Senior citizens on the move, opportunities for the region

In today’s ageing societies, the leisure industry registers significant growth thanks to its still very ‘active’ senior citizens. This broad category of travelers is rather heterogeneous, yet certain trends are observed in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. These tourists tend to prefer holiday homes and traditional establishments, they are more inclined towards domestic travel, they remain faithful to their holiday destinations, they are more interested in doing activities than being idle, and they represent an important channel of communication, including word of mouth. It is estimated that in Ticino these tourists can represent about a quarter of the guests in the various accommodation structures: an interesting market, which leisure professionals appear to be aware of.   

The report published today by the Tourism Observatory (O-Tur) of the USI Institute for Economic Research (IRE), focuses on the profiles, behaviours and relevance of senior citizens in the leisure industry.

The document outlines the general characteristics of the phenomenon, offering an initial analysis of the situation in Ticino and a series of suggested guidelines for the operators in the tourism sector.

The full report (in Italian language) is available at : www.otur.usi.ch/it/approfondimenti