Cognitive age as a criterion explaining senior tourists' motivations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain a broader knowledge of the concept of cognitive age and its use as a variable when segmenting the market of people aged over 55. Design/methodology/approach – A proposal for measuring this variable was developed, the dimensions used being: actions, interests, feelings, health, thinking and expectations. A personal survey of 400 individuals aged over 55 who had been involved in some tourist travel in the last year was undertaken. Findings – A principal component analysis resulted in the extraction of a single factor labeled ‘‘cognitive age’’. The outcome of the cluster analysis undertaken was the establishment of two segments, i.e. active livers and stable passives. The technique of multiple correspondence analysis reflected differences both in motivations for tourism and in the behavior as tourists of the two segments. Research limitations/implications – It should be pointed out that there were insufficient repetitions of the methodology to indicate reliably whether it is consistent and that difficulties were encountered in gathering information from the group investigated. Practical implications – The results obtained permit it to be stated that cognitive age enriches knowledge about senior tourists; hence, it seems to be of interest to take it into consideration when establishing marketing strategies directed towards this group. Originality/value – After its overview of the various methodologies relating to cognitive age, this investigation is one of the few applications of this criterion to segmentation of senior citizen tourists undertaking journeys of longer duration. Furthermore, it is the sole piece of research so far undertaken to investigate its usefulness in an individualized manner.