Abstract

This research aimed 1) to segment the target market of New-Age Elderly tourists, and 2) to define the data source that each group of New-Age Elderly tourists used for their trip planning by collecting data from 420 samples of Thai tourists aged between 60-80  years old in tourist attractions in cities. It was found from the findings that we can group New-Age Elderly tourists into five segments. Having analyzed the relationship between sources of tourism information and five segments of New-Age Elderly tourists the results can be summarized as follows. The first segment (‘Worried’) stressed making decisions and only felt confident after reading and having seen pictures. This group then stressed using tourism sources from leaflets or brochures. The second segment (‘Accepting aging’), saw it as a fact of life that no one can control aging and that it should be accepted. They stressed using friends and relatives as sources of tourism information. The third segment (‘Firmly with changes’) dared to face up to new things and considered life as an adventure. Plus, they sought out new and unseen tourism destinations that seemed exciting and wild so, they stressed using tourism data sources from tourism magazines and TV programs. The fourth segment (‘Young at heart’) were those with life satisfaction, who loved having fun and always felt young. They wanted to travel and stressed using data sources directly from tour agencies. The fifth segment (‘Consciousness’) were conscious in their actions and did not dwell on the past. This segment stressed using information sources from articles in travel magazines, newspapers, or journals. This study provides more understanding about the concept of the New-Age Elderly that makes a contribution to both research in the area of the New-Age Elderly and for practitioners in the tourism industry. 

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