The senior tourism market has received increased attention as the importance of this market segment becomes more evident. However, limited efforts have been devoted to understanding psychological aspects of senior tourists. The primary objectives of this research are to investigate seniors' affect and travel motivation as well as interrelationships between these two constructs and to discover the effects of affect and motivation on travel intentions of seniors aged 65 or greater. Using Taiwanese seniors as the study sample, the authors identify “novelty seeking” as the most important travel motivation factor from five extracted factors. It is also found that both positive and negative affective states have significant impacts on travel motivations and that only positive affect is significantly related to future travel intention. Among motivation factors, novelty-seeking not only can be stimulated by affect but also arouses travel intention. The findings of this exploratory study provide empirical support to understand psychological aspects of senior travelers.
Ahmad, R. (2002). The older or ageing consumers in the UK: Are they really that different? International Journal of Market Research , 44, 337-360.
2.
Ahmad, R. (2003). Benefit segmentation: A potentially useful technique of segmenting and targeting older consumers. International Journal of Market Research, 45, 373-388.
3.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
Anderson, J.C., & Gerbing, D.W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin , 103, 411-423.
5.
Badinelli, K., Davis, N., & Gustin, L. (1991, September 9). Senior travel study. Hotel and Motel Management, 206, 31-34.
6.
Bai, B., Jang, S., Cai, L.A., & O'Leary, J.T. (2001). Determinants of travel mode choice of senior travelers to the United States. Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, 8, 147-168.
7.
Bai, B., Smith, W., Cai, L.A., & O'Leary, J.T. (1999). Sensitive senior market: Looking at travel behaviors. In K. Chon (Ed.), The practice of graduate research in hospitality and tourism (pp. 75-89). New York: Haworth Hospitality Press.
8.
Baloglu, S., & Uysal, M. (1996). Market segments of push and pull motivations: A canonical correlation approach. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 8, 32-38.
9.
Beaton, D.E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Bosi-Ferraz, M. (2000). Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine , 25, 3186-3191.
10.
Berkman, H., Lindquist, J., & Sirgy, M.J. (1997). Consumer behavior: Concepts and marketing strategy . Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books.
11.
Bieger, T., & Laesser, C. (2002). Market segmentation by motivation: The case of Switzerland. Journal of Travel Research, 41, 68-76.
12.
Blazey, M.A. (1987). The differences between participants and nonparticipants in a senior travel program. Journal of Travel Research, 26, 7-12.
13.
Blazey, M.A. (1992). Travel and retirement status. Annals of Tourism Research, 19, 771-783.
14.
Bower, G. (1981). Mood and memory. American Psychologist , 36, 129-148.
15.
Bradburn, N.M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine.
16.
Brög, W., Erl, E., & Glorius, B. (1998, November 19-20). Transport and the ageing of the population. Paper presented at the 112th Round Table of Transport Economics in the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), Paris, France.
17.
Cho, S.M. (2002). Comparative analysis of mature travelers on the basis of Internet use. Retrieved January 22, 2004, from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-03272002-151445/unrestricted/content.pdf
18.
Cleaver, M., Green, B.C., & Muller, T.E. (2000). Using consumer behavior research to understand the baby boomer tourist. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 24, 274-287.
19.
Cohen, J.B., & Areni, C.S. (1991). Affect and consumer behavior. In T. S. Robertson & H. H. Kassarjian (Eds.), Handbook of consumer theory and research (pp. 188-240). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
20.
Corsini, R. (1984). Encyclopedia of psychology. New York: Wiley.
21.
Crompton, J.L. (1979). Motivations for pleasure vacation. Annals of Tourism Research, 6, 408-424.
22.
Dann, G.M.S. (1977). Anomie, ego-enhancement and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 4, 184-194.
23.
Dann, G.M.S. (1981). Tourist motivation: An appraisal. Annals of Tourism Research, 8, 187-219.
24.
Day, G.S. (1969). A two dimensional concept of brand loyalty. Journal of Advertising Research, 9, 29-35.
25.
DiClemente, C.C., Prochaska, J.O., Fairhurst, S., Velicer, W.F., Rossi, J.S., & Velasquez, M. (1991). The process of smoking cessation: An analysis of precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation stages of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 295-304.
26.
Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1996). Most people are happy. Psychological Science, 7, 181-185.
27.
Diener, E., & Emmons, R.A. (1984). The independence of positive and negative affect . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1105-1117.
28.
Diener, E., Suh, E.M., Lucas, R.E., & Smith, H.L. (1999). Subjective well being: Three decades of progress . Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276-302.
29.
European Conference of Ministers of Transport. ( 2001, April 24). Council of Ministers: Report on transport and ageing of the population. Retrieved February 19, 2005, from http://www.1.oecd.org/cem/online/council/2001/CM0116e.pdf
30.
Faranda, W., & Schmidt, S. (1999). Segmentation and the senior traveler: Implications for today's and tomorrow's aging consumer. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 8, 3-27.
31.
Fishbein, M. (1967). Readings in attitude theory and measurement. New York: Wiley.
32.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
33.
Fleischer, A., & Pizam, A. (2002). Tourism constraints among Israeli seniors. Annals of Tourism Research, 29, 106-123.
34.
Fodness, D. (1994). Measuring tourist motivation. Annals of Tourism Research, 21, 555-581.
35.
Frijda, N.H. (1986). The emotions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
36.
Frijda, N.H. (1993). Moods, emotion, episodes, and emotions. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 381-403). London: Guildford Press.
37.
Fu, Y., & Parks, S. (2001). The relationship between restaurant service quality and consumer loyalty among the elderly. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 25, 320-326.
38.
Gartner, W.C. (1993). Image information process. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 2, 191-215.
39.
Gilbert, D., & Abdullah, J. (2004). Holidaytaking and the sense of well-being. Annals of Tourism Research, 31, 103-121.
40.
Gilbert, D., & Terrata, M. (2001). An exploratory study of factors of Japanese tourism demand for the UK. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13, 70-78.
41.
Gnoth, J. (1997). Tourism motivation and expectation formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 24, 283-304.
42.
Goebel, B.L., & Brown, D.R. (1981). Age differences in motivation related to Maslow's need hierarchy. Developmental Psychology, 17, 809-815.
43.
Goossens, C. (2000). Tourism information and pleasure motivation. Annals of Tourism Research, 27, 301-321.
44.
Hagan, L.A., & Uysal, M. (1991). An examination of motivations and activities of pre-retirement (50-64) and post-retirement (65-98) age groups for a touring group. Paper presented at the Twenty-Second Annual Conference of the Travel and Tourism Research Association, Long Beach, CA.
45.
Hair, J.F., Jr., Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L., & Black, W.C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
46.
Hosmer, D.W., & Lemeshow, S. (1989). Applied logistic regression. New York: John Wiley.
47.
Hsu, C.H.C. (2000a). Determinants of mature travelers' motorcoach tour satisfaction and brand loyalty. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 24, 223-238.
48.
Hsu, C.H.C. (2000b, February). Mature travelers' motorcoach tour selection and satisfaction. Retrieved January 22, 2004, from http://www.ntfonline.org/researchResources/display.cfm?data_id=1826
49.
Huang, L., & Tsai, H.-T. (2002). The study of travel consumer behavior of the mature market (in Chinese). Tourism Management Research, 2(1), 79-100.
50.
Huang, L., & Tsai, H.-T. (2003). The study of senior traveler behavior in Taiwan . Tourism Management, 24, 561-574.
51.
Iso-Ahola, S.E. (1980). The social psychology of leisure and recreation . Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown .
52.
Iso-Ahola, S.E. (1982). Towards a social psychology of tourist motivation: A rejoinder. Annals of Tourism Research, 9, 256-261.
53.
Iso-Ahola, S.E. (1983). Toward a social psychology of recreational travel . Leisure Studies, 2, 45-56.
54.
Jang, S., & Cai, L.A. (2002). Travel motivations and destination choice: A study of British outbound market. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 13, 304-324.
55.
Jang, S., Ham, S., & Hong, G. (2007). Food-away-from-home expenditure of senior households in the United States: A double-hurdle approach. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 31, 147-167.
56.
Javalgi, R.G., Thomas, E.G., & Rao, S.R. (1992). Consumer behaviour in the US pleasure travel marketplace: An analysis of senior and nonsenior travellers. Journal of Travel Research, 31, 14-19.
57.
Kassin, S. (1998). Psychology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
58.
Katz, D. (1960). The functional approach to the study of attitudes . Public Opinion Quarterly, 24, 163-204.
59.
Kozak, M. (2002). Comparative analysis of tourist motivations by nationality and destinations. Tourism Management, 23, 221-232.
60.
Kozma, A., Stones, M.J., & McNeil, J.K. (1991). Psychological well-being in later life. Toronto, ON: Butterworths .
61.
Long, N. (1998). Broken down by age and sex - Exploring the ways we approach the elderly consumer. Journal of the Market Research Society, 40, 73-91.
62.
Lucas, R.E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1996). Discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 71, 616-628.
63.
MacKay, K.J., & Fesenmaier, D.R. (1998). A process approach to segmenting the getaway travel market. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing , 7, 1-18.
64.
Mansfeld, Y. (1992). From motivation to actual travel. Annals of Tourism Research, 19, 399-419.
65.
Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row.
66.
Mayo, E.J., Jr., & Jarvis, L.P. (1981). The psychology of leisure travel: Effective marketing and selling of travel services. Boston: CBI.
67.
Metz, D.H. (2000). Mobility of older people and their quality of life. Transport Policy, 7, 149-152.
68.
Metz, D.H. (2003). Transport policy for an ageing population. Transport Reviews, 23, 375-386.
69.
Mill, R.C., & Morrison, A.M. (2002). The tourism system: An introductory text (4th ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
70.
Miller, J. (1996, April 1). Golden opportunity. Hotel and Motel Management, 211, 45-46.
71.
Moschis, G.P. (1996). Gerontographics: Life stage segmentation for marketing strategy development. Westport, CT: Quorum.
72.
Moutinho, L. (1987). Consumer behavior in tourism. European Journal of Marketing, 21, 3-44.
73.
Moutinho, L. (2000). Strategic management in tourism. New York: CABI.
74.
Mroczek, D.K., & Kolarz, C.M. (1998). The effect of age on positive and negative affect: A developmental perspective on happiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1333-1349.
Oh, H.C., Uysal, M., & Weaver, P.A. (1995). Product bundles and market segments based on travel motivations: A canonical correlation approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 14, 123-137.
77.
Pearce, P.L., & Caltabiano, M. (1983). Inferring travel motivation from travelers' experience. Journal of Travel Research, 12, 16-20.
78.
Pike, S., & Ryan, C. (2004). Destination positioning analysis through a comparison of cognitive, affective, and conative perceptions. Journal of Travel Research, 42, 333-342.
79.
Prochaska, J.O., & DiClemente, C.C. (1998). Toward a comprehensive, transtheoretical model of change: Stages of change and addictive behaviors . In W. R. Miller & N. Heather (Eds.), Treating addictive behaviors (2nd ed., pp. 3-23). New York: Plenum.
80.
Qu, H., & Wong, E.Y.P. (1999). A service performance model of Hong Kong cruise travelers' motivation factors and satisfaction. Tourism Management , 20, 237-244.
81.
Rand Corporation. (2001). Policy brief: preparing for an aging world. Retrieved July 14, 2003 , from http://www.rand.org/publicaions/RB/RB5058
82.
Rasmusson, E. (2000). The age of consumer spending. Sales and Marketing Management, 152, 16-17.
83.
Russell, J.A. (1980). A circumplex model of affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 1161-1178.
84.
Russell, J.A. (1983). Pancultural aspects of the human conceptual organization of emotions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 45, 1281-1288.
85.
Russell, J.A., Ward, L.M., & Pratt, G. (1981). Affective quality attributed to environments: A factor analytic study. Environment and Behavior, 13, 259-288.
86.
Ryan, C., & Glendon, I. (1998). Application of leisure motivation scale to tourism . Annals of Tourism Research, 25, 169-184.
87.
Sánchez, J., Callarisa, L., Rodríguez, R.M., & Moliner, M.A. (2006). Perceived value of the purchase of a tourism product . Tourism Management, 27, 394-409.
88.
Seiler, V.L., Hsieh, S., O'Leary, J.T., & Hsieh, C.A. (2001). Modeling international travel arrangements for Taiwanese travelers: Potential fits. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 10, 113-126.
Sellick, M.C. (2004). Discovery, connection, nostalgia: Key travel motives within the senior market. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 17, 55-71.
91.
Shim, S., Gehrt, K.C., & Siek, M. (2005). Attitude and behavior regarding pleasure travel among mature consumers: A socialization perspective. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 18, 69-81.
92.
Shoemaker, S. (1989). Segmentation of the senior pleasure travel market . Journal of Travel Research, 27, 14-21.
93.
Shoemaker, S. (2000). Segmenting the mature market: 10 years later. Journal of Travel Research, 39, 11-26.
94.
Smith, C.A., & Ellsworth, P.C. (1985). Patterns of cognitive appraisal in emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 48, 813-838.
95.
Smith, M., Bruner, J.S., & White, R.W. (1956). 1956 opinions and personality. New York: John Wiley.
96.
Son, G.-R., Zauszniewski, J.A., Wykle, M.L., & Picot, S.J.F. (2000). Translation and validation of caregiving satisfaction scale into Korean. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 22, 609-622.
97.
Stein, N.L., & Levine, L. (1987). Thinking about feelings: The development and organization of emotional knowledge. In R. E. Snow & M. B. Farr (Eds.), Aptitude, learning and instruction: Cognitive and affective process analyses (pp. 165-197). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
98.
Sung, H., Morrison, A., Hong, G., & O'Leary, J. (2001). The effects of household and trip characteristics on trip types: A consumer behavioral approach for segmenting the U.S. domestic leisure travel market. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 25, 46-68.
99.
Swartz, L.N. (1999). Marketing to maturity. Franchising World, 31, 47-50.
100.
Tinsley, H.E., Teaff, J.D., Colbs, S., & Kaufman, N. (1985). A system of classifying leisure activities in terms of the psychological benefits of participation reported by older persons . Journal of Gerontology, 40, 172-178.
101.
Watson, D., Clark, L.A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070.
102.
Weaver, P.A., McCleary, K.W., Lepisto, L., & Damonte, L.T. (1994). The relationship of destination selection attributes to psychological, behavioral, and demographic variables. Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, 2, 93-109.
103.
Wei, S., & Milman, A. (2002). The impact of participation in activities while on vacation on seniors' psychological well-being: A path model application . Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 26, 175-185.
104.
Westbrook, R.A. (1987). Product/consumption-based affective responses and postpurchase processes. Journal of Marketing Research , 24, 258-270.
105.
Woodside, A.G., & Dubelaar, C. (2002). A general theory of tourism consumption systems: A conceptual framework and an empirical exploration. Journal of Travel Research, 41, 120-132.
106.
Wuest, B.E.S., Tas, R.F., & Emenheiser, D.A. (1996). What do mature travelers perceive as important hotel/motel customer services? Hospitality Research Journal, 20, 77-93.
107.
You, X., & O'Leary, J. (2000). Age and cohort effects: An examination of older Japanese travelers. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 9, 21-42.
108.
Yuan, S., & McDonald, C. (1990). Motivational determinates of international pleasure time. Journal of Travel Research, 29, 42-44.
109.
Zimmer, Z., Brayley, R.E., & Searle, M.S. (1995). Whether to go and where to go: Identification of important influences on senior decisions to travel. Journal of Travel Research, 33, 3-10.
