Title: Senior tourism: a systematic review and research agenda

Authors: Sarath Krishna; Daly Paulose Meppurath

Addresses: School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, 682022, India ' School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, 682022, India

Abstract: Reviews papers in Senior tourism - tourism undertaken by elderly, have largely adopted bibliometric and scoping designs. This framework-based review using Theory-Context-Characteristic-Methods (TCCM) and employing Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4 SLR) protocol, thoroughly synthesizes the state of knowledge, identifies research gaps and proposes directions for future research. The authors examine 54 articles from 2001 to 2023 sourced from SCOPUS, taking care to minimise risk of bias. Findings reveal that studies on senior tourism are mostly quantitative, confined to limited theoretical frameworks and employ tried and tested methodologies. Publication interest appears sectoral, mostly featuring tourism journals. Research from the developing world is sparse, as are multi-country and inter-disciplinary studies. Authors recommend using longitudinal designs to map antecedents, outcomes and spatio-temporal aspects of travel. Though physical, psychological, and social well-being are well documented travel outcomes, concepts like spiritual well-being, retirement migration, and technology enablement mandate further attention.

Keywords: senior tourism; systematic review; research agenda; elderly; literature review; travel.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2025.145997

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2025 Vol.15 No.2, pp.156 - 169

Received: 25 Mar 2024
Accepted: 05 Aug 2024
Published online: 01 May 2025 *

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