Senior Tourists in the Azores: A Cluster Segmentation Analysis by Activities Experienced in the Destination
摘要
This article investigates the level of participation and satisfaction in different groups of activities by a sample (n = 1000) of surveyed senior tourists during their visit to the four main islands of the Azores. The study identifies three clusters of senior tourists with different profiles and with different participations and levels of satisfaction in relation to four different groups of activities of excellence offered in the destination. This confirms the heterogeneity of senior tourism, whose segmentation by clusters, adopted by different published studies, is based on diverse criteria such as age, gender, health status, income level, qualifications, professional life, among others. The study is innovative in the association between the groups of activities carried out, the corresponding levels of satisfaction and the profiles of senior tourists’ clusters segmented according to sociodemographic variables, satisfaction with health and life. Data analysis included the Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Non-Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (k-means method). This applied research is highly relevant for tourism officials in the Azores, as it enables them to adopt corrective measures to better address the needs and preferences of senior tourists. This is particularly important for mitigating the seasonality that affects the destination, especially considering the significant growth of this market segment in international tourism.