Understanding Senior Self-Drive Tourism in Australia Using a Contingency Behavior Model

Abstract

This aticle is the first application of the contingency behavior model to understand the behavior of grey nomads to changes in the availability of accommodation facilities when visiting regional Queensland of Australia. Using a pilot survey of 90 respondents, it was found that grey nomad future visit trip would be adversely affected by a decrease in accommodation facilities and an increase in travel costs. However, for an increase in accommodation facilities, repeat visitation takes place but with a smaller impact (than the decrease) and, interestingly, travel costs become insignificant. In addition, income levels proxied by education, and social events are significant determinants of future visits. These findings provide important policy considerations for effective management and understanding of the self-drive silver market for tourism.