Senior tourists’ self-determined motivations, tour preferences, memorable experiences and subjective well-being: An integrative hierarchical model

By Lintje Sie, S. Pegg, K. Phelan. 2021

114 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract The senior travel market continues to grow in size and market influence. Yet few studies have assessed the factors that influence individual choices, or travel experiences and outcomes as a whole. This study empirically examined the links between senior tourists’ self-determined motivations, tour preferences, memorable experiences, and life satisfaction as a result of travel. A hierarchical model was tested using data collected from Australian tourists aged 50 years and older who had participated in educational packaged tours. Study results revealed that many individuals derived a range of psychological benefits that remained with the traveller long after the actual trip had been completed. Memorable experiences and perceived benefits were found to meditate the relationships between motivations or tour preferences and the life satisfaction of the senior tourists. The study contributes to the tourism and hospitality field by extending our current knowledge of senior tourist experiences, and how these serve to enhance the eudaimonic dimension of their subjective well-being. The theoretical and practical implications of such are outlined, as are suggestions for future research.

Subfields: Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b6d8cad332e810a436a7f38877c3631a17fb5438