Senior tourists' accommodation choices

The current trend towards short-term travelling and reduced spending on accommodation has had a significant impact on the hotel sector. However, the hotel industry is becoming increasingly interested in the senior tourist segment, a population group that prefers hotel-type accommodation to other more inexpensive alternatives, even in periods of economic uncertainty. This paper aims to identify the variables that determine senior tourists’ accommodation choices in Spain. In so doing, it identifies the following variables: length of stay, self-perceived health, self-perceived economic status, self-perceived available time, security/safety at the destination, medical coverage, climate, events and festivals, places of historical/artistic interest, and attractions and natural landscapes. These results have important implications for both the hotel industry and the development of tourist destinations.