1Central Washington University, College of Business, 400 E. 8th Avenue, Ellensburg, WA 98926-7485, USA; 2Griffith University, PO Box 905, Runaway Bay,
QLD 4216, Australia
seniors as well as opportunities for travel and tourism operators. One is an illustration of the attractiveness of hard-adventure – in the form of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro; the second is an example of soft-adventure tourism – namely scuba diving in the warm tropical regions of the globe. Both examples represent high-quality experiences, which are also authentic in that they cannot be faked or simulated. Both are good examples of curiosity-satisfying experi- ences that meet the desire for novelty, and give some idea of the potential for developing and marketing novelty tourism designed for senior travellers.
The thesis of this chapter challenges the stereotypes demonstrated above by addressing novelty-seeking as a motive for travel that tran- scends demographic characteristics, in particu- lar age. Both novelty- and age-related travel are discussed with various examples provided to demonstrate the interwoven characteristics within the two travel segments. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate that novelty tourism operators cannot ignore the senior traveller.
There are six steps outlined to encourage and guide the development of travel and tourism services that explore the opportunities and meet the challenges of the senior traveller who is interested in novelty tourism.
The Era of the Senior Tourist To clarify the definition of a ‘senior’, researchers commonly delineate seniors as those who are 50 years of age or older (Bartos, 1983; Cleaver, 2001; Lewis, 1996; Ostroff, 1989; Silvers, 1997). Similarly, the America Association of Retired Persons within the USA (the largest seniors’ organization in the world), and their Australian equivalent, the National Seniors Association, define their membership by including only those 50 years or older.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (2000) describes global ageing as the challenge of the new millennium. The United Nations concurred, declaring 1999 the International Year of Older Persons. Most Western nations – and many developed nations in the East, such as Japan – face the challenge of a rapidly ageing population (United Nations, 1997). For most of human history, the elderly
have never represented more than 2–3% of the population. By 1985, the proportion of the elderly in the developed world had swelled to 13%, and the arrival of the 21st century brought this sobering statistic: two-thirds of all the elderly who have ever lived on this planet are still alive today. By the year 2025, the elderly will represent a very significant propor- tion of a nation’s entire population (examples:
21% of Australians and New Zealanders, 24%
of Americans and Canadians, and 26% of Japanese). These nations demonstrate a steadily growing proportion of people who are leading longer, healthier and more productive lives than was the case in the past.
The staggering change in the population age structures of developed countries – and the increase in the proportion of older citizens – herald an enormous opportunity. Seniors, long ignored by a youth-obsessed Western culture (Dychtwald, 1997), are capturing the attention of product manufacturers and service providers and are beginning to lose the title of ‘invisible consumers’ (Bartos, 1983). Even in the Far East, the stereotypical view is that age is ven- erated and respected, but efforts to maintain youth by keeping physically fit, eating healthily and seeking preventative medical care are becoming global and may reflect ‘the adoption of an ageless society’ (Barak et al., 2001).
Within the international tourism industry the ‘era of the senior tourist’ has well and truly arrived. The importance of this oft-forgotten group of travellers is swelling as seniors con- tinue to travel, while the international tourism industry strives to recover from the knock-on effects of the events of 11 September 2001.
The Wall Street Journalindicated that despite the recent massive downturn in tourism,
‘seniors are a surprising bright spot for the travel industry’ (Bhatia, 2003: W5).
By and large, this older segment of the population is still relatively healthy, mobile, mentally and physically active, and is projected to live longer than previous generations (Moschis et al., 1997). Also, senior tourists often have the financial resources to spend on tourism, since they commonly already own all the major consumer products they need. Thus, many seniors have the desire and financial means to travel for pleasure, curiosity, discov- ery, learning and, if sought, novelty.
164 M. Cleaver Sellick and T.E. Muller
Novelty Tourism
Novelty is a motive for travel and thus an important component of tourism management (Crompton, 1979; Dann, 1981). Much re- search of travel motivation has concentrated on the desire to experience novelty, whether it is a novel destination, novel activities and/or novel experiences (Cohen, 1972; Crompton, 1979;
Oh et al., 1995). Travel decisions are made by weighing travellers’ conflicting needs for psy- chological security and novelty (Crotts, 1993), thus the degree of novelty motivation varies for each individual (Cohen, 1984). Tourists can be classified into four types: organized mass tourist, individual mass tourist, explorerand drifter. These four types of tourists can be dif- ferentiated by the amount of novelty they seek with their travel choices. An organized mass tourist seeks familiarity, therefore they are the least likely to be influenced by novelty in their travel decisions, while drifters are novelty-seek- ers (Cohen, 1972).
A population segment that is not often associated with novelty tourism is seniors. The stereotypical view of a tour-bus filled with aged citizens moving from one well-established des- tination to the next may be the polar opposite of the definition of ‘novelty tourism’. A large sample (2730 respondents) of tourists to Alaska was segmented into organized mass tourists (approximately 54% of the sample);
individualized mass tourists (20%); and explor- ers (26%; Snepenger, 1987). The average age of each novelty-seeking segment indicated an inverse relationship with age; that is, the older a person, the less novelty-seeking their seg- ment membership. The use of age groups rather than actual ages may have magnified the differences between groups. For example, the average age group of organized mass tourists and individual mass tourists was 45–54 years and the average age group of the explorer group was 35–44 years. But if the older group actual average age was 46 years and the
‘younger’ explorer group average age was 43 years, this ‘difference’ takes on a new per- spective, or perhaps disappears altogether.
More recently, Basala and Klenosky (2001) divided a sample of 325 respondents into three groups: familiarity seekers, average travellersand novelty seekers. No significant
difference was found within the dispersion of senior respondents (measured in two groups:
55–65 years; and 66 years and older) across the three travel motive segments, indicating that age has no bearing on whether a person seeks familiarity or novelty when they travel.
This finding supports what travel professionals have always understood, but are only now applying to the senior market: people’s values are shaped by their life experiences; thus the experiences of one person’s life, rather than their age, shape the way they live. Thus, a person who has enjoyed active travel through- out their life is not about to become more staid because the clock has ticked by and they now fit into a category that someone else has labelled ‘old,’ ‘senior’ or whatever politically correct title the industry currently uses to describe those who are most often seen as a less-important market. The idea of a service provider stopping a service based on the arrival of an American Association of Retired Persons card, or the like, is nonsensical. For example, the ageing of an avid hiker may change the length or the challenge of the hikes over time, but the hiker will continue to hike, just as the skier will continue to ski and the scuba diver will continue to scuba dive.
A comparable study of 150 Singaporean overseas travellers explored novelty-seeking behaviour (Keng and Cheng, 1999). Four clus- ters were explored: culture dissimilarity seek- ers, destination novelty seekers, novelty seekers and familiarity seekers. When age was considered, a significant difference was found between the four age groups (29 years and younger; 30–39 years; 40–49 years; and 50 years and older) and their membership within the four novelty classifications. Within the 50 years and older age group there were more familiarity seekers and culture dissimilar- ity seekers. While there were mature-aged respondents placed in both the destination nov- elty seekers and novelty seekers segments, there was no clear pattern indicating that older travellers were less likely to seek novelty. In fact, the age group with the highest proportion within familiarity seekers was the 30–39-year- olds. Similarly, three clusters, namely sports seekers, novelty seekers and family/relax- ation seekerswere uncovered in a sample of 1194 Japanese visitors to Canada and the
Tourism for the Young-old and Old-old 165
USA. The novelty-seekers had the largest pro- portion of the 50 to 59-year-old and the 60+
age groups (Cha et al., 1995).
Issues of Age and Ageing
Issues of ageing can be divided into three inter- related sources: physiological; psychological;
and sociological. The physiological changes include appearance and physical mobility, which are caused by a decline in internal organ func- tioning and in body systems, including the mus- cles and bones and cardiovascular, nervous, immune and reproductive systems (Bee, 1992).
While physiological ageing describes the decline occurring from the passage of life, psychological development has a more positive connotation (Perlmutter, 1988). Adulthood encompasses the psychological desire for intimacy, generativity (establishing and guiding the next generation), and – in late life (65 years and older) – ego- integrity, or the acceptance of oneself (Erikson, 1978). Finally, sociological aspects of ageing acknowledge the importance of the external social environment on the human ageing process. The combination and interrelationship of these three aspects of ageing – physiological, psychological and sociological – each contribute to ‘successful ageing’.
While the combination of physiological, psychological and sociological effects of ageing determine how successfully a person ages, the development of values and beliefs about ageing begins with individuals’ views of their own ageing. This perspective revolves around a socially defined view of ageing, reflecting the commonly held beliefs of individuals. Age – representing the number of years since birth – was strongly associated within Western society with certain activities and behaviours, i.e. a person’s actual age and the activities in their life were closely related. ‘School age’, for example, reflects the period children spend at school, which chronologically develops towards univer- sity, or college, and then marriage, children, grandchildren, etc. Each stage of life was asso- ciated with an age range that depicted a socially accepted timeline of life (Erikson, 1978;
Levinsonet al., 1978). The lifestyle marketing model (Silvers, 1997) labels early adulthoodas 18–34 years, which encompasses moving out
of home, first job, first marriage, and the birth of the first child. Middle adulthood (35–49 years) includes life-stages such as the empty nest, mid-life crises, divorce and career change. Late adulthood(50 years and above) includes life-stages such as empty nest, retire- ment and widowhood.
The recent relaxation in the time-defini- tions of this ‘social clock’ (Neugarten, 1976) demonstrate a move away from clearly defined stages of life and the acceptance of a more fluid cycle of life (Neugarten and Neugarten, 1986).
Activities such as returning to education later in life or starting a second family at an older age reflect the changing circumstances in people’s lives. This demonstrates that the definition of what is socially acceptable evolves as individu- als’ circumstances change; in other words, indi- viduals’ subjective views of their personal circumstances collectively drive society’s view of what is socially acceptable. As people’s lives deviate from the accepted timeline by missing the key age milestones (e.g. unmarried at 30 or still working at 70), greater numbers of per- sonal deviations have led to greater societal leniency in age life-stage markers.
The ‘success’ of a person’s ageing can only be evaluated by the individual against his or her own criteria for successful ageing, what- ever that may encompass. These personally held meanings of age and ageing are developed through interaction with the environment and are actualized in the individual’s behaviour (Russell, 1981). The age of 50 may be more widely acknowledged as a midpoint of the lifes- pan rather than an endpoint (Silvers, 1997), therefore the view of ‘old age’ is changing. For example, ‘baby boomers’ classify 79 years as the age when they will consider themselves
‘old,’ while they considered their parents as
‘old’ at 50 years (Dychtwald, 1997). Subse- quently, the gerontological literature has warned against using age as a predictor of atti- tudes and behaviours of the elderly (Norman et al., 2001).
Of course, non-Western cultures are com- monly thought to have varying levels of societal respect dependent on age. For example, ori- ental cultures have deeply ingrained connota- tions of wisdom, mastery, privilege and precedence based on age (Muller and O’Cass, 2001). Thus, the societal views of age are
166 M. Cleaver Sellick and T.E. Muller
somewhat culturally specific. However, recent research is providing evidence that individuals in the USA, Europe, Asia (in particular, India, China and Korea) and Nigeria as a representa- tion of African nations, all have similar percep- tions about their age (Barak et al., 2003).
A subjective view of age and its influence over behaviour invites consideration of the con- struct of cognitive age. Cognitive age divulges how old a person feels, irrespective of chrono- logical age (Blau, 1956; George et al., 1980;
Wylie, 1974). A person’s cognitive age could be quite independent of his or her actual age.
As people grow older, in mid-life and beyond, the gap between cognitive age and chronolog- ical age tends to widen, with people reporting that they feel younger than their actual ages (Hubley and Hultsch, 1994; Kastenbaum et al., 1972). Middle-aged adults place their self- perceived ages at between 5 and 15 years younger than their chronological ages and more than half of all adults aged over 60 feel between 16 and 17 years younger (Underhill and Cadwell, 1983).
The demarcation of actual age and cogni- tive age emphasizes the difference between the socially defined attitudes of age – and a more personal, or subjective, view. It has been argued that the subjective view of ageing more accurately represents a person’s age than the chronological measurement of their years alive (Tornstram, 1989). Therefore, both in research and application, factors that an individual believes to be important should supersede the predetermined age-related issues of impor- tance, since the personal and subjective factors dictate choices and behaviour (Neugarten, 1980; Wolfe, 1997). Travel and tourism mar- keters are wise to recognize the way in which senior vacationers view themselves. Seniors who are young-at-heart are usually in better health, seek fun and enjoyment in life, travel for physical stimulation and a sense of accom- plishment, and have higher expectations of a vacation, which in turn makes them more prone to disappointment when travel does not satisfy their needs (Muller and O’Cass, 2001).
These factors indicate that cognitively younger or ‘young-at-heart’ seniors are a prime market for novelty-tourism operators – although they are demanding customers – ensuring that this market must be thoroughly understood to
ensure the joint rewards of the senior traveller’s satisfaction and the operator’s success.
A New Perspective of Age
Two complementary changes within current society may encourage a new perspective of ageing. The longer lifespan and greater num- bers of seniors who are educated, healthy and self-sufficient members of society, coupled with the fact that they view themselves not by chronological age but by cognitive age, may encourage rejection of the traditional view of life as an older person. Older people most often do not define themselves by their age, nor do they think of themselves as old (Kaufman, 1993). Moreover, contributions from older people within all facets of society will be required if countries are to maintain or improve their standards of living and economic security.
This combination of a large number of seniors expecting greater integration in society than was afforded their predecessors and the eco- nomic and social pressures to harness a greater contribution from seniors may be a catalyst for a changed view of ageing, encompassing a less negative view of the later stages of life.
Positive ageing reflects an impetus to increase the quality of life of seniors by provid- ing opportunities for participation, learning, recreation and cultural pursuits (Pfeffer and Green, 1997). Lloyd and Auld (2002: 43) found that:
people who engage in social activities more frequently and who are more satisfied with the psychological benefits they derive from leisure, experience higher levels of perceived quality of life.
Thus, greater opportunities for older people to participate in society, including leisure outlets such as travel, must be provided (Edgar, 1991).
The Australian Federal and State governments are encouraging such opportunities for seniors with the Seniors Card programme. Apart from providing discounts on goods and services, the card also represents the government and com- munity’s recognition of the social and economic contribution of seniors, and extends an invita- tion to seniors to participate in community life (Pfeffer and Green, 1997). Programmes such
Tourism for the Young-old and Old-old 167
as this help society’s values, beliefs and attitudes evolve to accommodate greater formal partici- pation by older adults (Russell, 1981) and view seniors’ general integration into society as a societal opportunity.
Societal views that classify seniors as non- contributing members of society require realignment with current-day actualities.
Members of the senior boom are better edu- cated, healthier, better housed and more self- sufficient than any previous generation (Edgar, 1991). Data on the self-rated health of seniors – measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as persons aged 65 years or older – indicated that 63% of men and 65% of women assessed their health as either good, very good or excellent (McLennan, 1999a). In addition, seniors spend approximately 45.2 hours per week on recreation and leisure, in comparison with younger people who average 29.5 hours a week (McLennan, 1999b). For example, within the year prior to June 1999, 42% of older men and 33% of older women partici- pated in a sport or physical activity (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999). Better health and fitness and greater emphasis on recreation are just the tip of the iceberg in relation to the rein- vention of the later stages of life. Thus, the seniors of today are the catalysts for a new per- spective of ageing.
The travel industry, and in particular mar- kets related to novelty travel, should not ignore the senior market, for physiological, psycho- logical and sociological stereotypes do not fit this market, and instead, a large, financially secure market exists, waiting for astute market- ing professionals to produce and promote travel opportunities to them. All types of travel offer a sense of purpose ‘thereby enhancing sentiments of self-worth, self-identity and overall life satisfaction’ (Dann, 2001: 11).
Therefore, the profit potential of offering prod- ucts to this age segment is coupled with the rewards of offering socially responsible prod- ucts and services that benefit the physical and mental health of the senior traveller, and may also represent significant savings in the provi- sion of health services to the older segments of society (Dann, 2001).
For example, the potential of educational scuba diving for older adults is almost entirely untapped. For one thing, there is an opportu-
nity to sensitize the public to the plight of eco- logically sensitive coral reefs and marine life.
Thus, developing travel options to dive in waters designated as conservation areas, accompanied by biologists and naturalists, combines ecotourism with novelty. Also, edu- cational scuba diving opens up the opportunity of exploring sites that have historical signifi- cance. The relatively shallow parts of the South Pacific are littered with the sunken navies of Imperial Japan, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Many of these naval vessel graveyards are well within safe diving depths, hence the opportunity to visit them with historians and marine archaeologists serving as guides.
An enterprising tourism operator can increase the potential of this type of educa- tional and novel travel by sponsoring the engi- neering and development of compressed-air tanks that not only contain oxygen-enriched air (nitrox) – which makes diving much less tiring – but that are much smaller, and therefore lighter, when worn by the diver out of the water. The size and weight to aim for would be those of oxygen bottles used by high-altitude mountain climbers in the Himalayas considering the strength and/or confidence issues that may be problematic to some senior travellers. This demonstrates the type of necessary changes required to provide products and services that fulfil the needs of senior tourists.
Taking the Right Approach with Senior Travellers: Best-practice Strategies The proposed strategies and recommended tactics are adapted from a list of 11 strategies aimed at tourism operators interested in offer- ing tourism products and services to the explorer and adventure segments of the post- World-War II baby boom generation in the CANZUS nations (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA; Muller and Cleaver, 2000). Outlined and discussed below are a reduced number of steps (six in total), modified to the issues of senior travellers in general and novelty tourism, in particular. However, as the practitioner gains experience in both targeting the senior traveller market and developing nov- elty tourism products for this market, these steps will require refinement over time.
168 M. Cleaver Sellick and T.E. Muller