Health, Wellness and Tourism: healthy tourists, healthy business ...

Understanding mature traveller’s demand and choice in spring destination
Mei-ting (Jessica) Hsieh
Lecturer, Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College
PhD candidate, University of Lincoln, U.K.
jessicah62@hotmail.com
Abstract
The ageing population in Taiwan is entering 11% who were 65 years old and above by 2009.
This percentage is likely to reach 20% by 2025 and 39% in 2051. Not surprisingly, after 2010
the emerging age cohort categories of 55 starting to reach retirement, and will continue to
increase in Taiwan. Mature people undoubted have much free time from working careers and
start to concern the long-term health status. This study examines how the Taiwanese mature
spring/spa travellers’ needs affect the travel motivation to choose spring destination and what
extent demand for the particular groups in springs. 200 valid responses to the questionnaire
carried out in spring destinations of Taiwan. The factor analysis of motivation factors
revealed three underlying spring/spa destination attributes and four socio-psychological
underlying dimensions. The main spring/spa travel motivations of Taiwanese were ‘Personal
health & building relationship’and ‘commercial Internal’; which appeared to be the most
important push and pull motivations, respectively. The study also suggests that there is a
significant relationship between travel motivation and age groups effect on destination choice.
Based on the results, the findings will point out spring/spa marketing implications in
conjunction with the theoretical framework, and add to other relevant organisation.
Key words: Mature traveller, Destination choice, Spring/spa tourism, Taiwan
Introduction
With rapid growth in an ageing population, baby boomers comprise a large proportion of the
world travel market. The emerging age cohort categories of 55 starting to reach retirement,
and will continue to increase in Taiwan. Mature people undoubted approach an advanced life
cycle stage (e.g. the retirement stage) and are free from working careers. Nowadays, they are
likely to have sufficient savings, ample time, more motivation to enjoy, spend more freely on
activities and concentrated on personal health. Particularly in the health tourism industry, the
marketer have started to focus differentiate segmentation on the mature groups (Silvers, 1997;
Mochis, 1997). The growth of hot spring tourism since 1900s is well-known in Taiwan
society. Spring tourism in travel market of Taiwan has been acknowledged for century as
different type of natural springs has its own specific medicinal cures for improving people’s
health. In 1999, due to the Taiwanese government’s promotional spring/spa activities, visitors
are increasingly seeking a healthier lifestyle to maintain their wellness. The spring and spa
tourism would seem that become one of the pioneer “value sectors” during the modernisation
process in Taiwan. A number of re-birth spring/spa destinations increased extremely, this
potential attraction draw people to visit spring/spa destination through diverse products.
Moreover, it also tapped the potential of a rapidly expanding market, which includes sectors
such as healthcare services and the medical wellness industry.
People travelling for health in spring/spa resorts and destinations become an attraction
phenomenon for prevention on people’s health. The broad reasons for participating in
spring/spa travel nowadays are not only on socialise, improve well-being, and physical
therapy. New senses people went to the spring/spa in a quest of spiritual events and develop a