Study on the Development of Tourism for Seniors in Dolj County
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SC EMPRI CONSULTING SRL STUDY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM FOR SENIORS IN DOLJ COUNTY Document drafted within the project ”Friendly destinations for seniors 55+”, eMS Code ROBG 436, project financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the INTERREG V-A Romania-Bulgaria Program CRAIOVA May, 2019 www.interregrobg.eu The content of this material does not necessarily represent the official position of the European Union CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................ 3 I. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................................................ 5 II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................ 7 III. THE TOURIST POTENTIAL OF DOLJ COUNTY AND ITS ATTRACTION FOR PEOPLE OVER 50 YEARS OLD….. .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 III.1. CULTURAL POTENTIAL ................................................................................................................................... 9 III.2. MONASTERIES AND CHURCHES FAVOURABLE TO A RELIGIOUS TOURISM ....................................... 33 III.3. ELEMENTS OF NATURAL HERITAGE AND THE SENIOR TOURISM ......................................................... 52 III.4. EVENT TOURISM ........................................................................................................................................... 60 IV. THE ANALYSIS OF ACCOMMODATION SPACES IN DOLJ COUNTY ................................................................ 60 IV.1. RESEARCH PREPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................... 60 IV.2. ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED BY MEANS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................. 62 IV.3. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 74 IV.4. THE PROFILE OF SENIOR TOURISTS IN DOLJ COUNTY .......................................................................... 78 V. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SENIOR TOURISM IN DOLJ COUNTY ........................................................................ 78 V.1. SUGGESTIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR BUSINESSES WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SENIOR CLIENTS .. 79 V.2. P PROPOSALS FOR ADAPTING THE OFFER AND INCREASING TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS FOR PERSONS OVER 55 YEARS OLD ......................................................................................................................... 80 V.3. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WORK WITH ELDERLY TOURISTS ......................................................... 82 V.4. PROPOSALS FOR THE PROMOTION OF BUSINESSES WHICH TARGET THE SENIOR TOURISM......... 84 V.5. DESCRIPTION OF CHANNELS FOR PROMOTING THE LOCAL POTENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST PRODUCTS FOR SENIORS OVER 55 YEARS OLD ....................................................................... 86 V.6. OBJECTIVES, PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE TOURIST IMAGE OF DOLJ COUNTY ...................................................................................................... 87 V.7. PROPOSALS FOR DIVERSIFICATION OF TOURIST PRODUCTS FOR SENIORS +55 .............................. 89 V.8. GOOD PRACTICES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE RELATIONS WITH SENIOR TOURISTS............. 90 SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 94 2 INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the XXIst century, the environment in which the tourism industry evolves has become more and more competitive. The main environmental factors affecting this industry are climate change and natural disasters, military conflicts, progress in information technologies, increased competition in the air transport market (strongly linked to the previous factor) and, finally, the dynamics of the current demographic structure. A wave of aging population has emerged and is present in all industrialized countries and creates new opportunities for various industries. In the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe this phenomenon is simultaneous, identical and noticeable. The number of older people has never been higher, generating a segment with a significant size, and will continue to grow in the coming years (Günter 1998, UN 2000). In Europe, for example, the number of people aged 65 and over, already representing 14% of the current population, will reach 28% by 2050. The senior market is indeed a growth opportunity for the global tourism industry. Not only is this market large and has high economic potential (Davis, Brown, McCabe and McCabe, 2003; Guiot, 2005), but seniors also want to travel more (Shoemaker, 1989; Lavery, 1999). It is obvious that their travel expenses are higher than those of other age groups (McGuire, Uysal and McDonald, 1988). Seniors give priority to retirement travel (Supernaw 1985), take longer holidays than other age groups (Lavery, 1999) and stay on holidays for longer periods (Shoemaker, 1989). Eventually, seniors try to learn more about themselves and the world around them, and the journey offers them a means of self-fulfillment through learning and discovery opportunities (Muller and Strickland, 1995). If tourism professionals seem to be aware of the potential of seniors (Tourisme Québec, 2000; Knowledge Networks, 2005), now they must develop new strategies to target and satisfy these consumers. Such strategies require that the activities of design, development and sale of products / services meet the needs of customers. The development of marketing strategies and new tourism products corresponding to the requirements and expectations of a market segment depends on the knowledge of the consumer concerned, in this case, the senior citizen. However, there is a lack of research in this area (Cleaver and Muller, 2001; Shim, Gehrt and Siek, 2005; Cleaver and Sellick, 2004). Thus, in the case of senior German travelers (Romsa and Blenman, 1989), Americans (Javalgi, Thomas and Rao, 1992), Canadians (Duncombe, 1994; Zimmer, Brayley and Searle 1995) and Australians (Cleaver and Muller, 1998) empirical research has been made, the old French travelers being very little studied. And worse things are in the Romanian research environment. Such research is all the more necessary, given that the senior market is a heterogeneous market (Schiffman and Sherman 1991; Moschis 1996; Szmigin and Carrigan, 2000). This heterogeneous character, repeatedly emphasized in the literature, requires, first of all, asking questions about the status of the senior consumer for the tourism industry. Belonging to a certain generation and to some specific values represented, until now, the least recognized determinants of the superior behavior of the market, although they are probably the most important ones. These are the factors that will determine their priorities: family life, providing for its members, and themselves, simple pleasures, physical aptitudes and prolonging youth or anxieties about their future life. Their value system is relatively constant and is formed in childhood and early youth, often under the influence of the existent political current (war, peace, political system), economic (times of crisis and prosperity), social (conflicts, civil movements) or cultural (subcultures, music, movies), events undertaken by a particular person and his / her colleagues. Demographers call these groups "generations." As such, marketing specialists aiming to draw attention to the specific generation (for example, the elderly or baby boomers) must come up with memorable symbols and images, derived from the 3 experiences of this generation. Belonging to a certain generation, with which it shares values, periods of life and other factors that determine market behavior, allows the isolation of highly accurate consumer profiles, which are essential for the optimal design of marketing tools. The demographic evolution directs the development of tourism to the generations of seniors, and the European Union noticed this long ago and recommended that all countries should take into account these changes. Its actions not only appear in the form of recommendations, strategic directions that can be assimilated by the member countries, but also through various co-financing programs. Thus, an offer was launched on July 19th, 2018 within COSME, for the promotion and development of thematic tourism products, taking into account the synergies between tourism and the cultural and creative sectors. Other initiatives have been launched within the COSME program, and these are aimed at: • fostering a competitive and sustainable growth in the tourism sector (2017); • the promotion and development of products and services in the field of sport and well-being, as well as the cultural and industrial heritage of Europe (2015); • encouraging transnational European tourist flows for the young persons and for the elderly in the medium and low frequency season (2014); • maximizing synergies between the tourism sector and high-end creative industries (2014). The interregional cooperation program “INTERREG EUROPE” also aims to improve