Age and Cohort Effects: An Examination of Older Japanese Travelers

Summary

The older travel market will make up a larger proportion of the travel market in the near future with profound impact on market size and potential. This research addressed the issue whether travelers’ behavior changes over time through longitudinal and cohort comparisons of older Japanese outbound travelers in terms of travel propensity, destination activity participation and travel philosophy. Both the age effect and generation cohort effect were tested and the underlining patterns of the destination activity participation patterns relative to other age groups and previous generation cohorts were identified. The findings indicated that the older travel market is becoming more active compared to 10 years before. Travel characteristics of this market also change over time.

Key Words:

• Older traveler
• Japanese tourists
• market segmentation