed methods. We encourage studies that investigate multiple levels of analysis, including cross-comparative international and national levels, industry level, organizational and team levels, and individual level. We particularly value research that embraces a multi-disciplinary approach and employs robust study designs instead of relying solely on cross-sectional data. Manuscripts that build upon existing theoretical frameworks or contribute to the development of new theories are highly appreciated.

This Special Issue aims to cover three broad topic areas related to aging in the context of tourism and hospitality: the impact of aging on customers, employees, and destination development. We welcome manuscripts addressing conceptual, methodological, critical, and empirical issues within these areas. Possible themes for submissions include, but are not limited to:

• Active aging and wellness: Promoting active aging by providing opportunities for seniors to engage in meaningful leisure activities, emphasizing physical fitness, social engagement, and lifelong learning to enhance wellness and quality of life during retirement.
• Retirement financial wellbeing and tourism: The impact of longer life expectancy, inflation, inadequate pension plans, rising healthcare costs, and economic uncertainty on individuals' ability to save for retirement and its effect on their tourism and hospitality consumption.
• Ageism and tourism: Exploring how ageism influences perceptions and treatment of older customers in the tourism and hospitality industry, leading to patronizing behavior, exclusion and limited opportunities for activities and experiences.
• Multi-generational travel: The popularity of multi-generational travel among aging societies, where older adults travel with their children, grandchildren, or extended family members, fostering intergenerational bonding and shared experiences.
• Aging and wellbeing in the tourism/hospitality workforce: Examining the impact of different generations in the tourism/hospitality workforce, promoting an inclusive workforce, and considering the well-being of older workers.
• Technology and older employees: Investigating the impact of technology on older employees in the tourism/hospitality industry, exploring how advancements in technology affect the work environment, job security, job responsibilities, and skill requirements for older workers.
• Technology and older travelers: Exploring the role of technology in addressing the needs and preferences of older travelers, improving accessibility, enhancing travel experiences, and facilitating communication.
• Accessible tourism: Addressing the importance of accessible tourism for older individuals with mobility and/or other limitations (e. g., dietary restrictions), ensuring inclusivity and equal opportunities for participation in tourism/hospitality experiences and activities.
• Silver tourism: The rise of “silver tourism” catering to older adults, including senior-friendly accommodations, specialized tours, and activities tailored to the needs and interests of older travelers, such as nostalgia-based experiences.
• Aging population and medical tourism: The rise of medical tourism due to the aging population seeking specialized healthcare services, treatments for age-related conditions, and affordable medical care, including quality assurance, follow-up care, and managing potential risks.
• Tourism and end-of-life care: Increasing longevity and aging populations also indicate a soaring demand for end-of-life care services. To improve standards of end-of-life care translates into significant gains for humanity’s quality of life. How can the tourism/hospitality industry, collaborating with the healthcare industry, help improve services for dealing with the end of life?
• Retirement migration: The trend of retirees from affluent countries choosing foreign destinations for their retirement years, considering factors like quality of life, cost of living, and favorable climates, and examining the impact on service delivery, local economies, infrastructure, and social dynamics.
• Cross-cultural studies: Exploring the cross-cultural aspects of aging and retirement in tourism and hospitality, analyzing the similarities and differences in organization behavior or customer behavior adapting to older employees/customers across different cultures and societies.
• Theory development and conceptual papers: Encouraging the development of theoretical frameworks and conceptual papers that contribute to a deeper understanding of aging population in tourism and hospitality, including factors influencing older customers as well as older workers.
• Any other topics related to the theme of the special issue.

Interested authors should submit a short proposal (1,000 words maximum, excluding references) that describes the paper they intend to write (including an outline). Proposals will be reviewed by the co-editors and evaluated using the following criteria: (a) responsiveness to the call, (b) degree of potential to enhance our understanding of age-related tourism/hospitality topics, (c) scientific merit, (d) likelihood of successful completion within timeline, (e) fit with other submissions, and (f) applicability to journal mission. Proposals that pass the co-editors’ review will receive full manuscript submission invitation.

Contributors should indicate in their cover letter that they would like to have the proposal considered for the Special Issue on Aging in Tourism and Hospitality.

Full manuscripts will be limited to 60 standard manuscript pages (including all figures, tables, and references; authors can ask for editorial approval of a longer paper if commensurate to its contribution). Manuscripts will undergo a regular double-blind peer-review process.

All full-manuscript submissions should be prepared in accordance with Work, Aging and Retirement’s author guidelines and be submitted through the journal’s submission portal as revisions to the original proposal submission.

Christina G. Chi, Ph.D.

Professor School of Hospitality Business Management Carson College of Business Washington State University School of Tourism and Hospitality University of Johannesburg, South Africa Email: [email protected]

Oscar Hengxuan Chi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor Department of Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management College of Health and Human Performance University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611-8209, USA Email: [email protected]

Ki-Joon Back, Ph.D.

Associate Dean, Eric Hilton Distinguished Chair Professor Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Business  University of Houston  Houston, TX 77204-3028, U.S.A.                                            Email: [email protected]

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Tourism-Related Needs in the Context of Seniors’ Living and Social Conditions

Associated data.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author.

Significant changes are taking place in the structure of tourism participants. Due to the ageing of societies, the tourism sector has to respond to the increasing tourist activity of seniors. The main aim of our research was the recognition of the needs of senior tourists from selected regions of Poland, considering their health and financial situation as well as their physical activity. The study shows how to combine the knowledge of assumptions of active ageing with the actual views of senior tourists on tourism and active leisure. An additional objective was to determine the reasons why seniors gave up tourism and to compare the reasons why seniors from selected regions of Poland and seniors from other European countries did not participate in tourism. Based on Eurostat data, we identify the most common reasons for people not participating in tourism who are over 65 years of age. In 2020, we surveyed seniors. The respondents for the sample were selected as 65 years and older. In order to compare countries due to exclusion and non-participation of seniors in tourism, the results classification was used. To analyse the touristic behaviours of Polish seniors, we used correspondence analysis. As indicated by analysing the reasons for the non-participation of Europeans aged 65 and over in tourism, in most countries, financial and health reasons are ranked first or second in 2016 and 2019. In a survey of Polish seniors, except for the financial reasons responsible for non-participation in tourism, an additional obstacle was the language barrier in foreign tourism. The analysis of physical and tourist activity showed that non-participation in tourism is associated with low physical activity. Women reported that they were satisfied with their financial independence and most often used the opportunity of short-term tourism. The people who are fully or largely involved in organising their trips also willingly change their locations during their next travels.

1. Introduction

In today’s societies, the importance of elderly people in different areas of life is changing significantly. Structural changes in the population resulting from the growing number of older people affect not only age-related social policy (mainly health), but also social, cultural, tourist and many other areas. Indirectly, this involves changes in the necessary infrastructure, social and health services, the offer addressed to seniors, as well as changes on the labour market. Therefore, it is crucial to undertake exploratory, preparatory and implementation activities in the sphere of social and economic functioning of the elderly [ 1 , 2 ]. They should not be limited to regional or national actions as the changes are visible in all corners of the world. The problem of ageing societies is global.

In our article, we focused on identifying seniors’ tourism activity. Their interest in tourism determines the attractiveness of the travel market on a global basis [ 3 , 4 ]. The main aim of our research was the recognition of the needs of senior tourists from selected regions of Poland, considering their health and financial situation as well as their physical activity. An additional objective was to determine the reasons why seniors gave up tourism and to compare the reasons why seniors from selected regions of Poland and seniors from other European countries did not participate in tourism. The following research questions were posed:

• RQ1: Does the activity of seniors (both physical and tourist) depend on their health and financial situation?
• RQ2: Is the distinction of seniors as a group of people who are at least 65-year-olds sufficient to determine tourist preferences?
• RQ3: What are the reasons for not participating in tourism?
• RQ4: Are seniors homogeneous in terms of not participating in tourism?
• RQ5: Is it possible to define patterns of tourist behaviour of seniors depending on their stay and destination preferences, considering demographic characteristics other than just age?

Our research was conducted in a twin-track approach. We will present the results of a questionnaire survey conducted among Poles aged 65 and over on their perception of tourism and recreation as well as their participation in these activities. We will also present the results of a comparative study of seniors from the European Union countries on exclusion from tourism and ways of using tourism in terms of demographic differences.

The Active Ageing report [ 5 ] highlights the importance of the requirement to simultaneously meet the needs of senior citizens, particularly physiological safety, belonging and respect. Health and welfare, behavioural and individual factors, external environment, social and economic factors should all be recognised as determinants of active ageing. In the presented study, we assumed that tourism is conditioned by its participants’ standpoint as well as by its ability to meet all their needs, spiritual changes, and social development, all related to active ageing. Olsson and Schuller [ 6 ] pointed to the individual perception of the connection between globalisation and the standard of living. They also pointed out that the individual’s perception of well-being is related to a specific moment in life. For this reason, it can be indicated that individual subjective assessments often result not only from the valuation of the actual standard of living, but also from comparisons that citizens make with regard to living standards in other regions of the country or in other countries [ 7 ]. This approach shows that the direct opportunity to assess the standard of living of other people during a trip creates a subjective rating of one’s own well-being, and consequently, a desire to improve its level in the future. A temporary subjective perception of widely understood well-being in the sense of participation and inclusion plays an important role here [ 8 ].

In studies related to active ageing, the authors repeatedly emphasise the growing importance of this phenomenon. Adding to this the significance of individual activity understood as senior tourism, this phenomenon becomes multi-faceted. Two areas of influence by senior tourism can be identified: individual and socio-economic. In the first area, factors directly influencing the elderly as a social actor should be identified. In the other one, factors influencing the functioning of the various areas of the economy should be identified [ 2 , 3 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. These are, generally, the health system and economic growth, the labour market, and the growth of the tourism market. These issues are synergistic (they are in synergy and function indissoluble); the more tourism is considered, the more important the industry becomes [ 2 , 13 , 14 ].

The article consists of six parts including the introduction, conclusions and discussion, limitations, and future suggestions. In the Introduction, the research goal and questions are formulated. The research background and literature review are included in Chapter 2 where the authors focus on presenting active ageing, quality of life, and seniors’ age determination exclusion. The Material and Methods chapter presents the scope of our research of Polish seniors and Eurostat data on seniors’ social exclusion in the field of tourism. In Chapter 4, we present the results of our twin-track analysis: tourist exclusion and non-participation of seniors and touristic behaviours of Polish seniors. In Chapter 5 we compare the results of our study with the achievements of other researchers. Finally, we present the limitations of the research.

2. Research Background and Literature Review

The growing tourist activity of seniors and a significant heterogeneity of this social group require constructing new trends in the tourism industry. The tourist expectations of seniors can provide a solid basis for initiating further economic and social development. It is necessary to create a specific tourist offer for this target customer group, which would be specially adapted to the elderly population, recognising both their socio-demographic characteristics and their future expectations [ 3 ]. Therefore, it is important that the available tourism products and destinations are adapted to the growing needs of current and future senior tourists, allowing for their disabilities and thus making it more accessible and elderly consumer friendly by addressing their specific needs [ 1 , 3 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].

2.1. Active Ageing and Quality of Life

The Active Ageing report [ 5 ] introduces three pillars of active ageing, i.e., health, safety, and belonging to society. Observing active ageing in the proposed areas requires understanding of the quality of life as a concept of well-being and positive functioning of individuals in the society [ 18 ]. Ageing as observed today is a challenge for the future [ 10 ]. To implement the assumptions of active ageing, one should strive for ageing to be perceived as a regular stage in human development, which should not be feared.

The people currently considered to be seniors have completely different opportunities than those who reached the same age several years ago [ 10 , 12 ]. This is because the financial, medical, and mental opportunities of active ageing are changing, along with its social perception. It follows that the current behaviour of seniors will be of great importance for their future lifestyle [ 4 ]. Their future well-being and thus the level of satisfaction will depend on how well they look after themselves now [ 10 ]. In addition, the quality of life is linked to the possibility of continuing current active life and maintaining positive social relations [ 19 ]. Reduced activity and an increased level of peace and quiet provided during a relaxing vacation improve mental and physical well-being [ 3 , 4 , 15 ]. In addition, travelling introduces changes in everyday life and raises individual expectations as to the improvement of their life quality [ 3 , 15 ]. For this reason, people participating in tourism seek to improve their economic and health situation [ 15 ]. Deciding to participate in tourism results from one’s ability to subjectively assess one’s quality of life. This assessment reflects the state of life satisfaction. It is based on individual opinions on various aspects and includes both one’s own household and the impact of other people’s opinions on the choices made by the individual [ 7 ].

Active ageing, well-being, and quality of life, along with tourism related activities, necessitate the observation of functional balance. They all facilitate a balanced life which also encompasses mental and spiritual development [ 20 ]. Thus, it can be determined that to motivate seniors to adapt active ageing, the tourism of seniors should be defined as the realisation of all kinds of private purpose trips. It should also include a set of conscious decisions undertaken precisely in order to maintain functional balance and well-being. Its effect is to change seniors’ intellectual and emotional perception of themselves in the surrounding society. This would involve higher self-esteem, more respect, admiration, and self-improvement [ 1 ]. Seniors’ tourism, understood in this way as an aspect of life quality, meets the definition used in Eurostat [ 21 ], where one of the areas of its measurement is leisure, social interaction, and general life experiences.

Encouraging seniors to participate in tourist trips may not start at the time of their retirement or when they reach the age recognized as senior in a given country. Tourism’s position in meeting the needs of seniors depends on the way in which social life is realised over the age of 65 as a result of being active in an active age. It is extremely difficult to change the existing, one might say acquired, habits of the elderly. People who were homebodies at their active age (which resulted from their conscious choice, not necessity or duty), will not become travelling seniors.

When looking at tourism of seniors, one should be aware of the requirements they place on their travel conditions. With age their needs related to the destination increase. It must provide adequate accommodation, social facilities, and a safety guarantee. These factors significantly emphasise the imagined journey. Seniors, taking the touristic needs and destinations into account, define in detail the necessity to travel and identify travel as a product. Then, they make a real journey, and after their return, their tourist activity is focused on the already remembered journey.

2.2. Seniors’ Age Determination

To combine active ageing with participation in tourism, it is necessary to consider the age of a senior tourist. First of all, it is necessary to refer to the pan-European definitions. By the European Commission [ 22 ], older people are indicated as indirect beneficiaries of the elderly services economy (care, health, and other age-friendly environment services in long-term) and innovations for active and healthy ageing [ 23 ]. In the European Platform against Poverty (Flagship Initiative of European 2020 Strategy) elders appear as a part of the society at risk of poverty [ 24 ] and as a social group against which protective measures should be taken [ 22 ]. Many authors justify the correct definition of age groups in different ways. According to Hossain, Bailey, and Lubulwa (cited in [ 2 ]), elderly people who are an important tourist segment are 50–75 years old. Alén et al. [ 15 ], after studying the literature, presented the following groups: elderly tourist—over 50 (or 65) years old (in some studies, in other studies only until the age of 74 years), senior tourist over 55 (or 60) years old. They also indicated that seniors are aged 55 years or older, where the following can be distinguished: younger elderly subgroups (55 to 64 years old) and the older elderly (65 years old or more). The ages used to identify senior citizen tourists vary depending on the country and the socioeconomic conditions under consideration. Przybysz et al. [ 25 ] found that an officially older adult is a person over 60 years of age, but in the Central Statistical Office of Poland studies, one can find a reference to Eurostat and OECD, in which the term elderly is used for people over 65.

It is not sufficient to indicate age as a determinant of the group of senior tourists, because there are large differences in socioeconomic characteristics resulting from age, which implicates a strongly heterogeneous group. Regardless of the lower age limit for senior tourists, it is important to point out that current seniors are increasingly aware of the importance of active ageing, but also healthy ageing and a healthy lifestyle (including diet). The above-mentioned factors mean that the group of senior tourists is not homogeneous in terms of interests, financial and health opportunities, requirements, lifestyles, and levels of education [ 2 , 11 , 15 ]. However, it is a group with greater purchasing power than previous generations of seniors. They expect 4A’s: Attractions, Access, Amenities, and Ancillary Services [ 11 ]. At the same time, they are now more critical of the (tourist) industry due to their extensive experience in tourism acquired in their active age [ 15 ]. Therefore, to identify senior tourists except for the age [ 4 ], it is also necessary to consider their consumer behaviour, given their physical and mental condition [ 13 ].

2.3. Seniors’ Exclusion

An important aspect in the discussed area of senior tourism is a negative phenomenon of social exclusion in the field of tourism. Referring to the functional balance, it should be pointed out that in their pursuit of active life, seniors should be given support to recognise the age of 65 as an onset of active time not just a moment of their retirement. Muras and Ivanov [ 26 ] indicate, referring to the definition of the European Commission, that social exclusion is generally defined in terms of non-participation or inability to participate in important aspects of collective life: social, economic, political, and cultural, and as non-participation in normal activities characteristic of a given society. According to this definition, it should be determined whether we are dealing with inequality or exclusion in tourism.

In addition, there is another important concept to be considered, especially in the field of seniors’ tourism, which is social withdrawal. It is a result of a steady, gradual withdrawal or exclusion of older people from the social roles they performed during their active age. These actions are inevitable. However, they do not have a meaningful negative overtone when new roles and social relationships appear instead of the existing ones, which is in line with the aforementioned adaptive attitude in ageing [ 1 , 10 ]. Considering the broadly understood health, mental, and social reasons, the inability to participate in tourism can be understood as the exclusion of seniors from tourism. On the other hand, financial considerations will direct non-participation in tourism towards inequalities in tourism.

Nimrod and Rotem [ 27 ] indicated that travelling may be a challenge for seniors in terms of planning, solving unexpected problems, and coping with new situations. Overcoming this challenge can benefit the senior tourists in contact with their environment. The experiences gained during travels change their perspective on their living conditions, e the way they view themselves, and the way they are viewed by others. They also strengthen their sense of independence and freedom. Alén et al. [ 16 ] indicated that travelling is a method of improving self-esteem. It is very important in the context of negative suggestions from the closest environment and family members [ 1 , 28 ]. Often, health problems affect the financial affluence of seniors, due to the necessity of bearing the costs of the treatments. Thus, undertaking a trip by a senior is met with the fears of the family and the environment about the possible deterioration of their health. When they participate in recreation and tourism they overcome (reasonably) their own limitations, which may bring additional benefits. Accordingly, it is clear that the concept of ageism has an essential meaning for analysing discrimination against seniors [ 25 ]. In creating his definition of ageism in 1969, Butler [ 29 ] intended to present a number of factors focusing on prejudices against the elderly. Thus, the animosity of the environment towards seniors and tourism results from negative stereotypes and, as indicated by Vauclair et al. [ 30 ], the concept of ageism covers all of these aspects. Therefore, while encouraging tourism, it is necessary to counteract age-related stereotypes and stigmatization regarded as soft discrimination [ 25 ].

When analysing the quality of life of seniors through the prism of their participation in tourism, attention should be paid to why they engage in such an activity. The reasons have appeared most frequently in previous studies. The most common motives for travelling by seniors in the research described in the literature are: visiting family or friends, social contacts and participation in social life, searching for new things, searching for knowledge, and escaping from everyday life [ 3 , 13 , 15 , 16 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. An interesting determinant of travelling is taking care of the continuity of life [ 32 ].

Concluding on travel determinants and exclusion in tourism, it is worth relating the tourism and recreation needs to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which classifies them as higher-order needs which are related to self-actualization, love and belongingness, and physiological needs [ 33 ]. However, it should be remembered that for seniors, as there are changes in their social role, personality, life experience, and relatively stable and certain income, the need for hierarchical fulfilment of needs disappears and the fulfilment of physiological needs, security, belonging, and respect must be met simultaneously [ 1 ].

3. Materials and Methods

In our study, we considered a significant indication that it is not only seniors in Poland who do not participate in tourism, but also seniors from other parts of Europe. To indicate the fundamental reasons for the resignation of European seniors from tourism, we used Eurostat data from 2016 and 2019. We took the analysis of the non-participation of seniors in tourism as the background to the main study. The data available in Eurostat is aggregates and not individual data. Data on non-participation in tourism has been collected so far for 2013, 2016, and 2019. The 2019 data was re-leased in July 2021, exposing a significant delay. Eurostat data is representative (as shown by the metadata file). The surveyed population is people aged 15 and over. The age range is predetermined. Based on this data, it is possible to identify the most common reasons for people who do not participate in tourism and who are over 65 years of age. With regard to the above-mentioned groups of seniors, it was also possible to examine the reasons for non-participation in tourism among those aged 55–64. However, we decided that these people, compared to the elderly, are not so much at risk of being excluded from tourism because more often they remain professionally active and their health is better. In 2016, according to Eurostat data, 48 million people aged 65+ did not participate in tourism, and in 2019,44 million people of this age did not participate in tourism. They constituted 50% and 43% of people in this age group in the European Union, respectively. In our analysis, we did not take into account the data from 2013 due to the large time gap between 2013 and the survey we conducted.

Eurostat data on non-participation in tourism is complete data in the area established by Eurostat. A drawback of the data available in Eurostat is the inability to check the situation of non-participation in tourism by seniors, broken down into different demographic groups depending on education, place of residence, etc. The second source of data that we used allowed us to identify and indicate the reasons for non-participation in tourism, depending on various demographic characteristics.

In 2020, just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a survey among seniors. The respondents were selected in a sample of people aged 65 years and older. The survey was conducted in three regions of Silesia in Poland (NUTS2): Dolnośląskie (PL51), Opolskie (PL52), and Śląskie (PL22) ( Figure 1 ). It is the southwest part of Poland which borders Germany and the Czech Republic. There are two airports in this region serving flights to most European countries and airports in Poland. There is also a very dense railway network. It is possible to connect with the countries of the south and west of Europe and with many attractive tourist destinations in Poland. In addition, the A4 and A1 motorways run through these three regions.

The surveyed regions of Poland (NUTS 2): Dolnośląskie (PL51), Opolskie (PL52), and Śląskie (PL22). Source: Own elaboration.

A snowball technique was applied when choosing the next interviewee. The choice of this form of research was based on several crucial aspects. Older people are reluctant to fill in questionnaires and participate in studies. The number of questions and the complexity of the questionnaire may also contribute to their reluctance towards a survey. The snowball technique reduces the respondents’ fear of the survey. Sixty-eight respondents took part in the survey, one of whom refused to give answers. The structure of the respondents is presented in Table 1 . The number of men participating in the survey reflects the changes in the demographic structure with the ageing of the population.

Respondents’ profile.

Source: Own study.

In order to verify the research questions and realise the postulated research problem, correspondence analysis and results classification were used. Correspondence analysis (CA) has been widely described in the literature, mostly in many publications by Greenacre [ 34 , 35 ], as well as those by Backhaus et al. [ 36 ], Blasius [ 37 ], and Lebart et al. [ 38 ]. This article does not present the algorithm of CA, but merely refers to the special construction of data tables, indicators, and assumptions regarding the correctness of the conclusions reached.

The results classification method allows grouping the results achieved for the survey objects. Thus, descriptive statistics are calculated for the aggregate index determined during the study. Then, based on the Nowak [ 39 ] approach, the data has been classified into four groups based on the mean and standard deviation ( st. dev ):

• - 1st most important: higher or equal than m e a n + s t . d e v ;
• - 2nd very important: ⟨ m e a n ; m e a n + s t . d e v ) ;
• - 3rd important: ⟨ m e a n − s t . d e v ; m e a n ) ;
• - 4th least important: lower than m e a n − s t . d e v .

The first group includes countries where a given cause is indicated as the most important for the survey phenomenon or with the highest values of the aggregate index, and the fourth group is the least important or with the lowest values of the aggregate index.

Using CA, it is possible to examine the relations between the categories of at least two non-metric variables. The result of this method is an indication of the groups of coexistent categories and their graphic presentation. In the basic scope, CA analyses the relations between the categories of variables included in the contingency table. In order to perform graphical analysis, a singular values decomposition (SVD) of the correspondence matrix is used. On this basis, the coordinates of rows’ and columns’ categories of the contingency table are determined. To verify the results of the CA, the eigenvalues, which are squares of the singular values, are used. The sum of the eigenvalues is the total inertia. One-dimensional space is related to the first eigenvalue, two-dimensional space with the two highest eigenvalues. Thus, it is appropriate to check what percentage of total inertia are eigenvalues in a descending order.

CA for small samples is described in detail in [ 37 ]. To carry out this procedure, it is necessary to build an indicator matrix. This matrix, as Blasius and Greenacre [ 40 ] (p. 27) wrote, “is a respondents-by-categories table with as many rows as respondents … and as many columns as response categories”. The only elements of this matrix are zeros and ones. Ones identify the respondent’s choice, and zeros appear in other places. The indicator matrix is called the matrix of dummy variables, and in the case of many variables, it is called the superindicator matrix. The CA of such a matrix is carried out according to the classical approach, i.e., as for the contingency table, using the SVD. The full space for analysing the relationships of the variable categories is K -dimensional:

where r is the number of respondents, c is the number of all categories of analysed variables.

Additionally, in CA it is possible to use passive variables which do not take part in determining the solution space; only active points have the influence on the geometric orientation of the axis. Passive variables support the interpretation of the configuration of active elements [ 40 ]. Passive variables (additional points) illustrate the information that is not presented in the analysed interactions of the categories of active variables. The coordinates of passive variables are determined on the basis of singular values and singular vectors determined during the analysis of active variables. The inclusion of passive points in the analysis occurs only after performing all calculations for the variables whose relations are examined (active variables).

4.1. Tourist Exclusion and Non-Participation of Seniors

Eurostat data shows what percentage of the population in a given age does not participate in tourism because of financial reasons, lack of interest, lack of time due to family commitments, lack of time due to work or study commitments, health reasons, safety reasons, and others. The data we compared are from 2016 and 2019. For each year, data have been classified into four groups. The first group includes countries where a given cause is indicated as the most important, and the fourth group is the least important. In some countries, these data are not available (Sweden and the United Kingdom in 2019) or indicated as confidential (other countries in 2016 and 2019). Results are presented in Table 2 .

Importance of reasons for the non-participation of Europeans aged 65 and over in tourism in 2016 (16) and 2019 (19).

ISO 3166 country codes. Source: Own study; Eurostat data (tour_dem_npage).

Among the reasons for not participating in tourism analysed in Table 2 , there are those that are most often indicated in the literature: financial concerns and health. Financial reasons were most often quoted by Bulgarians, Greeks, and Portuguese in 2016 and 2019. In Poland and France, this reason was also the most important despite the fact that in 2016 these countries were in the second and third groups, respectively. In France, an increase in the importance of no interest in travelling (from the 3rd group in 2016), no time due to family commitments (from the 2nd group), and safety reasons (from the 3rd group) as reasons for not participating in tourism were also recorded in 2019 compared to 2016. For the Portuguese, apart from financial reasons, no interest and no time due to family commitments were the most significant reasons for not participating in tourism in both 2016 and 2019. These two reasons were also the most frequently chosen by Slovaks in 2019. In the case of no time due to work or study commitments in 2016, Hungarians, as well as Lithuanians in 2019, most frequently chose this as the most important factor of their non-participation. The latter reason for not participating in tourism was chosen the least frequently by seniors from the analysed countries in both years. The analysis of the reasons for not participating in tourism shows that the decisions of Poles allowed them to be classified in the second group in 2016, except for a lack of time, whether for familial or professional reasons. As we have already mentioned, in 2019, financial reasons were most often chosen by Poles, while in the assessment of other factors, they fell into the second group (no interest, no time due to work or study commitments, health reasons), and the third group (no time due to family commitments, safety reasons). When analysing the reasons, it is not possible to unequivocally identify the country where inhabitants give many reasons for not participating in tourism, and these opinions remain constant over time. It is also impossible to define groups of countries assessing causes similarly. It follows that seniors in individual countries individually define their attitude to tourism, and their economic and health situation changes over time. Determining the level of the quality of life of a particular older person requires looking at their life and surroundings from their individual perspective. Subjectivism in assessing the quality of life is universally important but it is of particular importance in the case of seniors as there is a re-evaluation and change of priorities of implemented activities and needs, e.g., issues regarding retirement income are not so urgent because there is the certainty of a guaranteed income.

Summing up the considerations on the exclusion of seniors in tourism, it is worth pointing out that in both years, the most frequently mentioned reasons were financial and health reasons, and lack of interest was the reason for touristic withdrawal. Therefore, seniors are a group at risk of being dissatisfied with life as a result of not participating in leisure activities.

4.2. Touristic Behaviours of Polish Seniors

The tourist behaviours of Polish seniors were examined based on the questionnaire presented in Appendix A .

A structured questionnaire ( Appendix A ) was developed to identify the key characteristics of seniors’ perceptions and involvement in tourism and their physical activity. The questionnaire consisted of three main sections that examined: physical activity and the willingness of seniors to travel (Q1–Q6), then the reasons for not participating in tourism (Q7–Q9), and finally the behaviours of senior tourists (Q10–Q13). The questionnaire ends with socio-demographic questions. This study adopts mainly correspondence analysis to investigate the characteristics of seniors as travellers.

For all the questions where respondents did not express their opinion in order to ensure compliance with the small sample CA requirements, a category of zero (e.g., Q3.0) was introduced.

In the first analysis are three variables describing tourist and physical activity (Q1, Q2, Q5) and five demographic variables (gender, age, marital status, level of education, place of residence) are active variables in the analysis. Additionally, we have three passive variables (Q3, Q4, Q6). The real relationships between the categories of the mentioned variables can be described in the R 25 —25-dimmensional space (only 16 eigenvalues are higher than zero). If the variables were completely independent, each eigenvalue should be equal to 1 Q = 1 10 (where Q is the number of active variables). In our analysis, the first two eigenvalues are higher than 0.1. Using the correspondence analysis, the dimensions of the relations of variables categories from R 25 to R 2 were reduced. The first two eigenvalues of 0.24 and 0.2 account for 14.7 and 12.6 per cent of the total inertia ( Figure 2 ). While the first axis can be considered as defining physically and touristically active seniors (activity increases from the left to the right), the second axis appears for younger seniors on lower side, and for the oldest seniors on upper side.

Touristic and physical activity of seniors. Source: Own computation using Statistica13.

The answers of seniors who use tourist offers dedicated to them (Q1.1) coincide with the answers of those who rate their health very well (Q3.1) ( Figure 1 ). Respondents who spend free time very actively (Q5.1) rate their health well (Q3.2) or did not indicate that they do not use tourist offers for seniors in their place of residence (Q2.1). Women indicated that they make short trips as a form of recreation once a week (Q6.2), but also more often (Q6.1) and spend free time actively (Q5.2). Respondents from big cities make short trips and go for a walk more often than once a week (Q6.1). Seniors very satisfied with their financial independence (Q4.1) have higher education (Edu1). They did not indicate that they do not use tourist offers (Q1.3-). The location of points describing the youngest seniors living in medium sized towns pointed out that they rarely spend free time actively (Q5.4). Seniors who are rather satisfied with their financial independence (Q4.2) go for walks and take part in short trips only once a month (Q6.4). Seniors who define their health status as bad (Q3.4) and never use tourist offers for seniors (Q1.1-) also never benefit from touristic offers in their city (Q2.2) and sometimes they define their health status as slightly better (Q3.3). This is characteristic of seniors in relationships (not single). The group of seniors with the education level lower than high (Edu2) rate their financial independence as bad (Q4.4). Middle aged seniors (Age2) spend their free time actively on average (Q5.3), and their financial independence is neither good nor bad (Q4.3). Another group we want to describe are seniors who never use generally available tourist offers (Q1.2-). They rate their health and financial independence very bad (Q4.5) and they are inactive (Q5.5) or rate their health status as very bad (Q3.5). Finally, we want to indicate the location of the point Q1.3+, which illustrates people who do not use tourist offers. It is very far away from other active and passive points, which means that these people who do not participate in tourism (for various reasons) are very different from the people who want to participate in tourism.

Among the respondents, 38 people indicated that they do not go on domestic holidays or trips, and 35 people do not go abroad for such a reason. Not participating in one of the indicated forms of tourism did not exclude participation in another. Seniors not participating in domestic or foreign tourism gave reasons for their choices ( Table 3 ).

Reasons for resigning from tourism (%).

F (Foreign); D (Domestic); LB (language barrier); Fin (financial issues); 74+ (over 74); S (single); NS (no single); H (higher), O (other); S (small); M (medium); B (big). Source: Own study.

Table 3 shows what proportion of each demographic group are people covered by the given reason for not participating in tourism (on basis of Q7, Q8, Q9). Forty-three percent of men, a significant part of people aged 70–74, indicated resignation from foreign tourist trips due to the language barrier and financial situation. This reason was more often given by single people with a lower level of education and living in small towns. In the case of resignation from domestic trips due to financial issues, the differences between men and women were not so great. Due to the financial situation, more people who are not single and live in big cities and do not have higher education have resigned from these types of trips. It is worth noting that a similar percentage of people aged 65–69 and 70–74 indicated financial issues as the reason for giving up a domestic trip, with a very low percentage of the oldest people giving the same reason.

Background information about the demographics of the respondents as well as their travel preferences is presented in Figure 3 .

Seniors travel preferences. Source: Own computation using Statistica13.

Figure 3 shows the results of CA of variables Q10–Q13 and demographic variables, accounting for 20.95% of inertia. As the location of the Age1 point is in the centre, it is not possible to indicate any additional characteristics for this group of seniors. We will start the description of the other relations between the preferences of seniors with the upper side of the second axis clockwise.

Seniors who never use holiday stays offered by travel agencies, even with their own transport (Q10B.5, Q10C.5), or never use public transport to get to the places of their choice (Q10D.5), stay on domestic vacations for the longest (Q11A.3) ( Figure 3 ). Seniors who never organise their travel on their own (Q10A.5) rarely change places of stay during domestic trips (Q13A.3). The next three singled out groups are people who are not interested in travelling or did not indicate their preferences in this matter. In the first group are men with lower education who during domestic holidays rarely change destination (Q13B.3) and did not provide their opinion on destinations of domestic excursions (Q13A.0), long and short foreign trips (Q13C.0, Q13D.0), domestic and foreign length of stays, or frequency of trips (Q11A/B.0, Q12A/B.0). Non single people aged 70–74, from small and medium-sized towns, did not give the information about their preferences of destinations during domestic holidays (Q13B.0). Seniors who during domestic holidays never change destination (Q13B.4) did not inform about how they organise their trips (Q10A.0–Q10D.0). Those who rarely use the offer of a travel agency and organise their travel on their own (Q10C.3), go on domestic holidays for seven days (Q11A.1) once a year (Q12A.1) and always change places of stay during domestic holidays (Q13A.1). Moving to the third quadrant of the chart, we get groups with more diversified travel preferences. For example, people who often use the offers of transport providers and organise their stay on their own (Q10D.2) also often use comprehensive services of travel agencies (Q10B.2) and rarely organise the entire trip on their own (Q10A.3). The next group includes people who always use comprehensive services of travel agencies (Q10B1) or rarely use such offers when they have to get to their place of stay on their own (Q10D3), their trips abroad last over two weeks (Q11B.3), and they always choose new places to travel abroad (Q13C1). Among seniors who rarely use comprehensive services of travel agencies (Q10B.3) (and if they do so, they always or often use only the stay offer (Q10C.1, Q10C.2) and travel with a transport provider (Q10D.1)), their domestic trips last 8–14 days (Q11B.2), they travel abroad once a year (Q12B.1), and always choose new places for holidays abroad (Q13D.1). Highly educated seniors from large cities organise trips on their own (Q10A.1), go for 8–14 days on domestic holidays (Q11A.2), and for 7 days abroad (Q11B1), but twice a year (Q12B.2). People who often change destinations, both domestic and foreign during all short and long trips (Q13A.2, Q13B.2, Q13C.2, Q13D.2), often organise the entire trip on their own (Q10A.2), and often during the year, they go on domestic holidays (Q12A.3). They rarely choose new places for holidays abroad (Q13D.3). The youngest, single women indicated that when they go abroad, the trips last seven days.

5. Conclusions

This article focuses both on the perception of tourism and physical and tourist activity of the elderly, as they both reflect the assumptions of active ageing. Based on the literature review, it was found that the most common reasons for non-participation and withdrawal of seniors from tourism are financial and health reasons. We were looking for determinants of a physical and tourist activity. Moreover, we wanted to indicate what additional characteristics can be specified for senior tourists in relation to their specific decisions about the number of trips, the length of stay, the destination, and the form of organising their trips. This research provides some implications for other studies, but at the same time, it presents a picture of the society that can benefit stakeholders in the tourism industry.

In the literature, some reasons for travelling are given by seniors. They focus on the fulfilment of needs and motives for action such as visiting family or friends, social contacts, and participation in social life, which are all closely related. When choosing a travel destination, seniors pay attention to climate and weather, especially a pleasant air temperature [ 41 ]. Grześkowiak et al. [ 1 ] and Liew et al. [ 4 ] indicate the importance of safety, hygiene and cleanliness of the accommodation. A certain attempt at classifying destination choices is grouping them into universal and specific. The universal or key reasons are: unique natural [ 11 , 13 ], scenic resources [ 11 , 13 ], comfortable climate [ 11 ], safety of tourism attractions [ 11 ], relaxation, well-being, socialisation and self-esteem [ 13 ]. Specific factors include barrier-free: public transportation, accommodation, and facilities along travel routes [ 4 , 11 , 33 ]. Factors such as self-development and relaxation [ 13 ] as well as physical activity [ 33 ] are evidence of the changing perception of tourism by seniors towards more active pursuits with a focus on health and fitness.

The types of tourism chosen by seniors also influence the motives for tourism choices. Meyer [ 42 ] indicates that the most popular among people aged 65 and over are leisure, cognitive, health-related (spa, fitness, and wellness), religious (religious and cognitive, cognitive and pilgrimage) and ethnic (sentimental) tourism. McCabe and Qiao [ 43 ] distinguish social tourism popular among seniors struggling with disabilities and age-related limitations. This type of tourism supports the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, health, and social inclusion. Tourism of seniors is social tourism because seniors are a group that may be excluded from participation in regular tourism due to the limitation or difficulty of access [ 13 , 44 ].

Research conducted among Polish seniors indicates that they do not travel for financial reasons [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ] or for health reasons [ 45 , 46 , 47 ]. This conclusion is in line with the results of our study. However, the survey we conducted among selected seniors showed yet another reason: a language barrier. The authors of many studies indicate that seniors choose domestic stays, which they organise themselves or with the help of travel agencies [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Seniors in other countries do the same, making additional use of the Internet [ 48 ]. The purpose of trips by Polish seniors is leisure and family reunions [ 49 , 50 ]. Leisure tourism also combines cognitive values [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 49 , 50 ]. The seniors participating in our study gave us similar feedback. However, we also indicated differences between seniors resulting from socio-demographic characteristics. Among other things, an important observation was that active people make active tourists.

As indicated by analysing the reasons for non-participation of the Europeans aged 65 and over in tourism, in 2019 there was a change in the reasons given by seniors in the EU member states compared to 2016. Only in Portugal, both in 2016 and 2019, seniors gave the same three reasons (financial reasons, no interest, no time due to family commitments), and the same two in Germany (no time due to family commitments, safety reasons) and Slovakia (no interest, health reasons). In other countries, the importance of the above-mentioned reasons changed. This is probably due to the generation-shift described in the article. Both the financial opportunities and the form of activity of seniors who entered the 65+ group in 2019 changed compared to those who were in this group in 2016. It can also be noted that in most countries, financial and health reasons are ranked first or second in 2016 and 2019. In our survey, except for the financial reasons responsible for non-participation of Polish seniors in domestic and foreign tourism, an additional obstacle appeared. The language barrier was the reason for non-participation in foreign tourism for 43 per cent of men, 47 per cent of people aged 70–74, 48 per cent of people without higher education and 38 per cent of people living in small towns. For these people, compared to other demographic groups, financial reasons for not participating in tourism were also indicated. Financial issues were often given by single people and people living in small towns as the reason for not participating in foreign tourism, while for domestic travel that reason was given by non-single and people from big cities.

The analysis of physical and tourist activity showed that non-participation in tourism is associated with low physical activity. Polish seniors who indicated that they use tourist offers generally available to all declared at the same time that they are actively spending their free time and that they are satisfied with their health condition. The respondents who indicated health problems did not use tourist offers generally available and they are less active. People with higher education were more likely to participate in a tourist offer in their place of living and they were very satisfied with their financial independence. A very interesting characteristic was observed for women, as they reported that they were satisfied with their financial independence and that they most often used the opportunity of short-term tourism also organised in their place of residence.

The analysis of tourist preferences has shown that people who are fully or largely involved in organising their trips are also willingly change their places of stay during subsequent trips, the number of their domestic and foreign trips is greater, but the duration of their stay is maximum of 14 days. Such tourist decisions are characteristic of people from big cities and with higher education. In order to know the exact conditions of such choices, it would be necessary to get to know the financial situation of seniors or the tourist habits they had when they were professionally active. Women are more active in tourism than men.

Tourism is not only an activity aimed at discovering new places or leisure. It also includes sociological, economic, and cultural elements. The incentives received during the journey motivate the body to further strenuous activity, thus increasing well-being and psychophysical comfort. However, it should be remembered that in the occurrence of significant difficulties, a senior tourist may become discouraged; “Older people are the experts of their own lives” [ 51 ] (p. 70). Therefore, one should carefully recognize their tourist expectations. However, to avoid generalisations, every stage of senior age and its corresponding needs should be considered separately.

6. Limitations and Future Suggestions

The contribution of the presented study to the discussion on seniors’ tourism preferences and exclusion in tourism is significant. However, there remain aspects of senior tourism that have not been explored and remain important. Thanks to the data collection method (snowball) we believe that the respondents of our questionnaire have exposed their actual preferences in tourism destinations, travel behaviours, and physical activity. Using our questionnaire with a larger group of respondents from the population of senior tourists will allow for an in-depth analysis. In such a situation, the research with the use of more personal factors related to senior tourists’ behaviours will be possible.

Both in the literature research as well as in our study of Polish and European seniors, the importance of health aspects can be noted. They are responsible for the exclusion or inclusion of seniors in tourism. However, the health factor as a reason for the reluctance to be active in tourism is, looking at from another angle, a factor in the success of changes and developments in medicine and the increased awareness of health-promoting behaviour. Perhaps, therefore, this factor is in many cases an imaginary factor or a stereotype carried by generations. Seniors’ mobility is a key to a healthy and active lifestyle [ 52 ]. Therefore, health and tourism are tightly combined.

Current active generations should be monitored so that a quick response is possible in the future. Their purchasing patterns and preferences with regard to tourist services should be recognized, as they will have similar expectations in the future [ 3 ].

We believe that if you want to develop the tourism industry, you should pay attention to the availability of the tourist offer for seniors and modify it to their needs. Another aspect of developing opportunities for senior citizens to participate in tourism abroad is to encourage them to learn foreign languages. At the same time, it should be remembered that the offer directed to seniors should be as attractive as the one directed to young people. No shortcomings of age or physical condition should be emphasised. Adapting the tourist offer to the requirements of seniors has been discussed many times in the literature [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 53 ]. The tourism industry cannot determine the needs of seniors by itself; it can only do so with significant cooperation with seniors and constant monitoring of their needs and expectations.

Very important aspects related to tourism are tourism in relation to the sustainable development and behaviours that affect many areas [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ].

Appendix A consists of the structured questionnaire used on the tourist behaviours of Polish seniors. It was used to identify the key characteristics of seniors’ perceptions and involvement in tourism and their physical activity. The questionnaire consisted of three main sections that examined: physical activity and the willingness of seniors to travel (Q1–Q6), then the reasons for not participating in tourism (Q7–Q9), and the behaviours of senior tourists (Q10–Q13). The questionnaire ends with sociodemographic questions.

Informed consent was obtained from all respondents before data collection, clearly explaining the purpose of the study, data protection, and data use. Consent was expressed by completing a questionnaire. The respondents who did not consent to participate in the survey returned a blank questionnaire. All study participants participated voluntarily in the study.

Funding Statement

The project is financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland under the programme “Regional Initiative of Excellence” 2019–2022 project number 015/RID/2018/19 total funding amount 10 721 040.00 PLN.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, K.P. and A.S.; methodology, K.P. and A.S.; software, K.P. and A.S.; validation, K.P. and A.S.; formal analysis, K.P. and A.S.; investigation, K.P. and A.S.; resources, K.P. and A.S.; data curation, K.P. and A.S.; writing—original draft preparation, K.P. and A.S.; writing—review and editing, K.P. and A.S.; visualization, K.P. and A.S.; supervision, K.P. and A.S.; project administration, K.P. and A.S.; funding acquisition, K.P. and A.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

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Informed Consent Statement

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Sustainable Tourism as a Way of Elderly Active Life Expectancy

The absolute number of people all over the world aged 60 and older is expected to increase during the period from 2000 to 2050 from 605 million to 2 billion people. International organizations and institutions set as the task not only the increase in life expectancy but also active aging. In this paper, the authors try to prove that the development of sustainable tourism is one of the possibilities to help of prolonging the active life of the older generation. The paper analyses the sustainable tourism and successful aging concepts. The study concludes that the sustainable tourism is a way of improve the active life expectancy. The research concludes that tourist activity of the elderly is one of the main factors of the successful aging. Pursuit of activities is uncharacteristic for noninvolved in social activity elderly people. The paper analyses the several tourism products that are currently offered in Spain, in some cases specifically for the elderly, and under a sustainable tourism approach. Conducted analysis indicates that the level of subjective well-being of the elderly is increasing as the result of participation in sustainable tourism products. Keywords: Sustainable tourism; successful aging; involvement of the elderly; involvement in social life; projects elderly

Introduction

Tourism had several stages of development from the Grand Tour in the 18th century to the concept of sustainable tourism, adopted in the last decade of the 20th century. While some countries have already felt the effects of mass tourism, receiving during the year millions of foreign tourists (France, USA, Spain, etc.) (UNWTO, 2016), other countries due to economic, social and political reasons, have not yet been able to offer expanded offer of touristic products ( Brohman, 1996 ). One of the most active groups of tourists in the developed countries is middle-aged people (approximately 40% of all tourists are older than 55 years old). According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2016) during the period from 2000 to 2050, the proportion of the world's population over the age of 60 years old will double from about 11% to 22%. The absolute number of people all over the world aged 60 and older is expected to increase over the same period from 605 million to 2 billion people. International organizations and institutions set as the task not only the increase in life expectancy but also active aging. In this paper, the authors try to prove that the development of sustainable tourism is one of the possibilities to help of prolonging the active life of the older generation.

The paper concerns the elderly subjective wellbeing and the successful aging conceptions. The elderly are sorted out into two categories for the study: the elderly involved in mass tourism and the elderly involved in sustainable tourism programs. The paper analyses projects in different countries in order to identify their impact on the level of subjective well-being for both categories of elderly people.

The development of sustainable tourism concept

27 September, 1970, the IUOTO Special General Assembly meeting in Mexico ‎City adopted the Statutes of the World Tourism Organization (WTO). From 1980, this day is celebrated as «World Tourism Day». In 1992 WTO participated in the United Nations Conference on Environment and ‎Development held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), where «Agenda 21» was created.‎ Since that time tourism and sustainable development are connected and the concept of sustainable tourism has not stopped to grow and expand internationally (and increasingly accepted and developed by most part of the tourism sector and destinations). As examples of two key milestones for sustainable tourism, we can mention that in 2008 UNWTO and other UN agencies presented the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria at the World Conservation Congress, Barcelona (Spain). Finally, the year 2017 has been declared by the UN International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

According to the latest UNWTO data, international tourism grew by 4.4% in 2015 and reached 1,184 million. Over 50 million tourists more travelled abroad around the world during last year as compared to 2014 when over one billion international tourists travelled the world, supporting jobs, generating income and boosting development (UNWTO, 2016). International tourism currently accounts for 10% of global GDP, 30% of services exports and 1 in every 11 jobs (UNWTO, 2015).

Sustainable tourism programs are becoming more relevant considering the statistics, as each 7th inhabitant of the planet became a tourist. But, what does the concept of «sustainable tourism» mean? WTO gives the following definition:

“Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”.

Management practices of sustainable tourism and its development refer to all forms of tourism, including mass tourism and various tourism segments. Sustainability principles are applicable to the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. In these three fields, a suitable balance must be established to guarantee its long-term sustainability ( UNEP & WTO, 2005 ).

Sustainable tourism should:

Use optimally environmental resources that are the main element in tourism development, considering ecological processes and helping to conserve biodiversity and natural heritage.

Respect the socio-cultural norms of host places, conserving their traditional values and cultural heritage, and contribute to tolerance and inter-cultural understanding.

Ensure healthy, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders, including stable employment and social services to host communities, and contribute to poverty alleviation.

Sustainable tourism should include two factors: on the one hand, strong political leadership to create condition for productive participation and consensus, on the other hand active participation of all relevant stakeholders. The process of maintenance of sustainable tourism is a continuous process. This process requires constant monitoring of impacts, in order to present the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures when necessary.

Sustainable tourism deals also with tourists. It provides a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them ( UNEP & WTO, 2005 ).

Sustainable tourism has the key principle the respect to the culture, traditions and socio-economic system of the people who live at the destination area. The main goal of sustainable tourism is to provide a positive impact on the environment, society and economy when visiting a place as a tourist.

Sustainable tourism is not a different or special form of tourism. It is important to understand that all forms of tourism should become more sustainable. Creating more sustainable tourism does not mean just controlling and managing the negative impacts of the industry. Rather, tourism is in a very special position to benefit local communities by economical and social impact, to raise awareness and support conservation of the environment ( Aas et al, 2005 ). Within the tourism sector, environmental protection and economic development should be seen as joint forces—they should be pursued together as impulses to inspire that can and should be mutually reinforcing. Policies and actions must strength the benefits and reduce the costs of tourism. Many different interests can benefit from tourism being made more sustainable:

Tourism enterprises should be concerned about the relationship with their staff, their corporate image, and their impact on the global environment, while seeking long term profitability.

Local communities can increase prosperity but without damage to their quality of life.

Environmentalists will be satisfied by reducing of harmful impacts of tourism and by seeing it as a valuable source of income for conservation.

Tourists will have a high quality experience in safe and attractive environments; they will become more aware of the impacts of their travelling.

Sustainability is the responsibility of all those involved in tourism. In seeking more sustainable tourism, governments must recognize the different positions. The majority of the impacts of tourism are the result of actions taken by private sector enterprises and by tourists themselves ( Priestley & Romagosa, 2013 ).

Factors affecting the level of subjective well-being

Considering the fact that Healthy Ageing starts with our genetic inheritance, only 25% of the diversity in longevity is explained by genetic factors. The other 75% is the result of the cumulative impact of our interactions with our physical and social environments, which shape behaviors and exposures across the life course (WHO, 2015). How important is tourism in the lives of older people? Consider the experience of the Spanish Government in this matter through the IMSERSO service ( IMSERSO, 2016 ). Under the auspices of the Spanish Government there was created a state structure already in the 1980s, called «Institute for older people and social services», which is integrated within the Ministry of Health, social services and equality (Fig. 1 ).

This service offers a program for active aging, which includes:

Tourism Program.

Treatment program at thermal springs.

Active aging and solidarity between generations in Europe.

White Paper on «Active Aging».

The tourism program (falling under the so-called «social tourism») is aimed, on the one hand, to facilitate the inclusion of older people in the tourist industry, on the other hand to soften the effects of the seasonality of the tourism market. Various tourist programs are offered from October to June: seaside, visits to cultural and natural sightseeing. The tourist package includes round-trip travel, accommodation in 2-bed room (for single room additional fee), full board, insurance, medical care. The cost of a tourist package is 166.03 € 8 days (7 nights) on the mainland and 314.23 € for a ticket to the Balearic or Canary Islands.

The treatment program offers treatment in the health tourism resorts of Spain, including the initial examination of the doctor, treatment in accordance with the doctor appointments and medical support throughout stay, as well as accommodation in a double room and medical insurance.

The program of active aging and solidarity between generations in Europe involves various joint cultural and recreational routes of older people with their children and grandchildren. In Spain, there are developed thousands of tourist routes of different levels of difficulty with the cultural, architectural and historical sightseeing .

The White Paper on «Active Aging» is the document, developed by the Government of Spain, which is aimed at the implementation of policies aimed at improving the lives of older people. The document includes more than one hundred proposals that meet the desires and expectations of older people related to their future ( Page & Connell, 2008 ).

The results of the active aging program is the fact that 53% of older people have started a new activity after 65 years. In 1993 only 9.5% of people age 65 began a new activity. 43% of middle aged people are actively involved in the public life of the Spanish society. 28% participate in some public organizations and 8% work voluntarily. 87% want to live in their homes and to support family relationships. Due to the «intergenerational» program 70% look after their grandchildren. Physical training activities are also a priority in the activities for older people. 86% were not enrolled in primary school, because they were children at the time of the Civil War and Second World War, but in 2007, 8% expressed the desire to learn. 45.5% say about the good health, this figure was 37% in 1993, at the same time, the percentage of older people who is complaining of poor health, decreased from 24% to 14.5%. All these figures, according to IMSERSO ( 2016 ), show that policies aimed at the health and social well-being of older people, has a direct effect on improving the quality of life.

As it can be seen from the above experience the concept of «sustainable tourism» did not appear in the documents of the Spanish government. How can we associate the concept of «sustainable tourism» and successful aging will be discussed in the following section.

Sustainable tourism in elderly social life

Sustainable tourism products and initiatives have been developed in Spain during the last 20 years, including the development of nature tourism products, linked to protected areas, and cultural tourism products (both in the cities and in the rural areas).

Spain is the country with the largest number of Biosphere Reserves (a total of 45 as appointed by UNESCO). Spain has more than 30 protected natural areas that are certified under the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (CST). Tourist companies offer activities in these natural areas remaining committed to protecting the environment. Visiting these natural environments enables visitors to combine leisure with the preservation of ecological and landscaping values. The Garajonay National Park, on the Canary Island of La Gomera, and the Garrotxa National Park, in Catalonia, are examples of the implementation of the CST. Garajonay belongs to both the National Park network and the Biosphere Reserves ( Blanco, 2009 ).

Also Spain belongs to the Ramsar Convention or the Convention concerning wetlands of international importance, which includes over 70 Spanish wetland areas. Spain tries to maintain the ecosystem and guarantee the future of aquatic birds. The wetlands in Doñana, in Andalusia, the Tablas de Daimiel, in Ciudad Real, and the Ebro delta, in Catalonia, are some of the most popular natural spaces visited by foreign tourists.

Some marine areas are protected areas as part of the Mediterranean Action Plan. Thus, the unique coastal and marine ecosystems are safeguarded ( Marca España, 2015 ).

Spain participates in several international schemes to promote sustainable tourism. The example is the Sustainability and Tourism Forum, FITUR Green, in the FITUR Tourism Fair, celebrated annually in Madrid. The organisers of this event is Hotel Technology Institute, which promotes the efficiency and sustainability of companies linked to the hotel and tourism industry. The result of that work is that today Spanish tourism companies have a notably ecological and sustainable profile.

One of sustainable tourism projects, which is very popular not only among Spain, but also among foreign tourists, is the The Camino de Santiago (Latin: Peregrinatio Compostellana). Also known by the English names Way of St. James or Road to Santiago, is the name of any of the pilgrimage routes, known as pilgrim ways, to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (northwestern Spain), where tradition says that the remains of the saint are buried. Many people take up this route as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth ( Mowforth & Munt, 2008 ). A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, are an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela, a site inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1993. The extension represents a network of almost 1,500 km: coastal, interior of the Basque Country–La Rioja, Liébana and primitive routes. It includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges. The extension encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9 th century of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater. The number of pilgrims has increased from 690 people in 1985 to 262,458 in 2015. Despite the complexity of the route pilgrims take 20-30 km during the day. There are different age groups, including a large number of people older 55 years. Participation in the route The Camino de Santiago helps people to keep fit, to get acquainted with the cultural and historical values of the region, to comprehend their problems and tasks at the current stage of life.

According the Spanish official statistics on tourism ( Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 2015 ), in 2014 16.4% of domestic tourists that were older than 64 years had a cultural motivation for travelling within Spain, and those of them that travelled for cultural purposes spent an average of 537 euros per trip (while the average for all the group ages was 425 euros). Regarding international tourists older than 64 years that went to Spain in 2014 (10% of the total), 55% of them made one or more cultural activities while they stayed in the country as tourists, and they spent an average of 1,167 euros per trip (a higher number than the average for all the group ages of international tourists: 1,074 euros). These figures, although quite general, show the growing importance of the older adults tourists in the cultural tourism in Spain, as well as its potential connection with all the previously mentioned sustainability initiatives, as most of them have a clear link with cultural tourism.

The study shows: the older generation cannot be described only in terms of disease and poverty. For many people, the old age is a time of self-realization, interesting leisure-time, new relationships with people and emotional experiences. Today as the world average life expectancy is increasing, the projects to include this group in the active life are particularly relevant. The program for sustainable tourism may be one of them. The participation of older people in such programs can solve a number of tasks aimed to improve the quality of life of this group of the population:

Education: older people understanding of the negative impact of mass tourism on the environment, which manifests itself in the noise and air pollution from increasing traffic, in the contamination of water sources and in the loss of natural habitats. Solving of educational tasks helps to form new thinking of older people with a focus on sustainable development and the acquisition of new environmentally and socially friendly tourist experience.

Teaching: older people not only become the actors of sustainable tourism programs but also they become active propagandists of this trend among younger generation, in their families, for children and grandchildren.

Physical training: implementation of a sustainable tourism programs for older people in rural areas, in small rural hotels close to nature helps to keep fit constantly by taking long walks, biking, swimming, hiking, etc. They become active in comparison with traditional mass tourism programs.

Wellness: fresh air, quality food due to fresh food from nearby farms, lack of noise and pollution considerably improve the state of health of older people.

Culture: discover of the cultural and historical values and traditions of the region allows to expand the horizons and to develop the aesthetic tastes of older people.

Thus, participating in sustainable tourism programs, the older people not only improve their educational, physical and cultural level, but also become active participants in promoting sustainable development and building a «more secure, equitable, green, and prosperous world for all» (UNWTO, 1999). Active life position of older people, which is formed due to the participation in these programs, helps to increase the length of active life.

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• Marca España (2015). Sustainable tourism. Retrieved from http://marcaespana.es/en/culture-and-singularity/tourism/sustainable-tourism
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• Mowforth M., Munt I. (2008). Tourism and Sustainability: New Tourism in the Third World. London: Routledge.
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• Published: 12 March 2021

Curiosity–tourism interaction promotes subjective wellbeing among older adults in Japan

• Tomoko Totsune   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7352-4054 1 , 2 ,
• Izumi Matsudaira   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6842-9522 3 &
• Yasuyuki Taki 1 , 3  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  8 , Article number:  69 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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• Cultural and media studies

Aging societies are one of the major problems faced in the modern world. Promoting subjective wellbeing is a key component in helping individuals positively accept and adapt to psychological and physical changes during their aging process. Tourism is one of the activities that have been demonstrated to promote subjective wellbeing. However, motivation for tourism and its benefits to subjective wellbeing among the older adults have rarely been discussed. The current study aimed to investigate whether tourism contributes to the subjective wellbeing of older adults. We examined the relationships between travel frequency, subjective wellbeing, and the personal trait of curiosity, mediated by the factor of family budget situation. The results demonstrated that diverse curiosity motivates individuals to travel; thus, diverse curiosity positively correlates to subjective wellbeing, both directly as well as indirectly through travel frequency. However, this relationship is limited by the factor of family budget, with tourism contributing to the subjective wellbeing of only well-off older adults. This study concludes that tourism has potential to contribute to subjective wellbeing during later stages of life.

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Introduction

Individuals’ perspectives on aging may be somewhat negative due to issues such as increasing disease morbidity and declining productivity and cognitive function. In today’s aging societies, a great deal of attention has thus been devoted to the positive acceptance of aging, which involves a focus on adapting to and enjoying the older stages of life despite inevitable psychological and physical changes.

Quality of life is one of the indicators of acceptance of aging. Quality of life positively correlates with psychological acceptance, which is the willingness to accept age-related changes and distress (Butler and Ciarrochi, 2007 ). Subjective wellbeing, which is a self-reported measure of a person’s wellbeing that includes global assessment of several aspects of life, captures individual evaluation of quality of life (Diener, 1984 ). Furthermore, positive affect is reported to play a protective role against the development of dementia among older adults (Murata et al., 2016 ). Thus, promoting subjective wellbeing among older adults, especially in the early stages of old age, may lead to improved perspectives on aging and maintaining cognitive health while aging.

Exposures to various life conditions and activities are reported to be associated with subjective wellbeing, and tourism is one activity that has been suggested to be linked to the quality of life of older adults (Zhang and Zhang, 2018 ; Kim et al., 2015 ). Tourism is suggested to positively affect multiple life domains of the tourist, and it is suggested that travels generally contribute to positive affect and quality of life (Uysal et al., 2016 ). However, it has not been investigated whether more frequent travel contributes to higher subjective wellbeing.

Personality traits provide important motives that lead individuals to travel. It has been suggested that leisure time activity preference, including for tourism, is predetermined by personal disposition (Przepiorka and Blachnio, 2017 ; Diener et al., 1999 ; Lee and Crompton, 1992 ). Moreover, perception of subjective wellbeing is also suggested to have a strong relationship to personality (Steel et al., 2008 ). This relationship is based on the fact that personality affects preference for involvement in activities (Przepiorka and Blachnio, 2017 ; Diener et al., 1999 ) and that specific personalities evaluate the meaning of life events more positively than others.

Curiosity is one personal characteristic that motivates individuals to devote time to leisure activities and also correlates to subjective wellbeing (Nishikawa et al., 2015 ; Nishikawa, 2014 ). Besides the common recognition that curiosity acts as a motivation to travel, curiosity has received little attention in relation to travel motivation.

With regard to the relationship between tourism and subjective wellbeing, other internal factors, social environment, and external circumstances need to be considered, besides just personality traits. One of the factors that cannot be ignored is the state of the family budget. Satisfaction with income has been suggested to relate to happiness (Diener et al., 1993 , 1999 ), and since tourism costs money, a certain amount of income or wealth is required to afford travelling (Fleischer and Pizam, 2002 ).

Given the importance of subjective wellbeing of seniors, the potential of tourism frequency to affect subjective wellbeing, and the suggested relationship of curiosity with both tourism involvement and subjective wellbeing, the current study aimed to investigate the relationships among these three factors. We hypothesized that curiosity is one of the key predictors of travelling preference and subjective wellbeing among older adults and that travel frequency positively correlates with subjective wellbeing even after controlling for trait curiosity; however, we also hypothesized that this relationship is mediated by family budget. We focused on people in their 60s, as it is thought that early intervention towards subjective wellbeing is a promising approach to maintaining cognitive health of the older adults; also, this age group is already more active in travelling than other age groups and is a most attractive age group for travel marketers.

The current study contributes to the better understanding of the contribution of tourism to subjective wellbeing among older adults by operationalizing curiosity as an underlying personal disposition. Recommendations are provided for the travel industry, to help promote subjective wellbeing among older adults.

Literature review and hypothesis development

Young seniors as a target for intervention to promote subjective wellbeing.

As of September 2020, the elderly ratio (percentage of the population that is over 65 years old) has reached 28.7% in Japan. Total population in Japan has decreased by 290,000 from last year, while population over 65 years old has increased by 300,000 (Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 ). One of the problems we face in the aging society is increasing morbidity due to dementia. Dementia comprises a group of symptoms associated with cognitive decline and loss of ability to perform everyday activities according to pathological changes of the brain. It is one of the major causes of elderly dependency and disability, and impacts quality of life, affecting the physical, psychological, social, and economic situation not only of the individual who develops dementia but also of their families, caregivers, and the wider society. However, late-life engagement in social and leisure activities is suggested to have a negative association with risk of dementia (Wang et al., 2002 ), and subjective wellbeing is also suggested to play a protective role against functional decline (Hirosaki et al., 2013 ) and cognitive decline (Murata et al., 2016 ). Therefore, intervention for subjective wellbeing especially in early seniors is expected to be promising in terms of maintaining cognitive health.

Contribution of travel to subjective wellbeing

Exposures to various life conditions and activities are reported to be associated with subjective wellbeing, and tourism is one activity that has been suggested to be linked to quality of life in older adults (Zhang and Zhang, 2018 ; Kim et al., 2015 ).

Travelling requires various cognitive activities, such as choosing a destination, arranging activities, conducting them as planned or intentionally departing from plans, communicating with one’s companions and local people, and managing possible contingencies in unfamiliar situations. Gaining such generally pleasant experiences leads to subjective wellbeing in tourists, and it has been shown that tourists also show ‘pre-trip-happiness’ while planning and anticipating travel (Gilbert and Abdullah, 2004 ). Tourism is suggested to positively affect the tourist’s life domains, such as leisure life, social life, family life, and cultural life, and to contribute to life satisfaction (Uysal et al., 2016 ).

Previous studies on the relationship between travelling and subjective wellbeing have mainly focused on detailed description of travellers: who they are, with whom they go, where they go, what they do, what aspects of their lives are influenced by the experience, and what internal mediating factors for subjective wellbeing relate to the quality of their travel. For instance, Gram et al. ( 2019 ) showed that travel with grandchildren offers both fun time and legacy time to seniors and contributes to both individual and intergenerational wellbeing. Furthermore, Fritz and Sonnentag ( 2006 ) showed that vacations offer employees experiences such as positive and negative work reflections, relaxation, mastery experience, and break from work hassles and thus improve subjective wellbeing. These studies offer a better understanding of the contribution of travel to subjective wellbeing, although in limited social and travel settings. In addition, however, holistically, Uysal et al. ( 2016 ) point out in a review that travel, in general, contributes to positive affect and quality of life. Therefore, promoting travel in any situation may promote subjective wellbeing. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between travel frequency (quantity of travel) and subjective wellbeing, and it has not been revealed whether frequent travel contributes to higher subjective wellbeing. Accordingly, the following hypothesis was developed in this study:

Hypothesis 1 : Frequent travellers show better subjective wellbeing than less frequent travellers.

Young seniors as a target for tourism marketing

Older adults are an emerging target of tourism marketing in Japan nowadays. People in their 60s are among the most frequent travellers (Odaka et al., 2011 ; Japan Tourism Agency, 2020 ), as they are often financially well off and have more leisure time to spare than younger people (Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2016 ). Also, while people over 70 exhibit a steep increase in amount of time spent on medical care, in hospital, and in recuperation (Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2016 ), people in their 60s are healthier and more able to travel. Promoting travel in younger age groups, who are often in the middle of their working lives, may not be easy; additionally, in Japan, these age groups are decreasing in size compared to older adults, meaning diminishing returns on pursuing them as tourists. The population in their 60s will show an absolute increasing trend and an increase in the ratio among the whole population until 2036 (National institute of Population and Social Security Research, 2017 ). Therefore, the 60s age group is a major target for intervention by tourism marketers to promote travel.

Motivation for travel

Travel marketers have devoted great attention to understanding the travel motivation of customers and factors influencing it. Crompton ( 1979 ) classified relevant socio-psychological motives into seven: escape from a perceived mundane environment, exploration and evaluation of self, relaxation, prestige, regression, enhancement of kinship relationships, and facilitation of social interaction; these were accompanied by two cultural motives: novelty and education. Among seniors, it has been found that rest and relaxation, social interaction, physical exercise, learning, nostalgia and excitement are common reasons for travel (Fleischer and Pizam, 2002 ).

Socio-psychological motives of individuals are often discussed from the standpoint of personality traits. It has been suggested that leisure time activity preference, including for tourism, is predetermined by personality (Przepiorka and Blachnio, 2017 ; Diener et al., 1999 ; Lee and Crompton, 1992 ). Among personality traits related to travel are allocentrism and psychocentrism; Plog ( 1974 ) has classified tourist character in terms of these. Allocentrism refers to the characteristics of outgoingness, self-confidence, and adventurousness, while psychocentrism refers to the characteristics of self-inhibition, nervousness, and non-adventurousness. These two characteristics lead to opposite preferences in travel destinations: allocentric tourists tend to prefer unexplored destinations and psychocentric tourists to prefer familiar destinations. The personal characteristic of novelty-seeking is also suggested to play a role in choosing travel destinations (Lee and Crompton, 1992 ).

Curiosity is another personal characteristic suggested to motivate travel. It refers to personal dispositions motivating individuals to obtain cognitive stimulation, that is, to desire knowledge and experience, and is consistently recognized as a critical intrinsic motivator of human behaviour (Berlyne, 1954 ; Litman and Spielberger, 2003 ; Lowenstein, 1994 ). Epistemic curiosity is predominant in humans, distinguishing human curiosity from that of other species (Kidd and Hayden, 2015 ; Berlyne, 1966 ). It refers to the drive not only to access information-bearing stimulation, capable of dispelling the uncertainties of the moment, as other species do, but also to acquire knowledge.

Definitions of epistemic curiosity vary between researchers; in the current study, we use the definition of Nishikawa and Amemiya ( 2015 ), in which epistemic curiosity consists of two dimensions: diverse curiosity and specific curiosity. Diverse curiosity is defined as the motivation to widely explore new information, while specific curiosity is the motivation to explore specific information in order to solve cognitive conflicts (Nishikawa and Amemiya, 2015 ). Nishikawa and Amemiya’s theory of epistemic curiosity has its origins in research by Hatano and Inagaki ( 1971 ) showing that those with more diverse curiosity tend to actively seek novel and varied information, while those with more specific curiosity tend to be sensitive to inconsistency and to actively and continuously seek information to cope with contradiction (Nishikawa and Amemiya, 2015 ; Hatano and Inagaki, 1971 ). Despite the fact that curiosity drives individuals to actively seek information, it has received little attention in the context of travel motivation. Accordingly, we have set the following hypothesis to investigate the relationship of curiosity to travel:

Hypothesis 2 : Frequent travellers show higher epistemic curiosity than less frequent travellers.

Personal traits as determiners of subjective wellbeing

Besides the relationship of personality traits to travel motivation, existing studies have also suggested that personality traits acts as a strong determinant of subjective wellbeing (Steel et al., 2008 ). This relationship is based on the fact that certain personalities evaluate life experiences more positively than others. Chen and Yoon ( 2018 ) reported a relationship between tourism, wellbeing, and the personality trait of novelty-seeking, finding that the direct effect of novelty-seeking on life satisfaction (top-down influence) was significantly greater than the indirect effect through tourism experiences (bottom-up influence) (Chen and Yoon, 2018 ). Furthermore, curiosity is also reported to be related to subjective wellbeing via maintaining knowledge in older adults (Kashidan and Steger, 2007 ; Nishikawa et al., 2015 ). Therefore, when considering curiosity as a motivation to travel, the effect of curiosity on subjective wellbeing needs to be taken into account. Accordingly, we set the following hypotheses to investigate the causal relationship between travel frequency, subjective wellbeing, and curiosity:

Hypothesis 3 : Curiosity has a positive correlation with subjective wellbeing.

Hypothesis 4 : Travel frequency positively correlates with subjective wellbeing even after being controlled by trait curiosity (main hypothesis, to investigate whether travel frequency contributes to subjective wellbeing of the older adults in a relationship with curiosity).

Moderation effects of income on travel involvement and subjective wellbeing

Besides personal traits, other internal factors, social environment, and external circumstances needs to be considered as factors moderating travel involvement’s effect on subjective wellbeing. One such factor that has been discussed is the effect of income. Satisfaction with income has been suggested to relate to happiness (Diener et al., 1993 , 1999 ), and since tourism costs money, a certain amount of income or wealth is required to afford it (Fleischer and Pizam, 2002 ). Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 5 : Family budget situation alters the relationship among travel frequency, subjective wellbeing, and curiosity.

Participants

The participants were selected from a pool of Japanese customers in their 60s who were registered with a travel agency. These customers were sent a questionnaire asking about their attitudes toward travelling, daily living conditions (such as age, income, subjective family budget situation, medical status, occupation, family structure, and self-perceived health), and cognitive traits. All study participants provided informed consent, and the study design was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tohoku University (Approved No. 2018-1-740). Data were collected in June 2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the 1068 participants who responded to and returned the questionnaire, 233 were excluded due to deficient questionnaire data. In total, 835 participants were included in the study ( n  = 835; male = 437, mean age = 64.73 ± 2.79).

Global self-report measures

Trait curiosity.

Using a 5-point Likert scale, participants completed the 12-item Epistemic Curiosity Scale (Nishikawa and Amemiya, 2015 ), rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The scale was developed by Nishikawa and Amemiya, the same researchers who proposed the definition of epistemic curiosity used in the current study. The scale consists of 12 items, 6 each on diverse and specific curiosity. Examples of items to evaluate diverse curiosity are ‘I enjoy solving novel problems’ and ‘I am interested in things that no one has ever experienced’; in contrast, examples of items to evaluate specific curiosity are ‘I would like to investigate thoroughly when learning something’ and ‘I think carefully and devote a long time to solving problems’. The scale was developed and is presented in Japanese. (The example questionnaire items mentioned above were translated by the authors of the current study for better understanding of the scale, and are not validated in English).

Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS)

Using a 7-point Likert-type scale, participants completed the 4-item Japanese version of the SHS (Lyubomirsky and Lepper, 1999 ; Shimai et al., 2004 ), rated from 1 (not a very happy person, less happy, not at all) to 7 (a very happy person, more happy, a great deal). The SHS assesses subjective happiness from the respondent’s own perspective, including both cognitive and affective evaluation of personal life. This differs from some measurement tools for subjective wellbeing, which are biased toward either cognitive or affective aspects.

Questionnaire regarding travel frequency

Participants rated their recent frequency of travel from the following options: (1) more than 10 times per year, (2) 5–9 times per year, (3) 3–4 times per year, (4) 1–2 times per year, (5) once in 2–3 years, and (6) less than once in 2–3 years (Hardly ever). The definition of the travel was dependent on the respondents’ own perspectives. The variable of travel frequency is used as a nominal variable in the analysis to investigate hypotheses 1 and 2 and as an ordinal variable to clarify the correlation between the two components of epistemic curiosity and travel frequency in the testing of hypothesis 2 and in hypothesis 3–5.

Questionnaire regarding subjective family budget situation

Participants rated their recent subjective family budget situation from the following options: (1) Extremely good, (2) Moderately good, (3) Neither good nor bad, (4) Moderately bad, and (5) Extremely bad. In asking the financial situations of individuals, we assumed that participants may have different numbers of family members to provide for, levels of debt, cost of shelter and of living, and ideal living standards, so that their financial situation may not simply be validated by the amount of income itself. Thus, we adopted a scale asking for participants’ subjective feelings on their family budget situations. The variable was reclassified into three groups according to whether they considered their family budget situation to be (1) Extremely/moderately good, (2) Neither good nor bad, or (3) Moderately/extremely bad. The results were used in the testing of hypothesis 5.

Statistical analysis

For cognitive function, statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21 software. The mediation analyses were performed using the SPSS PROCESS macro ( http://processmacro.org/index.html ) (Hayes, 2018 ). Mediation analysis was performed with a bootstrapping approach using 10,000 resamples.

Participants’ profiles

We surveyed Japanese customers aged 59–69 who had registered with a travel agency ( n  = 835; male = 437, mean age = 64.73 ± 2.79SD). They completed the questionnaire on their travel frequency and demographic and daily living conditions, such as age and subjective family budget situation. Participants also completed the Epistemic Curiosity Scale for the measurement of personal characteristics and the SHS for the measurement of subjective wellbeing. The participants’ demographic characteristics are shown in Tables 1 and 2 .

Mean age and subjective wellbeing scores were significantly higher in male participants than in female participants ( t -test p  < 0.001, p  = 0.017). No significant difference was observed between epistemic curiosity score, travel frequency, and subjective family budget situations (Tables 1 and 2 ).

Relationship of travel frequency with subjective wellbeing

First, to investigate the positive relationship between travel and subjective wellbeing, we conducted a nonparametric test to identify if there was a difference in subjective wellbeing scores between travel frequency groups (testing Hypothesis 1).

For subjective wellbeing, we used travel frequency as a nominal variable and analysed whether there were scale score differences between travel frequency groups. The results demonstrated that those who travelled five times or more per year had higher subjective wellbeing scores than those who travelled twice or less per year (Fig. 1 ). Therefore, hypothesis 1 was supported.

Travel frequency: (1) More than 10 times per year, (2) 5–9 times per year, (3) 3–4 times per year, (4) 1–2 times per year, (5) Once in 2–3 years, (6) Less than once in 2–3 years (Hardly ever); SHS Subjective Happiness Scale. The bar charts show the scale score (mean ± SD). Significant SHS score difference between 1–4/5, 2–4/5, 3–4 (* p  < 0.05).

Relationship of epistemic curiosity with travel frequency

Second, to investigate if curiosity motivates tourism, we conducted a nonparametric test to identify whether there was a difference in curiosity scale scores between travel frequency groups (testing Hypothesis 2). The results revealed that those who travel 10 times or more per year have more diverse curiosity than other frequency groups, except for those who do not travel at all (Fig. 2a , Table 3 ). Furthermore, those who travel five to nine times per year showed more diverse curiosity than those who travel twice or less per year. Curiosity score differences between travel frequency groups were determined by a non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test ( p  = 0.012), although no significant difference was observed with post-hoc pairwise comparison (Fig. 2b , Table 3 ).

Travel frequency: (1) More than 10 times per year, (2) 5–9 times per year, (3) 3–4 times per year, (4) 1–2 times per year, (5) Once in 2–3 years, (6) Less than once in 2–3 years (Hardly ever), DC diverse curiosity, SC specific curiosity. The bar charts show the test scores (mean ± SD). a Significant DC difference between 1–2/3/4/5, 2–4/5 (* p  < 0.05). b Significant SC difference between groups were observed using the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test ( p  = 0.012), although no significant difference was seen in post-hoc pairwise comparison of Dunn’s test with Bonferroni error correction. c Mediation analysis between DC, SC and travel frequency. The positive effect of SC on travel frequency is completely mediated by DC (** p  < 0.01).

Epistemic curiosity consists of diverse curiosity and specific curiosity, which are reported to have a positive correlation (Nishikawa and Amemiya, 2015 ). To modulate the correlation between the two curiosity components, we conducted a mediation analysis between diverse curiosity, specific curiosity, and travel frequency. After controlling for diverse curiosity, specific curiosity was no longer a predictor for travel frequency (Fig. 2c ), and the indirect coefficient was significant ( B  = −0.182, SE = 0.0349, 95% CI [−0.2505, −0.1143]).

In sum, Hypothesis 2 was supported, but only diverse curiosity among the two components of epistemic curiosity was seen to motivate travel.

Curiosity as a determinant of subjective wellbeing

To investigate the influence of personality on subjective wellbeing, we examined whether trait curiosity correlates with subjective wellbeing (testing of Hypothesis 3). We conducted a correlation analysis between epistemic curiosity and subjective wellbeing scores to investigate whether the personal trait of epistemic curiosity is a determinant of subjective wellbeing.

To modulate the correlation between the two curiosity components, we conducted a mediation analysis between diverse curiosity, specific curiosity, and subjective wellbeing scores. After controlling for diverse curiosity, specific curiosity was no longer a predictor of subjective wellbeing (Fig. 3 ). The indirect coefficient was also significant ( B  = 0.211, SE = 0.0343, 95% CI [0.1432, 0.2778]). In sum, among the two components of epistemic curiosity, only diverse curiosity acts as a determinant of subjective wellbeing; in other words, the personal trait of diverse curiosity correlates positively with subjective wellbeing, indicating that highly curious people have generally higher subjective wellbeing. Thus, Hypothesis 3 was supported.

All B ’s represent unstandardized regression coefficients obtained through bootstrapping using 10,000 resamples. The range in brackets represents the 95% CI of the indirect effect. ** p  < 0.001.

Causal model of diverse curiosity, travel frequency, and subjective wellbeing

Following the findings that the personal trait of curiosity positively relates to both travel frequency and subjective wellbeing and that travel frequency also positively relates to subjective wellbeing, we conducted a mediation analysis to investigate the causal relationship among the three factors. We proposed that trait curiosity positively affects subjective wellbeing both directly (i.e., curiosity has a top-down influence on subjective wellbeing) and indirectly through travel frequency. We also hypothesized that travel frequency positively correlates with subjective happiness even after it is controlled by trait curiosity (i.e., bottom-up effect of tourism on subjective wellbeing) (hypothesis 4). As the earlier results demonstrated that among the two components of epistemic curiosity, only diverse curiosity motivates travel, we used diverse curiosity but not specific curiosity in the analysis. The results revealed that participants with greater diverse curiosity traits demonstrated greater travel frequency than other participants ( B  = −0.228, SE = 0.0353, p  < 0.001) and that greater travel frequency is related to higher subjective wellbeing ( B  = −0.125, SE = 0.0322, p  < 0.001). Upon testing the significance of the indirect effect using bootstrap estimation with 10,000 resamples, the indirect coefficient was significant ( B  = 0.286, SE = 0.0089, 95% CI [0.0127, 0.0475]), as was the direct effect of diverse curiosity on subjective wellbeing ( B  = 0.266, SE = 0.0336, p  < 0.001) (Fig. 4a ). Therefore, Hypothesis 4 was supported.

All B ’s represent unstandardized regression coefficients obtained through bootstrapping using 10,000 resamples. The range in brackets represents the 95% CI of the indirect effect. ** p  < 0.01, * p  < 0.05, + p  < 0.10.

Effect of family budget on travel and subjective wellbeing

Since travelling is not an essential activity in daily life, we hypothesized that preference for travel may depend on the family budget situation. Therefore, we also assessed the effect of family budget on the causal model of diverse curiosity, travel frequency, and subjective wellbeing.

Participants were classified into three groups according to whether they considered their family budget situation to be ‘extremely/moderately good’, ‘neither good nor bad’, or ‘moderately/extremely bad’. All three groups demonstrated a significant positive relationship between diverse curiosity and subjective happiness as a total effect (Fig. 4b–d ).

The ‘extremely/moderately good’ and ‘neither good nor bad’ groups showed a significant relationship between travel frequency and subjective wellbeing (Fig. 4b, c ). This implies that higher travel frequency promotes higher subjective wellbeing. However, the indirect effect of travel frequency on the relationship between diverse curiosity and subjective wellbeing was significant only in the ‘neither good nor bad’ group ( B  = 0.0206, SE = 0.0100, 95% CI [0.0026, 0.0419]). Even after controlling for travel frequency, diverse curiosity remained a significant predictor of subjective wellbeing. In the ‘extremely/moderately bad’ family budget situation group, higher diverse curiosity was a predictor of higher subjective wellbeing; however, diverse curiosity did not predict travel frequency, which in turn was not related to subjective wellbeing (Fig. 4d ). In short, the causal relationship among frequency, subjective wellbeing, and curiosity was modified by the family budget situation. Thus, Hypothesis 5 was supported.

The primary goal of our study was to investigate whether tourism, in a relationship with curiosity, contributes to the subjective wellbeing of older adults. In addition to establishing the relevant relationships, we also gained a number of interesting findings that contribute to a better understanding of the motivations of tourism and the construct of subjective wellbeing.

Diverse curiosity works as a motivation to travel

As we hypothesized, the personal trait of curiosity showed a positive relationship with travel frequency, indicating that diverse curiosity motivates travel. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing that curiosity drives people to travel and that it relates to subjective wellbeing directly and indirectly through travelling. However, specific curiosity revealed no significant relationship with travel frequency. Nishikawa and Amemiya ( 2015 ) conceptualized diverse curiosity as the motivation to widely explore new information, which relates to positive attitudes toward ambiguity and to fun-seeking aspects of the behavioural activation system; these in turn cultivate the attitude required to voluntarily approach novel stimuli. In contrast, specific curiosity refers to the motivation to explore information in order to solve cognitive conflicts, and relates to the preference for order and ambiguity control (Nishikawa and Amemiya, 2015 ). From the perspective of ambiguity, diverse curiosity then works as a drive to encounter ambiguity, while specific curiosity works as a drive to reduce and exclude it. Based on the results showing that travelling is driven by diverse curiosity, travelling may then be assumed to comprise behaviour directed toward widely seeking novel stimuli, but not seeking specific information. Furthermore, it is intuitively clear that travelling means exploring miscellaneous new information and may increase information ambiguity. From the perspective of specific curiosity, travelling may then not always comfortable, as one may be confronted by uncontrollable ambiguous situations.

Intrapersonal balance of epistemic curiosity may determine ‘appropriate’ travel frequency of individuals

After controlling for diverse curiosity in the mediation analysis to investigate the effect of specific curiosity on travel frequency, the regression coefficient of specific curiosity on travel frequency changed from a plus to a minus sign (Fig. 2c ). However, the direct coefficient was not significant ( B  = 0.049, ns); this may imply that people with high specific curiosity resist travelling, in contrast to those with diverse curiosity. In short, the intrapersonal balance of diverse and specific curiosity may modulate individuals’ interest level and determine their ‘appropriate’ travel frequency, implying that promoting frequent travel may not always result in a positive effect on subjective wellbeing.

The study’s results revealed that curiosity, which is an intrinsic desire for cognitive stimulation, motivates travel. This in turn may support the idea that travelling is a cognitively stimulating activity. Participation in cognitively stimulating activities has been associated with reduced late-life cognitive decline, in the cognitive reserve hypothesis (Wilson et al., 2013 ; Stern, 2012 ). Therefore, tourism, which entails cognitively stimulating activity, may contribute to slower late-life cognitive decline. As discussed, however, an individual’s travel frequency may depend on their personal intra-balance of epistemic curiosity. Thus, the question remains as to whether encouraging tourism extrinsically will successfully promote subjective wellbeing. Since there is a possibility that overly frequent travel experiences may induce mental discomfort from the perspective of individual levels of specific curiosity, extrinsically forced tourism experiences may have adverse effects.

Also, as regards the contribution of personal disposition to subjective wellbeing (i.e., the top-down effect of curiosity on subjective wellbeing), diverse curiosity showed a significant positive correlation with subjective wellbeing. This relationship is consistent with reports that greater trait curiosity relates to better subjective wellbeing (Nishikawa et al., 2015 ; Nishikawa, 2014 ).

Travel frequency positively affects subjective wellbeing of older adults

Looking into the relationship between travel frequency and subjective wellbeing, we found that participants with higher levels of trait diverse curiosity demonstrated higher scores on subjective wellbeing. Even after controlling for the positive relationships between the personal trait of curiosity and both travel frequency and subjective wellbeing, mediation analysis demonstrated that travel frequency positively correlates with subjective wellbeing; the indirect effect of travel frequency was also significant (Fig. 4a ). To our knowledge, this is the first report to show a relationship between travel frequency and subjective wellbeing among older adults. The findings indicate that travel quantity is as important as travel quality.

Family budget situation alters the relationship among travel frequency, subjective wellbeing, and curiosity

The positive relationship between travel frequency and subjective wellbeing was significant only in groups that were not financially constrained (Fig. 4b, c ). Also, the relationship between diverse curiosity and travel frequency in individuals with financial restrictions showed less significance than in those with no financial restrictions. In other words, these results suggest that among individuals that have financial restrictions, diverse curiosity does not act as a motivation to travel and travel frequency does not contribute to subjective wellbeing. Thus, taken together, these findings indicate that travel frequency contributes to subjective wellbeing (i.e., there is a bottom-up effect of tourism on subjective wellbeing) but that this effect is limited by family budget.

Having financial difficulties may mean that travelling is unaffordable; even if the family can afford it, it can cause difficulties in terms of making ends meet after travelling. Thus, it makes sense that the contribution of tourism to subjective wellbeing is effective only in those who are well-off and can afford to travel. Additionally, among individuals with financial restrictions, curiosity did not act as a motivation to travel. The information-seeking behaviour involved in diverse curiosity does not have a specific direction with regard to the information or stimuli sought; thus, curiosity may have motivated other information-seeking activities instead of travelling for people with financial restrictions. This relationship also implies that individuals who have financial restrictions experience not merits but demerits to subjective wellbeing, due to not being able to travel.

However, previous studies on low-income families have demonstrated that availability of financial support that allows such families to participate in tourism and holiday breaks increases their quality of life and subjective wellbeing (McCabe and Johnson, 2013 ; McCabe et al., 2010 ). Thus, supporting individuals who have the potential to benefit from tourism (i.e. persons with a high diverse curiosity trait) but who cannot afford to travel due to financial difficulties may act as a promising intervention to promote subjective wellbeing among the public. This supports the recognition of the importance of social tourism initiatives to provide opportunities to travel for those that are otherwise unable to participate due to certain disadvantages, including financial difficulties. A relationship between social tourism participation and health self-perception has been also reported, indicating that tourists are more active and healthy than non-tourists (Ferrer et al., 2016 ).

Besides the fact that travel consumes money, travellers have to deal with complications caused by daily activities (e.g., job, housework, medical care); leisure time, number of family members, and other confounding factors may affect the relationship between travel frequency and subjective wellbeing. Moreover, other factors, such as interpersonal relationships with travel companions, may also influence seniors’ travel behaviour and subjective wellbeing. In the current study, only 22 participants, or 2.6%, answered that they always travel alone. Therefore, the majority of the participants are to some degree concerned with interpersonal relationships with travel companions. Interpersonal relationships may facilitate travel (Huber et al., 2018 ) and promote subjective wellbeing through travel experiences (Gram et al., 2019 ); however, this study did not assess what psychological or physiological effects travel companions may modify. Furthermore, the current study was designed to investigate whether travel’s contribution to subjective wellbeing is made in a relationship with trait curiosity, and we focused on the dimension of travel frequency. Therefore, factors such as quality of travel (e.g. travel destination, travel satisfaction, interpersonal relationships) are not taken into account in the analysis. From the current findings, we can only assert that frequent travel positively correlates with subjective wellbeing; however, the effect of travel on subjective wellbeing may also differ among travel destinations, travel companions, travel duration, and other travel quality factors, and therefore further investigation is required to assert a causal relationship between travel frequency and subjective wellbeing.

Furthermore, additional limitations of our study need to be considered. First, the study subjects were recruited from among registered customers of a travel agency. Our study demonstrated that diverse curiosity drives interest in travel and frequent travel, but our study may be limited to those who are already interested in travelling to a certain extent. The information-seeking behaviour of diverse curiosity does not have a specific orientation with regard to the type or location of the information or stimuli sought; there exist multiple potential preferences regarding information sources (e.g., when reading a book, one may prefer reading mysteries, romance novels, non-fiction, or yet another category) (Nishikawa, 2013 ). Therefore, travel is anticipated to have competition from other information-seeking activities as an object of diverse curiosity. This means that higher levels of diverse curiosity in the general population may not lead directly to higher interest in and frequency of travel. While the findings of the current study indicated that curiosity acts as a motivation to travel among people in their 60s; however, curiosity may motivate other information-seeking activities besides travelling in other age groups. Preference for travelling may also be induced by other cognitive traits, characteristics, age-related life events, or environmental factors, such as satisfaction with former travel experiences; however, this remains unclear from the present study.

We also need to inform the reader that our study was designed to assess the contribution of tourism to subjective wellbeing in the early stage of old age; this is why the subjects’ age range was limited to those in their 60s. This age range was set because of the already active travel status of people in this group, and intervention for subjective wellbeing in this age group is expected to be promising in terms of maintaining cognitive health. However, the relationship of tourism to subjective wellbeing may differ in the later stages of old age, due to socioeconomic status, health problems, or changes in epistemic curiosity level. In trait theory, it is generally assumed that personal traits, including curiosity, are relatively stable over time and consistent over situations. However, it has been suggested by some researchers that personality traits develop and change even through the later stages of life, and that the traits of extraversion and openness steadily decline at the end of life. It has also been reported that poor health results in this personality change (Wagner et al., 2016 ). Thus, personal psychological and physical states may affect personal traits in the long term, and this effect should be taken into account in future studies.

Another limitation is that the definition of travel/tourism is not specifically discussed in this study. The word ‘travel’ or ‘tourism’ (in Japanese, both words are represented by the term ryokou ) was used in the questionnaire, but the definition was dependent on the respondents’ own perspectives. We anticipated that participants would interpret travel using a classical definition, which would be unrelated to the purpose of sharing material through social networking services (SNSs, i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Since motives for sharing experiences through SNS may include a desire for self-revelation and recognition, travel may act as one resource for gaining such approval. Therefore, based on such motives, travel may not be the purpose itself, but rather a method. However, in our study, such motives were not seen in the responses to the questionnaire item asking about specific motives for travel. Thus, we expect that the definition of ‘travel’ used in this study did not closely reflect the motive of desire for approval.

Cultural differences may also exist in definitions of travel, and there may be other confounding factors in individual approaches to travel. Therefore, cultural background should be taken into account; further studies should be conducted in this respect.

Finally, we would like to reiterate that the current study was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, which drastically changed travel behaviour among the world population. The effects of the pandemic on communities, such as travel restrictions, lockdowns, social distancing, restrictions on gatherings, and severe health threat, have already altered the tourism industry and are expected to continue to change travel behaviour post-COVID-19. Thus, changing social conditions need to be considered in future studies.

The present study has demonstrated that diverse curiosity motivates early seniors to travel and that tourism promotes subjective wellbeing in older adults, even though subjective wellbeing is generally affected and predetermined by the personality of curiosity.

We have revealed that people with higher diverse curiosity are more highly motivated to travel and more dedicated to travelling and that their subjective wellbeing is positively affected by travel frequency. Our study thus adds the novel evidence that curiosity acts as a motivation to travel and also that frequency of travel contributes to subjective wellbeing.

Since higher subjective wellbeing plays a protective role toward cognition during aging, our study helps substantiate the potential role of travelling in maintaining public wellbeing. However, high specific curiosity, which may coexist with high diverse curiosity, may not always lead to positive effects of frequent travel. Therefore, unconditional targeted promotion of frequent travel may not be appropriate as an intervention to advance subjective wellbeing among the older adults; instead, promoting travelling for people with suitable personality traits may improve subjective public wellbeing. Additionally, the relationship among travel frequency, curiosity, and subjective wellbeing was modified by financial restrictions, demonstrating that tourism contributing to the subjective wellbeing of only the well-off older adult in general social settings. One way to promote broader subjective wellbeing may be financial assistance for travelling, such as social tourism initiatives to provide opportunities to travel for those otherwise unable to participate due to financial disadvantages.

To sum up the current study contributes to a better understanding of the contribution of tourism to subjective wellbeing among older adults. However, in reality, tourism’s involvement in subjective wellbeing may not be as simply modelled as our study proposes, and may include factors such as interpersonal relationships and dispositions. Therefore, further research is needed to investigate the relevant relationships in terms of other potential confounding factors.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available, but can be made available to individuals approved by the ethics committee of Tohoku University.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Club Tourism International Inc. We thank the staff from Club Tourism International Inc. who were involved in questionnaire acquisition and all our colleagues at Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, for their support.

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Tomoko Totsune & Yasuyuki Taki

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Drafting/revising the manuscript for content: T.T., I.M., and Y.T. Study design and concept: T.T., I.M. and Y.T. Analysis and interpretation of the data: T.T., I.M., and Y.T. Acquisition of the data: I.M. Obtaining funding: Y.T. Correspondence to T.T.

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Totsune, T., Matsudaira, I. & Taki, Y. Curiosity–tourism interaction promotes subjective wellbeing among older adults in Japan. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 8 , 69 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00748-3

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Why You Should Target the Senior Tourism Market

By Kyla Steeves

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What age group travels the most?

For the past fifteen or so years, Millennials (1981-1996) were most likely to go into debt for travel with an average of 35 vacation days per year . But the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) travel an average of 4-5 times per year and are more likely to afford it comfortably. 

And now that the world is slowly opening up again, we’re seeing some surprising senior tourism statistics.

According to a recent survey by Silver Travel Advisor , 77% of senior travelers plan to book and travel within 6 months of getting vaccinated and 46% of respondents said they will make the most of it by traveling as much as possible. Even going as far as saying that they’ve missed overseas travel more than hugging their grandchildren.

And Skift says numerous tour operators have seen an increase in bookings from older travelers already, such as Quasar Expeditions who are receiving inquiries for June onward with 70% of guests being over 65 or Wild Terrains who have seen a 40% jump in bookings, largely from women older than 55. 

So, if your ideal guest is on the younger side, perhaps you might want to try targeting the often overlooked, yet incredibly valuable senior market segment for the opportunity to boost your bookings and stand out from the competition. 

The importance of senior tourists

Beyond the pandemic, the senior tourism segment (ages 50+) has a huge impact on the travel industry. In 1999, over 593 million international travelers were 60 years and older, which accounted for around 1/3 of holiday spending. And this number is projected to reach 2 billion trips annually by 2050 — according to the World Tourism Organization . 

That’s because it’s estimated seniors will comprise nearly a quarter of the world’s population by 2050, compared to only 10% in 2000. Meaning that they will be responsible for more holiday spending in the future than all of the younger age groups combined. 

This is already proving to be true in the United Kingdom where people over 50 drive close to 60% of travel and tourism spend — spending $3 billion more than their Millennial counterparts. And it makes sense. Older travelers have a higher average disposable income and if retired, the free time to go on extended trips (8 weeks or longer).

So as the ageing population grows and becomes the most important tourist group due to their purchasing power and trip frequency, there will be a call for senior-friendly tourism products. Luckily for tour and activity operators, Baby Boomers love leisure travel , often seeking enriching and meaningful experiences, particularly sightseeing.

Why older people like to travel

There are many reasons why seniors choose to spend more of their income on travel and less on other things. Just like most other travelers, they too enjoy the rest and relaxation, sense of adventure, meeting new people, and seeing bucket list places. 

So, this tourism segment isn’t exactly homogeneous. Not in any way, shape, or form. Often, when we think of senior travelers, we picture cruise ship passengers, retiring at sea while traveling the world. But if you want to be successful in targeting them as part of your tour and travel marketing strategy , you must avoid resorting to stereotypes and instead find a niche within this demographic that makes sense for your business.

Because once you have a more accurate understanding of their travel motive — not a generalized assumption — you can better align your tours and marketing messaging.

While there is a broad spectrum of senior travelers, we can essentially break down this travel segment into two categories :

1. Young at heart

Senior travelers who are young-at-heart don’t let their age hold them back. Packing along great physical health and a zest for life, they shatter traditional assumptions by seeking out challenging experiences to push their limits and prove they’ve still got it. 

Valuing a sense of accomplishment and embracing life to the fullest, they are the ones who want to explore the ends of the Earth, immerse themselves into different cultures, and face their fears by doing things they never thought they could do before. 

So, you might see them staying at guest houses and mingling with younger travelers, visiting remote and off-the-beaten-path destinations, or participating in adrenalin-filled and adventurous activities, like rafting, canyoning, scuba diving, and skiing.  

2. Old at heart

On the other hand, senior travelers who are old-at-heart travel for the benefits it provides to their physical, mental, and social well-being. As a change up to their daily routine, they enjoy tourist activities that involve moving at a leisurely pace, learning new skills, expanding their knowledge, indulging in the finer things, and interacting with people. 

That’s why they tend to lean towards staying in luxury hotels or cozy BnBs, taking history tours, cooking classes, or dance lessons, and booking travel packages that guarantee the chance to socialize with other senior travelers while having transport, food, and other trip arrangements taken care of for them.

And since they might have some type of disability — almost 38% of people over 65 do — they are usually more concerned about security and danger, travel plans falling through, and hurting themselves or getting sick in an unfamiliar destination. 

So, this type of senior traveler often takes a more nostalgic approach to travel, visiting destinations they already know and love from a childhood vacation, honeymoon, or ancestry ties. Or, you’ll see them travelling with companions, such as friends, family, or senior clubs, ensuring that if anything were to happen, they’d have support. 

Senior-friendly tourism products

According to this study , the most popular tourist activities amongst the senior age group are city sightseeing (89.3%), visiting historical places (88.1%), restaurant dining (85.7%) and shopping (77.4%). Less popular tourist activities include hunting and fishing (1.2%), water sports and sunbathing (1.2%) and camping and hiking (3.5%).

But these senior tourism statistics don’t tell the whole picture. As I pointed out, not every senior traveler is the same. On one side, you might have someone who prefers adventure travel and on the other, someone who wants a more upscale experience. 

For example, a young-at-heart senior traveler might be more inclined to book a ranger-led nature walk in Yellowstone or a horseback riding tour along the beaches of Costa Rica. Whereas a senior in the old-at-heart group might opt for low physical activities, like wine tasting in Italy, taking a pottery class in Sante Fe, or going on a bus tour in Scotland. 

In other words, no tourism product’s a one-size-fits-all for senior travelers. Sure, there might be commonalities they look for — such as all-inclusive packages, hassle-free transport, quality over utility, and well-balanced food options. But for the most part, what appeals to them individually will vary across niches within this demographic. 

So, whether you offer budget vs luxury experiences, guided vs self-guided tours, or adventurous vs cultural activities, you already have the best tourism product for the right senior traveler. You just have to know how to reach them and speak their language.

That is unless you offer something totally extreme, like heli-skiing.

Senior tourism trends for marketing

Most senior travelers don’t like to think of themselves as senior travelers — unlike solo travelers who can’t stop talking about being solo travelers. That’s why they don’t respond well to ageist marketing . I’m referring to stock images showing their limited abilities or use of outdated technology. 

Instead, they need to see imagery of mature adults living their full lives. And who’s better than a tour or activity operator to promote that? You can share photos of seniors kayaking, hiking, dancing, socializing, learning, cooking, doing all the things they imagined doing more of as empty-nesters and retirees. 

But the real magic lies in your copy. Just as you’d point out specific benefits in your tour descriptions for your ideal guest, you can focus on a niche within the senior demographic and highlight the things they care about most in the experience, like:

• A leisurely pace
• Small group sizes or kid-free
• Chance to meet new people
• Range of activity levels 
• Included travel arrangements
• A rewarding challenge
• Authentic cultural experience
• Accessibility
• Wildlife photo opportunities
• Learning new skills 
• Deep dive into history
• Grandkid-friendly
• Flexible food choices
• Walking in ancestor’s footsteps
• Bucket list experience

TourRadar does this flawlessly in their senior messaging. Look at how they target both the young-at-heart and old-at-heart in the below tour description. 

At the same time, you’ll want to make sure to answer any questions they may have on your FAQ page. Since senior tourism is linked to accessible tourism, this will also help you be a more inclusive operator. Here are a few examples:

• Do I need to be physically fit to go on the tour?
• I am a solo traveler, will I need to pay a single supplement?
• I am over 75 years old, can I still join the tour?
• Are there bathrooms?
• Am I able to travel with a wheelchair?
• Can I take my medication with me?
• Can I reserve a specific seat on the coach bus?
• I have a sleep apnea machine, can I bring this with me?

Okay, but how do you reach the senior traveler once you have all of that in place? What marketing channels will you find the most success?

While Millenials are most influenced by online travel marketing , Baby Boomers come second as the group most influenced by travel ads , especially on Facebook, which is the most popular social media platform for seniors . For instance, History Well Traveled discovered that the older generation engages most with their Facebook ads. 

But seniors still spend less time on the internet than their younger counterparts. And many of them still prefer booking their trips through travel agencies. So, you might also want to consider expanding your travel partner network, including reaching out to hotels, DMOs, or other local businesses and promoting your tourism products through offline channels as well, such as newspapers, radio, or brochures. 

Final thoughts

The senior tourism market is often overlooked by tour and activity operators. But as the ageing population grows, they’ll be the top travel spenders in the future, and frankly, they already are. So, if you want to make the most of the upcoming travel boom and beyond, this might be one audience you should pay attention to.

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Travel Trends by Age Demographic: Age as the Key Factor in Tourism

Who Likes to Travel More: Older People or Younger People?

What inspires different age groups to travel, the most popular travel destinations by age demographic, booking trends by age groups, travel spending habits of different age groups, how does age affect travel and tourism, solo travel is on the rise.

As the travel and tourism industry keeps growing, travel trends keep changing . The switch to online solutions brought about one of the most significant changes in terms of booking. More and more people book their vacations with online travel agencies, as it’s easier, faster, and more convenient.

However, most of the latest travel trends have to do with different age groups and their changing habits regarding travel . Let’s dig deeper into those travel trends by age demographic to better understand who travels the most and how age affects their travel decisions.

Numerous studies published over the years have shown that younger people like to travel more than older people .

According to US travel statistics by Expedia Media Solutions published on Skift , millennials travel the most , with an average of 35 annual vacation days. Generation Z members follow closely behind, using approximately 29 days per year for their vacations.

With about 27 vacation days per year, baby boomers take third place, while Generation Xers use an average of 26 days per year for traveling.

Eurostat confirms that senior travelers in Europe also participate less in tourism . In 2018, only 15.5% of UK residents in the 55-64 age group participated in tourism, and 18.6% of people aged 65+.

Almost half (46%) of the European population aged 65+ didn’t travel in 2018 due to health reasons.

Despite health reasons, what else influences these differences in the frequency of travel ?

Well, older generations typically have more commitments, such as work and family. Younger people usually have more free time to travel, especially during school holidays.

However, the youngest generation travels the least because they have less time and finances than their older counterparts.

Expedia Media Solutions also researched the reasons why different age demographics travel.

Visiting family is the top reason why 67% of baby boomers and 56% of Generation Z travel. Relaxing is the number one reason why 55% of millennials and 51% of Generation Xers travel.

Other reasons include sightseeing, special events, and romantic getaways.

When it comes to younger generations, especially millennials, traveling is a way of meeting new people, learning about history and different cultures, and creating memorable experiences.

While some older people care about such experiences, too, most of them prefer visiting their family and friends.

As we age, we also seem to change our desires regarding visiting certain travel destinations. When we’re younger, we tend to visit more exotic places where we can have fun.

When we get older, we want a more laid-back journey where we can spend quality time with friends and  

family. That often means taking domestic trips, or at least shorter international trips.

According to AARP , the most popular international travel destinations of baby boomers in the US are the Caribbean, Mexico, and the British Isles , while California and F lorida remain their domestic favorites.

When it comes to senior UK residents aged 65+, they love visiting France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal , according to Avanti .

Groups Today found that the top travel destinations of millennials are Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Sydney, Buenos Aires, and San Francisco .

China has the most millennials globally – about 400 million – and most of them love traveling, too. Their top destinations are Hong Kong, Thailand, and South Korea , according to Jing Daily .

When it comes to older Chinese tourists , they prefer visiting Thailand, Japan, and Singapore .

The Expedia Media Solutions research above also found different travel trends by age demographic regarding booking and accommodation.

Most of the Generation Z members (90%) use social media to find sources for booking and accommodation for their vacations. Only 10% of baby boomers use social media for the same reasons, while 66% of them make booking and accommodation decisions after seeing online ads .

Online ads also influence millennials, with 72% making their travel decisions after clicking through.

Booking through online travel agencies is the most popular choice among millennials (53%) and Gen Xers (55%).

When it comes to spending habits, baby boomers tend to spend more on traveling than any other age group.

The Expedia Media Solutions poll showed that they were willing to spend an average of $6,600 per year for all their trips.

Millennials weren’t too far behind, with plans to spend $5,000 or more on traveling. Generation Z had plans to spend approximately $2,628 .

As we age, we tend to change our mindset about exploring the world. We still want to see the world, but we prefer to take trips in a leisurely manner and stay longer to explore new places fully.

That’s why baby boomers usually take the longest trips .

Younger generations typically want more excitement, and they’re not often tied to the budget. They prefer all-inclusive bookings , as they’re primarily looking for relaxation and comfort .

So, whether it’s luxury trips or more affordable yet longer trips, both strengthen the tourism industry.

According to Condor Ferries , solo travel bookings have increased by 42% in the past couple of years.

In the US, 58% of millennials prefer solo travel , as opposed to 47% of older people .

Again, millennials are all about new and exciting experiences and embracing the YOLO lifestyle . So, traveling alone, on their own terms, only inspires them to keep exploring the world and checking items off their bucket list.

These travel trends by age demographic are quite insightful and can significantly help provide a better customer journey to travelers in different age groups.

So, whether you’re a hotel distributor or a travel wholesaler, or you run a travel agency, consider these useful stats. They’ll help you optimize your marketing and the booking process, boost sales, and take your business to a whole new level.

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Marc Truyols has a degree in Tourism from the University of the Balearic Islands. Marc has extensive experience in the leisure, travel and tourism industry. His skills in negotiation, hotel management, customer service, sales and hotel management make him a strong business development professional in the travel industry.

Mize is the leading hotel booking optimization solution in the world. With over 170 partners using our fintech products, Mize creates new extra profit for the hotel booking industry using its fully automated proprietary technology and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue across its suite of products for its partners. Mize was founded in 2016 with its headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices worldwide.

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Senior Tourism: Understanding the Essence and Practice of Organization

• Published: 18 February 2020
• Volume 9 , pages 483–489, ( 2019 )

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• V. A. Zolotovskiy 1 &
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The paper considers the problem of population aging and the impact of this multifaceted process on the developing tourism industry. The authors focus on the influence of population aging on the methods of the creation and the essential content of a new tourist product. The decisive role of the senior tourists’ needs is considered separately. In addition, certain gender preferences of third-age people are noted, since it is they who create consumer demands that are becoming mandatory for the tourism industry. The new social and economic roles of senior-age people are a serious problem that urgently needs to be resolved.

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The Impact of Ageing on the Tourism Industry: An Approach to the Senior Tourist Profile

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Senior Tourism in Europe: When There Are “No Boundaries”

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Zolotovskiy, V.A., Stelnik, Y.V. Senior Tourism: Understanding the Essence and Practice of Organization. Adv Gerontol 9 , 483–489 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079057019040179

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Accepted : 29 November 2018

Published : 18 February 2020

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079057019040179

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Why Women Over 40 Are The New Face of Adventure Tourism

A leesah Williams fell in love with traveling after going on a seven-day cruise in 2012. Years later, at 41 years old, her desire for adventure tourism has grown even more than when she was younger. 

“At 40, for me, it came with a freedom that I wanted to do all the things I wanted to experience,” Williams said. “You can do what you want.” 

Williams isn’t alone in seeking out thrills and adventure tourism after 40. The global face of adventure tourism is changing. According to data from the Adventure Travel Association , 57 percent of travelers who book through tourism companies are women. Co-founder of Women High On Adventure, Allison Fleece, told the Washington Post that a large percentage of those women seeking out adventure are over the age of 40. 

“We definitely see a lot of travelers in their 40s and 50s prioritizing adventure travel for themselves,” Fleece said in her interview with the Washington Post. “It’s not a beach vacation our travelers are after when they choose to travel with us. There’s usually a greater purpose involved.”

Older Women Are Gravitating Towards Adventure

African-American women over age 40 are also flocking towards more adventurous excursions while traveling. An avid traveler, Williams has visited destinations like Athen, Cozumel, the Bahamas, and over a dozen other destinations around the world . Adventurous experiences like swimming with dolphins, riding ATVs, and snorkeling have been a few highlights that keep her seeking out thrills while vacationing. 

“I usually gravitate towards adventure for sure,” she said. “For myself, I love to do things out of the ordinary that I saw when I was younger and couldn’t afford it.”

For Williams, traveling over 40 allows her to explore the world more easily. She feels a greater sense of freedom and knows herself much better than in her younger years. 

Travel writer, Sheryl Nance-Nash, has developed a sweet tooth for adventure. Despite being over 60 years old, Nance-Nash hasn’t let age stop her from experiencing the joys of adventure traveling. Whether it’s spelunking through ancient caves in Belize or parasailing in foreign waters, the thrills of adventure tourism are unmatched for older women. 

“Whether it’s going into a cave or jumping off into a cenote or going parasailing, that’s like a thrill you’ve never experienced,” Nance-Nash said. “And we want that.”

“Do It Now, Or Never”

Nance-Nash believes the rise in older women seeking out adventure tourism is the result of their “do it now or never” mentality. She says many of them are accustomed to so much routine in their daily lives that vacations allow them the chance to have experiences they’ll remember forever. Although she was more courageous in her youth, conquering adventures after 60 fills her with satisfaction.

“You’re limber, and flexible, and about 30 pounds less so it’s a little easier to be adventurous,” she said. “But you know what, the satisfaction as you’re older and doing it makes you feel like ‘I still got game’. So that alone is confirmation that you sometimes need.”

Beyond the excitement of new experiences, Nance-Nash also enjoys the high of accomplishing a feat she seemed unsure that she could. She remembers diving in a cenote in Mexico where she kept sinking to the bottom. Fear set in as she reached the top and had to climb a rope before reaching the surface. Despite being afraid, the joy of finishing the excursion was enough to inspire her for the rest of her trip. 

“It just sort of makes you think, if I can do this I can also deal with tough stuff in my life,” she said. “If you push through, that applies everywhere.”

Seizing The Day No Matter Your Age

One company encouraging travelers to seize the day and experience more adventure on vacations is Thunderstruck Adventures. Founded by professional snowboarder Clay Hockel, the company has seen a surge in older women looking for adventure. 

“There’s been a noticeable increase in bookings from older women, reflecting a broader trend in adventure tourism,” Hockel said. “Many are seeking empowering experiences that challenge them and provide a sense of accomplishment.”

Hockel agrees that older women are burnt out by the everyday routine of normal life. Adventure tourism lets them reconnect with the thrill of discovery while also encouraging personal growth. To accommodate these adventurous travelers, Thunderstruck offers a variety of women’s clinics to help build travelers’ confidence and skill levels before embarking on adventure excursions. 

“I’ve observed that older women bring a sense of adventure and a desire to embrace new experiences that significantly enrich their lives,” he said. 

In addition to finding new chances to grow and discover, Nance-Nash believes it’s important for more older Black women to be seen enjoying adventure tourism. This helps change the perception that Black women are one-dimensional and that they exist in spaces where the world may not expect to see them, like swimming with the sharks, wandering through the African safari, and skydiving while on vacation. 

“Anytime we can go and do what’s not expected of us, that changes perceptions, and that’s a good thing,” she said. 

Knowing that adventure travel is good for the soul, Nance-Nash encourages older women to give adventure tourism a try. She says the best approach is to take baby steps but that the satisfaction upon completion is worth it. 

“Every small victory will give you the courage to take on the next activity,” she said.

Why parents take young kids to Disney World, even if they won’t remember it

Nadia Ramos’ toddler had no idea Walt Disney World existed, but she got excited every time she saw the Disney+ logo or Disney castle on screen before a movie.

“We kept thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what if we actually took her to go see the actual castle and took her to Disney?’” recalled the 28-year-old from Texas. ”At first, we thought it was kind of a crazy idea because we didn't know what to expect. But we figured, why not? I mean, she's just going to be little one time. We might as well take her and make a trip out of it.”

Disney World is free to visit for children under the age of 3, making the already popular destination especially appealing to young families.

“Families looking to create a boundless collection of memories with their little ones can experience it all at Walt Disney World Resort – everything from legendary entertainment and world-class service to hidden gems around every corner that make acting like a kid just as special as being a kid,” the Florida resort shared in a statement with USA TODAY. 

Is it worth it ? 

Making memories

“It's definitely worth it,” said Nykeisha Stainback of North Carolina, whose three kids range from ages 2 to 8.

She first took her eldest and middle children to Disney World when they were each 2 ½ years old and her youngest at 8 weeks.

“When (people) say they won't remember, it doesn't matter. I will remember it,” said the 28-year-old mom. “It's something that will always be a core memory for yourself as an adult, to be able to bring that magic to your kids’ eyes.”

Stainback recalled her youngest swooning over Disney princesses and not wanting to let go of Anna when he was 1.

“For the moment they believe that Tinkerbell is real, for the moment that they believe Princess Tiana, she's real, just soak in it, adore it,” she said. “Soak in that moment when they are little because that magic isn't going to be there forever.”

Ashley Douglas of Georgia started taking her kids to Disney World when they were each 5 months old. They’re now 5 and 7 years old and visit annually.

“As soon as they could walk, we have videos of both just running to Mickey and just being so excited and hugging him,” said Douglas, 33. “They've always loved the parades and the characters and just seeing things and not necessarily even riding things.”

Ramos’ 18-month-old took it all in.

“She loved all the rides that we got on. She didn’t get scared for one bit.” Ramos said. And she loved the fireworks. “That was her first time seeing fireworks, and she just kept looking at everything, and then she’d turned back, making sure we were watching, and she’d just go back and turn back to the fireworks, and she’d start clapping.”

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Making the most of it

That doesn’t mean everything will be breezy. Even though the parks offer numerous resources for parents and guardians of young children, like baby care centers and rider switch services at attractions, there will inevitably be hiccups with young kids.

On one trip, Stainback’s daughter caught a stomach bug and kept getting sick as they headed home to North Carolina.

“Never go to Disney by yourself with a toddler and a baby,” Stainback said with a laugh. “I gotta be honest. I was crying at the end of that trip.”

Ramos, from Texas, recalled her daughter not wanting to be in line for Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Ride queues can be tough on little ones who don’t know why they’re in a line or what’s coming up ahead. 

“‘It’s going to be worth it, I promise,’ we kept telling her,” Ramos said, noting that once they got on the ride, her daughter had a great time. 

The toddler also got a little fussy in the summer heat, but Ramos said portable fans helped a lot. They also took midday breaks back at their hotel, where her daughter napped in the air conditioning and got freshened up for a second round in the parks.

“We tried to make the best of it during her tantrums and during any bad moment,” Ramos said.

Douglas, from Georgia, said her family never goes back to the hotel for breaks, only because they probably wouldn’t return to the parks. Instead, her kids rest in a stroller.

“That's just a place for them if you're walking around and they want to take a little nap or they just want to sit down because it's so much walking, even for us as adults,” she said. “Stroller 100%.”

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Going with the flow

Douglas lets her kids take the lead on their Disney trips.

“If they want to wait in a long line for something, then we'll wait, and if they don't feel like it, then we won’t,” she said. “Then, at the end of the day, we didn't miss out on anything. We just got to do exactly what they wanted to do.”

They do schedule a few things, but they’ve never purchased Genie+ . Instead, Douglas checks attraction wait times and show times on Disney World’s free My Disney Experience app.

Other guests prefer to plan everything out, booking dining reservations as soon as they open 60 days out and making checklists of everything they’d like to see, eat and do. 

“If planning makes you feel better and that's something that you need, then obviously do that, but I would just be realistic and know that this is a lot for them, it’s a lot for you, being around crowds and all these new things,” Douglas said.

“You're not going to get everything done,” Stainback affirmed. “It is OK. Definitely just go with the flow. You’ll stress yourself out more trying to make it magical.” 

Ramos’ plans fell apart at times, but she said that’s to be expected with kids so young. 

“I mean, it was hard at some points, but just those good moments were just so good that it made the entire trip worth it,” she said.

Visiting Disney World with toddlers, babies

Several resources are available across Disney World for guests with young children:

◾ Each theme park has a baby care center with private nursing rooms and changing stations. Essentials like diapers and formula are available for purchase.

◾ Rider switch is available at select attractions so parents and guardians can take turns staying with kids who may not meet the height requirement or want to ride the ride, while the rest of the party enjoys it.

◾ Children under the age of 3 can eat for free at buffet and family-style venues. 

◾ Mobile ordering is available at many quick-service dining locations, so parents and guardians don’t have to wait in long lines with little ones.

◾ Outside food and nonalcoholic drinks are allowed in the park.

◾ Laundry service is available across Disney World resort hotels if guests want to pack less or wash anything.

◾ Cribs and pack-n-plays are complimentary at all Disney World resort hotels.

◾ Strollers are available to rent at all four theme parks and Disney Springs.

◾ Splash pads and other outdoor play areas are available across the parks and resort hotels.

Eve Chen is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Atlanta. You can reach her at [email protected] .