Senior tourists’ motivations for visiting cultural destinations: a cluster approach

ABSTRACT

This study sought to contribute to the existing knowledge of consumer psychology regarding senior tourism in cultural destinations by improving the existing understanding of seniors’ motivations and related psychological processes. The research objectives were to outline a model of senior tourists’ push and pull motivations, which includes their emotions and satisfaction in cultural destinations; to understand the selection process of tourist attractions and activities in these destinations; and to identify clusters of seniors based on their emotions and level of satisfaction during visits. A theoretical model was created to analyse motivations and travel factors. The data collected facilitated the identification of four senior tourist clusters based on sociodemographic and psychographic differences. Various theoretical and managerial implications are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Senior tourism
• tourist motivations
• emotions
• tourist satisfaction
• tourist intentions

Acknowledgments

This paper is financed by FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04020/2020.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Artur Parreira

Artur Parreira is Professor at Universidade Santa Úrsula Brazil and Researcher at CPES- Research Center and Social Studies, Lisbon, Portugal. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology of Health at Work. In his career he has published extensively in international journals and books and was supervisor of Master’s and Ph.D. students. His research interests focus on management, psychology, political behaviour and Eeucation.

Maria Helena Pestana

Maria Helena Pestana has a Ph.D. in quantitative methods applied to Management and is Assistant Professor of ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal. She participates regularly in funded research projects and is author of several books on statistical methods and articles in international journals. Her research interests include: Econometrics, tourism, senior tourism, big data analysis, and social network analysis.

José Antonio C. Santos

José António C. Santos, Ph.D., is Senior Lecturer at the University of the Algarve, Portugal, and a researcher of the Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs). He has long working experience in international, multicultural environments, and has participated in EU-funded projects, including the creation of bachelor and master’s courses in sustainable tourism in three universities in China. He is the chair of the TMS Algarve Conferences on tourism and management, and is conducting research in the following areas: sustainability in tourism and hospitality, event sustainability, senior tourism, and gastronomy in tourism.

Manuel A. Fernández-Gámez

Manuel A. Fernández-Gámez, Ph.D., is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of Finance and Accounting, Director of the Sustainable Economy and Finance Chair, and Director of the Financial Management Master of the University of Málaga, Spain. Also, he is researcher at the Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being, Portugal. He has published more than 40 articles in refereed journals in the fields of bankruptcy prediction, corporate reputation, tourism management, and emotional intelligence. His research interests include cruise tourism, corporate reputation, financial performance, economic growth, and artificial intelligence.