NAT-VI/005
5th Commission meeting, 21 September 2015
WORKING DOCUMENT
Commission for Natural Resources
Age-Friendly Tourism
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Rapporteur: Annemiek Jetten (NL/PES)
Mayor of Sluis
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This document will be discussed at the meeting of the Commission for Natural Resources to be held
from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 21 September 2015.
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Analysis of the context and topics for discussion
1.
The contribution of senior citizens to the European tourism industry is significant and represents
an enormous market potential. Moreover, it can be noted that "Europeans over 65 already have a
spending capacity of over EUR 3 000 billion and the number of people with age-related
impairments will grow from 68 million in 2005 to 84 million in 2020". However, 41 % of
European citizens in the 28 Member States have never travelled outside their national borders
while 7 out of 10 seniors undertake exclusively domestic trips. What may be the role of local
and regional authorities in "tapping into" the senior tourist market potential?
2.
Developments in the senior tourism market: Europe’s "Baby Boom" generation is keen to
participate and is the fastest growing segment. Currently more than 128 million citizens in the
European Union are between 55 and 80 years old, representing about 25 % of the total
population. This demographic development is having a considerable impact on tourism demand
and the labour market. The tourism industry has proven to be far more resilient to external
shocks/crises than anticipated. The big picture foresees more but uneven wealth creation, slower
but steady growth and faltering development of well-being. To what extent can local
governments resist these pressures if their social inclusion policies are incompatible with
the austerity measures from national governments?
3.
The influence of three factors can be defined: shifting demographics, digital technologies, and
global competition have upended conventional marketing strategies in favour of strategies that
make service provision more accessible in flexible ways to tourists. Might terrorism and the
humanitarian refugee crisis reverse this trend?
Implementation
4.
Studies show that senior tourism is not a homogeneous market. Seniors are a heterogeneous
group of individuals with different needs, motivations and expectations. Seniors are more and
more socially isolated; age-friendly tourism helps them to restore social contacts. It has been
proven that age-friendly tourism reduces the need for healthcare. What are some of the
mechanisms for involving tourism enterprises in delivering "added social value" in their
service to senior tourists?
5.
Local and regional authorities play a major role in the coordination of sectoral policies such as
transport, urban and rural planning, waste management, etc. In turn, these sectors directly and
indirectly impact local tourism comprised of family-run small and medium businesses. How
can local authorities identify and valorise individual efforts of small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) to overcome the barriers of market fragmentation and internal
competition in order to foster public-private sector cooperation?
6.
Reservation systems, social media and electronic marketplaces are but a few of the dominant
tourism applications available on the internet. However some senior citizens are less familiar
with online booking system and reviewing websites. Due to the digital divide, seniors may rely
more on traditional reservation methods and personal interaction with travel agents and
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destination websites. How can local authorities aid some senior citizens less familiar with
online booking systems and reviewing websites to bridge the digital divide?
7.
The Committee calls for better inclusion of senior tourism on the Digital Agenda for Europe as
a mechanism to bridge the digital divide, based on the argument that connecting with others
"can help older people to stay healthy, independent and active at work or in their community" 1.
8.
The Committee supports the Digital Agenda for Europe's goals and emphasises how small and
medium tourism enterprises could benefit from the massive roll-out of broadband across
Europe. But does being better connected automatically mean reaching new and existing
consumers more easily and more rapidly and delivering customised tourism services?
9.
The eHealth agenda can also be highly beneficial to senior tourism development. Health is
regularly quoted as the second reason for not taking holidays by older travellers; providing them
with e-access to quality care away from their place of residence can allay their fears and make
them more adventurous in their free time. At the same time, travelling may also contribute
positively to one's health through a change of climate, routine and exposure to new experiences.
What specific eHealth policies should be implemented and could represent a stimulus for
triggering a virtuous circle for senior tourism?
10.
Strengthening the links between age-friendly tourism and the European Innovation Partnership
on Active and Healthy Ageing is a priority for improving mobility, safety initiatives and overall
accessibility of public spaces. How can public authorities raise awareness and engage with
stakeholders about the EIP priorities and activities to enhance access to funding for
interested parties?
11.
The CoR supports the idea to launch the European Covenant of Mayors on Demographic
Change and advocates that tourism is recognised as an important policy area with the potential
to boost innovation, contribute to healthy and active living and support intergenerational
solidarity.
12.
The CoR supports the suggestion of the European Parliament Intergroup on European Tourism
Development to nominate one of the coming years a "European Year of Tourism" to brand
"Europe as a safe and secure destination for all, especially for seniors".
Issues and challenges
13.
1
The Europe 2020 strategy pursues a policy of sustainable, inclusive smart specialisation for
regions. A major challenge for local authorities is to gather insight and take into account the
needs, priorities, expectations and experiences of seniors in terms of destinations. According to
the principle of consumer value, the success of the age-friendly tourism market depends on
providing high levels of value. A main issue is that private enterprises develop, produce, and
deliver tourism products and services, but senior tourists perceive value only in the benefits
these products and services provide. Consumer value is a moving target. As the environmental
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/policies-ageing-well-ict
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circumstances change, tourists accumulate experience and senior needs and interests change –
the value they seek, expressed in a price-quality ratio, may change as well. What are the benefits
for the private sector of cooperating with local public authorities? What role can local public
authorities play in increasing senior marketing, both as a passive and active actor in the process?
14.
Local authorities function within a legislative framework, an established relationship among
national, regional and local government. Improving competitiveness depends on value
upgrading at both the firm level and the fragmented tourism cluster level through public-private
sector integration, which poses a considerable challenge for public authorities: how to acquire,
maintain and expand their share in the senior tourism market? The coordination
mechanism to drive the integration of the value upgrading strategy of the public and private
sectors has two dimensions:

At the consumer level, local authorities must integrate and coordinate all elements of
design and execution that age-friendly tourism can offer to seniors, within a systematic
framework serving as an umbrella for thematic product development and promotion based
on demand, such as health, gastronomy, culture, nature and active tourism, and
corresponding to specialised regional assets in the low and medium seasons.

At local tourism level, private businesses are involved in a wide range of tourism interests
with for-profit activities. In contrast, the role of local authorities involves policy and
implementation, providing municipal services and managing territorially cohesive
development.
What specific activities can local authorities get involved in to coordinate the efforts and
resources of the private sector and foster collaborative public-private community
relationships?
Recommendations
Joint policy recommendations
Raising awareness of tourism market change and adapting available mechanisms at European scale
15.
Conscious that the "normal" age of retirement differs across the EU and of the priority of
increasing senior tourists' travels, from Europe and from third countries, the CoR suggests
defining a senior tourist as: "Any person in the age-friendly tourism channel of distribution
whose decision-making to satisfy needs, interests, expectations and actions can affect purchase
and who, due to his/her status, is a prospect for promoting travel, especially during the low and
medium seasons".
16.
An increase of senior tourists offers local public authorities the opportunity to incorporate the
strategies of a dynamic private sector in their policy.
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17.
The Committee observes that senior tourists tend to favour environmentally-responsible and
sustainable tourism2 practices, including those involving communities in coastal, mountainous,
isolated and rural areas. All too often in regions where tourism is extremely concentrated or
where it coincides with sensitive eco-systems, it has a substantial impact on nature and erodes
traditional values. The Committee suggests that local authorities confronted with the negative
effects of tourism-induced infrastructure may consider awarding eco-labels to encourage
government bodies responsible for tourism to increase their environmental commitment and
provide tourists with help in choosing accommodation and destinations that reduce the carbon
footprint.
18.
The emphasis on ageing has been driven by health studies focused on detecting ways, through
food or medicine, to slow down the processes of physical and mental decay, and by economic
factors due to staggering health care costs. The medical sector offers significant scope for the
successful development of newer institutions based on partnership. Local authorities should
consider a cross-sectoral approach in incorporating a variety of public sector organisations,
including the health care sector and the transport sector, by way of an electronic marketplace
dedicated to the provision of centralised information regarding tourism services for seniors,
including those with less purchasing power and health problems.
19.
The Committee argues that a growing proportion of the emerging silver wave of seniors is in
search of the meaning of life, often within new imagined communities. Therefore, investing in
European citizenship through better access, both in physical and digital terms, to
experiencing cultural and historical narratives in combination with travel promotes
encounters and cohesion, which can only work in an environment of European citizenship.
Local authorities may opt to leverage modern communication technology including search
engines like TripAdvisor which offer users "transparency" so that seniors understand what
quality to expect for what price. How can commercial and social partners leverage access as
a positive strategy that will maximise the impact of age-friendly tourism?
20.
The impact of digitally-mediated interactions between destination stakeholders has evolved
significantly and underlines the importance of developing a European database on senior
studies. Within this systematic framework analyses and indicators must be developed that
cover: (1) demand, tourists with the ability and desire to visit destinations; (2) diverse carriers,
which transport tourists to and from destinations; (3) attractions which offer activities for
tourists’ participation; (4) accommodation and retail facilities that provide services and support
to tourists; and (5) information agencies and media, which assist tourists with knowledge,
enabling them to enhance their personal experiences.
21.
The Committee suggests that projections show slower but steady and substantial growth of
senior tourists and refers to the initiative "Europe, the world’s No 1 tourist destination", which
has potential to foster "sustainable, responsible, high quality and cohesive tourism", EU
employment and social development, and proposes that the EU Commission incorporate tourism
as a key priority for the European Union in the 2021-2027 multiannual framework.
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2
CdR 89/2012 opinion on " Regional-specific approaches to climate change in the EU based on the example of mountainous
regions"
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