ABSTRACT
Strong evidence points to an increasing number of senior citizens in the outbound travel market in Hong Kong. However, only a limited number of travel agencies in Hong Kong have paid attention to this potential market. This research investigates Hong Kong senior citizens’ perceptions of the importance of the criteria used to select from the outbound package tours currently offered in the market and of the performance of these attributes. Importance–performance analysis (IPA) was carried out to analyze the data collected and categorize them into the four quadrants of the IPA grid. The results indicate the high mobility of senior citizens in Hong Kong and that they tend to join outbound package tours when traveling abroad. With regard to the provision of outbound package tours, they are generally satisfied with the performance of existing travel agencies, although some areas for improvement are noted. The findings also lend support to the high potential that exists in the senior citizen travel market and to the need for travel agencies to put extra effort into this niche market. Building upon previous literatures focusing only on selection criteria of group package tours, our study contributes further to the body of knowledge on seniors’ travel decision making and the perception gap between them and the service providers. Recommendations to travel agencies regarding how to capture this market segment more effectively are also offered.
