Abstract
Importance of senior travellers as travel segment for the tourism industry increases continuously as the number of pensioners increases. These new senior travellers differ from earlier generations in many ways, one being increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies as part of their information search process. This study examines senior travellers as users of online travel services such as websites. A qualitative approach is chosen to provide insights into the topic and nine Finnish pensioners are interviewed. The results are analysed using content analysis. The results show that the senior travellers are a very heterogeneous segment regarding online travel services. However, there is no special marketing or website design that senior travellers really need but a good website also caters for the needs of younger as well as older consumers. More attention has to be paid to use of pictures and colours on websites as well as instructions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amadeus. (2007). Future traveller tribes 2020. Report for the air travel industry. Developed by Henley Centre Headlight Vision in partnership with Amadeus. Accessed November 21, 2013, from http://www.amadeus.com/amadeus/documents/corporate/TravellerTribes.pdf
Czaja, S., Sharit, J., Ownby, R., Roth, D., & Nair, S. (2001). Examining age differences in performance of a complex information search and retrieval task. Psychology and Aging, 16(4), 564–579.
Dinet, J., Brangier, E., Michel, G., Vivian, R., Battisti, S., & Doller, R. (2007). Older people as information seekers: Exploratory studies about their needs and strategies. In C. Stephanidis (Ed.), Universal access in human-computer interaction: Coping with diversity. Berlin: Springer.
Eriksson, P., & Kovalainen, A. (2008). Qualitative methods in business research. London: Sage.
Faranda, W., & Schmidt, S. (2000). Segmentation and the senior traveler: Implications for today’s and tomorrow’s aging consume. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 8(1), 3–27.
Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy. (2006). Suomen matkailustrategia vuoteen 2020 and Toimenpideohjelma vuosille 2007–2013. Elinkeino-osasto. KTM Julkaisuja 21/2006. Accessed November 20, 2013, from http://julkaisurekisteri.ktm.fi/ktm_jur/ktmjur.nsf/All/3D61DB118241A034C22571800022FEC4/$file/jul21elo_2006_netti.pdf
Fodness, D., & Murray, B. (1997). Tourist information search. Annals of Tourism Research, 24(3), 503–523.
Gitelson, R. J., & Crompton, J. L. (1983). The planning horizons and sources of information used by pleasure vacationers. Journal of Travel Research, 21(3), 2–7.
Gummesson, E. (2000). Qualitative method in management research (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Hartman, J. D., & Qu, H. (2007). Senior travel market: Do’s and don’ts. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism, 8(2), 67–81.
Horneman, L., Carter, R. W., Wei, S., & Ruy, H. (2002). Profiling the senior traveler: An Australian perspective. Journal of Travel Research, 41(1), 23–37.
Javalgi, R., Edward, T., & Rao, S. R. (1992). Consumer behavior in the U.S. pleasure travel marketplace: An analysis of senior and non-senior travelers. Journal of Travel Research, 31(2), 14–20.
Johnson, M. (1990). Age difference in decision making: A process methodology for examining strategic information processing. Journal of Gerontology, 45(2), 75–78.
Klein, L., & Ford, G. (2003). Consumer search for information in the digital age: An empirical study of prepurchase search for automobiles. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 17(3), 29–49.
Kohijoki, A.-M., & Marjanen, H. (2013). The effect of age on shopping orientation – Choice orientation types of the ageing shoppers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 20(2), 165–172.
Kurniawan, S., King, A., Evans, D., & Blenkhorn, P. (2006). Personalising web page presentation for older people. Interacting with Computers, 18(3), 457–477.
Lambert-Pandraud, R., & Laurent, G. (2010). Why do older consumers buy older brands? The role of attachment and declining innovativeness. Journal of Marketing, 74(5), 104–121.
Lambert-Pandraud, R., Laurent, G., & Lapersonne, E. (2005). Repeat purchasing of new automobiles by older consumers: Empirical evidence and interpretations. Journal of Marketing, 69, 97–113.
Laslett, P. (1987). The emergence of the third age. Ageing and Society, 7(2), 133–160.
Lohmann, M., & Danielsson, J. (2001). Predicting travel patterns of senior citizens: How the past may provide a key to the future. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 7(4), 357–366.
Luo, M., Feng, R., & Cai, L. (2004). Information search behaviour and tourist characteristics. The internet vis-à-vis other information sources. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 17(2–3), 15–25.
Moschis, G. P. (2003a). Marketing strategies for the mature market. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Moschis, G. P. (2003b). Marketing to older adults: An updated view of present knowledge and practice. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 20(6), 516–525.
Newbold, K. B., Scott, D. M., Spinney, J. E. L., Kanaroglou, P., & Paez, A. (2005). Travel behaviour within Canada’s older population: A cohort analysis. Journal of Transport Geography, 13(4), 340–351.
Niemelä-Nyrhinen, J. (2007). Baby boom consumers and technology: Shooting down stereotypes. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(5), 305–312.
Nielsen, K. (2014). Approaches to seniors’ tourist behaviour. Tourism Review, 69(2), 111–121.
Norman, W., Daniels, M., McGuire, F., & Norman, C. (2001). Whither the mature market: An empirical examination of the travel motivations of neo-mature and veteran-mature markets. Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, 8(3/4), 113–130.
Reece, W. (2004). Are senior leisure travellers different? Journal of Travel Research, 43(1), 11–18.
Reisenwitz, T., & Iyer, R. (2007). A comparison of younger and older baby boomers: Investigating the viability of cohort segmentation. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(4), 202–213.
Reisenwitz, T., Iyer, R., Kuhlmeier, D. B., & Eastman, J. K. (2007). The elderly’s internet usage: An updated look. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(7), 406–418.
Sedgley, D., Pritchard, A., & Morgan, N. (2011). Tourism and ageing. A transformative research agenda. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(2), 422–436.
Statistics Finland. (2012a). Internetin käytön muutokset. Tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttö -tutkimus 2012. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. Accessed November 8, 2013, from http://www.stat.fi/til/sutivi/2012/sutivi_2012_2012-11-07_kat_001_fi.html
Statistics Finland. (2012b). Verkkokauppa. Tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttö -tutkimus 2012. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. Accessed November 25, 2013, from http://www.stat.fi/til/sutivi/2012/sutivi_2012_2012-11-07_kat_002_fi.html
Statistics Finland. (2012c). Internetin käyttö muualla kuin kotona tai työpaikalla 2012. Tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttö -tutkimus 2012. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. Accessed November 20, 2013, from http://www.stat.fi/til/sutivi/2012/sutivi_2012_2012-11-07_kat_003_fi.html
Statistics Finland. (2012d). Yhteisöpalvelujen käyttö. Tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttö -tutkimus 2012. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. Accessed November 18, 2013, from http://www.stat.fi/til/sutivi/2012/sutivi_2012_2012-11-07_kat_004_fi.html
Sudbury, L., & Simcock, P. (2009a). A multivariate segmentation model of senior consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 26(4), 251–262.
Sudbury, L., & Simcock, P. (2009b). Understanding older consumers through cognitive age and the list of values: A UK perspective. Psychology and Marketing, 26(1), 22–38.
Vigolo, V., & Confente, I. (2014). Older tourists: An exploratory study on online behaviour. In Z. Xiang & I. Tussydiah (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism. ENTER 2014 proceedings (pp. 439–452). Heidelberg: Springer.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Council of South Savo/the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Operational Programme for Eastern Finland.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Pesonen, J., Komppula, R., Riihinen, A. (2015). Senior Travellers as Users of Online Travel Services: A Qualitative Enquiry. In: Tussyadiah, I., Inversini, A. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14343-9_60
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14343-9_60
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14342-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-14343-9
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)