Happy Monday! Our blog post this week highlights mature marketing articles that tackled the correlation between trust and age and how one tourism industry is effectively working to target senior travelers. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this and other key topics of interest among boomers and seniors in our comment section. Have a great week.
MOST SHARED:
There are many movies and books that portray seniors as grumpy or short tempered, but the truth of the matter is that we trust more and are happier as we age. This, according to two studies detailed recently on DailyMail.com. Both studies followed individuals over long periods of time and found overwhelmingly that regardless of when you were born that your perceived trust increases as you get older.
According to one researcher:
‘Our new findings show that trust increases as people get older and, moreover, that people who trust more are also more likely to experience increases in happiness over time.
This happiness is attributed to an increasing desire to see the good in people. While increased happiness is an upside as trust levels rise, the author cautions that there are potential pitfalls and problems that could be associated to this change. The largest negative being a higher susceptibility to scams and those who would aim to take advantage of that trust. As marketers, knowing how to authentically share your brand story is key to attracting a trusting senior. Keeping that trust by honoring their preferences throughout a long term engagement is key to creating a happy brand loyalist.
MOST CLICKED:
The number of Chinese citizens aged 60 and better is over 202 million with this number expected to double by 2050. For Chinese tourism this presents a huge opportunity (and challenge) according to one article that generated a number of clicks this past week.
According to the article, a survey of Chinese seniors reported that 93% of the population intend on traveling within the country in the year which could translate to big bucks for domestic tourism which saw a 16.7% increase in travel from 2013.
In order to capitalize on this increase and encourage repeat visitation, many travel agencies are creating new packages for customers. While this will address the increase in demand, there has been an increase in dissatisfaction among those who take advantage of the some of the less expensive travel packages available.
Cheap tour packages usually mean shabby rooms, poor food and long trips by road to cut costs. Safety standards are often ignored and healthcare cover is rarely included in the price. But now some travel agencies are giving the elderly tourism sector a makeover.
To combat these negative perceptions one travel agency is creating special packages with a greater number of services and modified itineraries that appeal with their senior target market. This approach is also translating to the development of standard guidelines specifically for senior tourists in the country.
This a great example for state-side tourism, as boomers and seniors tend to have more disposable income and the ability to take longer trips. By creating a number of offerings that appeal directly to this cohort, and delivering quality offerings, you can boost local tourism dollars and create enthusiastic customers who will share their experiences with friends who are also likely to travel. Click here for the full article.