Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
 
 
 
 

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2007 Annual International CHRIE Conference & Exposition 
502
Table 5 
Selected Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Travel Intention of Three Groups 
Characteristics 
Social (%) 
Inactive (%) 
Novelty (%) 
χ
2 
Value 
Age
12.54 
50-59 
5.95 
10.53 
11.11 
60-69 
50.00 
34.21 
33.33 
70-79 
36.31 
50.00 
22.22 
80 and above 
7.74 
5.26 
33.33 
Retirement Status 
3.97 
Retired 
94.61 
100.00 
88.89 
Employed 
full-time 
1.80 
0 
0 
Employed 
part-time 
3.59 
0 
11.11 
Education
5.89 
High school or less 
4.14 
0 
0 
Some 
college 
17.16 
7.89 
11.11 
Four year college 
35.50 
50.00 
33.33 
Graduate 
school 
43.20 
42.11 
55.56 
Income
2.87 
Less 
than 
$40,000 
16.99 
13.51 
0 
$40,000 
to 
$79,999 
42.48 
48.65 
37.50 
$80,000 or more 
40.52 
37.84 
62.50 
Travel Intention within Five Years 
12.65* 
Very 
likely 
91.02 
86.84 
66.67 
Likely 
7.19 
7.89 
11.11 
Unlikely 
0.60 
2.63 
11.11 
Very 
unlikely 
1.20 
2.63 
11.11 
* p<.05 
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 
To segment the mature travel market based on their travel motivation is a useful and practical approach, 
which has been employed by many researchers (e.g. You & O’Leary, 1999). Two unique contributions of this study 
include findings in regard to the intention to travel within five years and the number of years at the present home. 
For novelty-type of mature travelers, they were less likely to have a long-term travel intention, compared to the 
social-type and inactive-type of travelers. This result indicates that some of mature travelers like to try out some new 
things and they do not like to set up a rigid schedule; therefore, a long-term travel plan may not be an attractive thing 
for them. The novelty-type of mature travelers also tends to stay at their present home for a longer time compared to 
the other two groups. They would like to pursue something new on their leisure trip, as a compensation of staying at 
one place for a long time. On the contrary, when mature travelers move into a new home or community, they like to 
meet more people on their trip, in order to fulfill their social needs. Therefore, it is very important for mature travel 
professionals to understand and tailor the travel products to their customers’ unique needs.
A major limitation of this study is the homogeneity of the sample population and the sampling method, 
which makes it hard to generalize the results to other segments of the aging population. First of all, the convenience 
sample used in this study is not highly representative of the general population. Mature respondents included in this 
study are self-selected to enroll in Lifelong Learning programs; therefore, this highly-motivated group is prone to be 
biased. Secondly, this sample lacks racial diversity. Except for one respondent, all the other respondents were white. 
Thirdly, this study is confined to a geographic location. Most of the class participants live in the Upstate of South 
Carolina, specifically around universities, which makes it impossible to apply the findings of this study to any other 
geographic locations. Fourthly, mature respondents share similar socio-demographic profiles. It was hard to 
differentiate them based on their demographic characteristics. Most of them retired, and they were quite healthy, 
wealthy, motivated, and learning-oriented. They were high-functioning and independent-living mature travelers. 
Results found in this study may not be generalized beyond this sample of aging population. It is recommended that 
more heterogeneous sample should be drawn and a desirable sampling method should be used for future studies. 
Similar studies may also be conducted among general populations to compare travel motivations among generations, 
which will offer a unique perspective to study inter-generational travel market.
 

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