Seniors’ Travel Constraints and Their Coping Strategies

Abstract

This article utilized content analysis of seniors’ narratives on the Internet to uncover the central themes related to their perceptions of travel constraints and the ways through which seniors negotiate such barriers. The study results suggest that aging is associated with alterations in the order of salient constraints proposed by the hierarchy of leisure constraints theory, which in turn affect seniors’ preferences for “safe” options such as packaged tours. Using gerontology and decision-making theories, the article provides conceptual and methodological contributions to the literature. It also offers practical recommendations for businesses responding to the tourism needs and expectations of the fastest-growing tourism market segment worldwide: the senior population.