Senior and non-senior traveller behaviour: some exploratory evidence from the holiday rental sector in Switzerland

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test a number of hypotheses concerning the differences between senior and non-senior travelers in the particular context of holiday rentals. A further aim is to provide exploratory evidence for these differences. Design/methodology/approach – A brief review of the extant literature leads into the formulation of some hypotheses. The hypotheses are tested using survey data. Data from the same survey are used to explore further data. Findings – It was possible not only to find some evidence to support the hypotheses, but also to find significant differences between the preferences of seniors and non-seniors, as well as between pre-seniors and seniors. Thus, pre-seniors exhibit a higher willingness to pay for holiday rentals than seniors, whereas seniors have a higher preference for domestic travel. Seniors are less interested in technology than other age groups. Originality/value – This paper reports on survey findings for a segment of the tourism market that has received practically no attention in the literature – the holiday rental market. The results pave the way for further investigations within this segment

Between past, present and future – implications of socio-demographic changes in tourism.

This paper discusses the possibilities and limits of today’s tourism industry analyses regarding the predicted future travel behaviour on the basis of socio-demographic changes. Based on a written survey of German-speaking visitors of a destination in Switzerland, the results support the thesis of cohort-specific travel behaviour. The highlighted changes shall serve as a source for the development of a more diversified supply structure in tourism directed to the mature customer

Senior and non-senior traveller behaviour: some exploratory evidence from the holiday rental sector in Switzerland.

An important number of studies have been made concerning life course variation in travel and leisure behaviour, often from the point of view of the travel life cycle. Whilst many facets of travel and leisure have been discussed, there is a quasi total lack of literature on the particular sector of holiday rentals, despite the importance of that sector. Given the demographic ageing currently taking place in many European countries, it becomes important not just to further pursue research on age as it relates to travel behaviour, but also to extend the analysis to other areas of tourism than those most frequently studied. In this paper we formulate a number of hypotheses concerning the willingness to pay for holiday rentals and travel preferences, which we subsequently test, using a survey of Swiss households. We find evidence to support our hypotheses and find significant differences between both non-seniors and seniors, as well as between younger and older seniors

How to create superior value in sustainable tourism: An exploratory study

Extensive research and practical implementation concerning the value of natural resources has thus far been conducted when one considers for example wildlife-, eco- and cultural tourism, however many of these values originate from industry and government perspective. This paper proposes the investment of minimal and sustainable resources in creating superior values from a customers’ perspective when visiting a national park. It proposes case studies in the Grand Canyon National Park (US), the Grampians National Park (OZ) and the Swiss National Park (CH) to highlight the significance of particular values of park visitors and how these values can be enhanced by using minimal resources to create superior value. A series of propositions and research process can be practically applied so as to further progress the research agenda relating to perceived value in sustainable tourism

Older people in unfamiliar environments: Assimilating a multi-disciplinary literature to a planning problem

This article considers aspects of the assimilation of academic research to town planning guidelines and policies, in particular research conducted in terms, and with methodologies, remote from practical town planning processes. It grew out of an interdisciplinary project examining the experience of older people in unfamiliar spaces, and drew on a wide literature dealing with spatial experience from a range of perspectives. The project sought to retrieve a set of outcomes from the interdisciplinary environment of enquiry for use in the town planning process, requiring the translation of a complex knowledge base to a clear framework, and raising issues about how the richness and diversity of the original research might be preserved during this process. The article concludes that the straightforward translation of knowledge from a range of disciplines into practical policy outcomes cannot reasonably be achieved without a re-consideration of the scope of policy-related discourse