The Role of Chronological Age, Health, and Basic Psychological Needs for Older Adults’ Travel Intention

Sangguk Kang, Chen-Kuo Pai and Donghan Kim
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Sangguk Kang: Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao SAR, China
Chen-Kuo Pai: Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao SAR, China
Donghan Kim: Colleage of Hotel and Tourism Management, KyungHee University, Seoul 02447, Korea

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: This study examined how demographic information, chronological age, older adults’ physical and mental health, and basic psychological needs affected travel intention. The survey samples were collected from 577 adults, all over 60 years of age. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. First, demographic information with chronological age was used for primary analysis. The outcome indicated that chronological age was negatively associated with travel intention while all other demographic variables were not. Secondly, when physical and mental health condition variables were added, physical health positively affected travel intention while chronological age still negatively affected travel intention. Thirdly, psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) for travel were included in the final analysis. The outcome showed that all psychological needs variables had a significant impact on travel intention for those with a physical health condition. However, chronological age was not a significant factor in travel intention during this analysis. This study shows that chronological age is not always an important factor that affects older adults’ travel intention when other health and psychological variables are considered. This study provides some practical implications and tips for travel industry managers who are targeting the aging population.

Keywords: chronological age; physical health; mental health; competence; autonomy; relatedness; older adults; travel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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