SATISFACTION: A SEGMENTATION CRITERION FOR SENIOR TRAVELERS

Past research on the segmentation of senior travel market has mainly used socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics as criteria. Segmentation according to their levels of satisfaction with a tourism destination, however, has been poorly understood and studied. This study attempts to fill the literature gap by conducting a survey with Taiwanese senior travelers and segmenting them based on satisfaction. Results revealed sample heterogeneity in relation to the four aspects of a destination: provision of senior-related facilities and services, quality of senior-only tour operations, diversity of natural and cultural resources, and barrier-free access to tourism and recreation attractions. Age and educational level were found of important value in profiling the four satisfaction segments, namely very satisfied, satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and dissatisfied. The very satisfied segment was composed of well-educated older seniors who tend to be more satisfied with the traveling experience than the highly educated younger seniors in the dissatisfied segment. While the diversity of natural and cultural resources was considered by the former the most satisfying aspect, the latter was most satisfied with the provision of senior-related facilities and services. Government and industry efforts should focus more on the very satisfied and satisfied clusters of senior travelers by developing a variety of untapped scenic and historical senior-only travel routes and enhancing the service quality of senior tour operations.