Service willingness and senior tourists: knowledge about aging, attitudes toward the elderly, and work values

Abstract

With the increase in the number of senior tourists, it is important to understand the attitude of tourism professionals and their skills in serving aged tourists. A total of 381 tourism professionals participated in this study. Structural equation modeling results show that attitudes toward the elderly play the major role in predicting service willingness. Gaining knowledge about aging will indirectly predict service willingness through a change in attitudes. Intrinsic and prestige aspects of work value (WV) better explain service willingness to senior tourists, while extrinsic WV is non-significant and social WV has an indirect effect on willingness. The results also suggest that real interaction experiences with the elderly can successfully change attitudes toward them. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.