The changing travel behaviour of austria’s ageing population and its impact on tourism

15 Tourism Review, Vol 62, No 3+4/2007

C. Möller, K. Weiermair, E. Wintersberger: The Changing Travel Behaviour of Austria’s Ageing Population and its Impact on Tourism

1 Introduction

The world’s population is ageing (Kotlikoff,

2004; Foot, 2004) and it is understood that

the travel behaviour of (senior) age groups

changes (Becker, 1998; Bieger/Laesser,

2003). It is therefore predicted that seniors

are the future growth market of the tourism

industry. As more and more people are in an

advanced stage of their life, more people of

this group will travel. The seniors of today

are healthier, more self-confident and fun

loving than their parents (Horx, 2003;

Hawes, 2004; Pikkemaat, 2001). Overall, it is

assumed that the propensity to travel of the

elderly will increase, which might be due to:

■ a more active generation of seniors that

benefit from higher life expectancy, high￾er disposable incomes and improved

health standards;

■ a higher number of seniors that are used

to travelling;

■ a change in attitude towards life-time sav￾ings, disposable time and what it should

be used for.

Some factors like health, financial is￾sues, personal preferences and external

threats like terrorism and crime might af￾fect the travel decision of the elderly. In

Austria, the main reason for not travelling

is “health” followed by “no interest” (Sta￾tistics Austria, 2003).

In the western world, the demographics

of countries have changed. Austria’s popula￾tion pyramid is similar to other countries of

the western world or Japan (for simplifica￾tion, Japan will be included in the western

world from here forth) making Austria a

suitable example. Declining fertility rates,

1st submission: February 7, 2007

Accepted: September 5, 2007

Purpose – As the population of the western world is aging, the importance of seniors for the tourism

economy is growing. Seniors are expected to be an important future market. Thus overall leisure behav￾iour in general, and travel and tourism behaviour in particular, are analysed for the example of the Aus￾trian market.

Design methodology/approach – A focus group was conducted with participants aged 55+, where

their leisure and travel habits as well as preferences were investigated.

Findings – The results showed that leisure and travelling played a major role in the participants’ lives.

Additionally, the participants did not change their travel behaviour considerably when entering retire￾ment status. While they changed their preferences to longer stays and to travelling off-season, their

preferences considering holiday destinations, mode of transport or distance of travel did not change sig￾nificantly. The assumption that travel behaviour and travel preferences are acquired over a longer time

span during the life of tourists and will therefore not change considerably when retiring can be con￾firmed for the participants of the focus group.

Research limitations/implications – It can be concluded that future senior tourists will differ from today’s

travelling seniors in their travel behaviour and their preferences. A larger sample and more detailed research

concerning the actual motivation and preferences of Austrian holiday travellers, as well as the factors influ￾encing them, are necessary in order to be able to react adequately to future demands of senior tourists.

Originality/value – The paper contributes to a better understanding of the importance of and attitude

towards leisure and tourism in the growing senior market. Based on the results of a focus group, it

serves as a basis for further research in the field.

Keywords: Older consumers, Travel, Behaviour, Austria

Paper type: General review

The Changing Travel Behaviour of Austria’s Ageing

Population and its Impact on Tourism

CLAUDIA MÖLLER, KLAUS WEIERMAIR & EVA WINTERSBERGER

Abstract

Claudia Möller*

Klaus Weiermair

Department of Strategic Management,

Marketing and Tourism

Innsbruck University School of Management

Universitätsstr. 15

6020 Innsbruck

AUSTRIA

Phone: +43-512-507-7083

Fax: +43-512-507-2845

E-mail: [email protected]

E-mail: [email protected]

Eva Wintersberger

Telecom New Zealand

Wellington

NEW ZEALAND

Phone: +64 21 07 92 456

E-mail: [email protected]

* corresponding author

Tourism Review 3+4/07 20.11.2007 10:55 Uhr Seite 15