Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality for Disabled and Aging Populations

Dear Colleagues,

Population projections have estimated that there will be a huge increase in the number of older people who are living longer. The United Nations (2013) has recognised the fact that the older generation is growing at a rapid rate, and estimated that by 2050 more than two billion people will be aged 60 and older. This will account for 22% (or 1:5) of the world’s population, compared with only 10% in 2000, and this demographic shift will be seen across all continents. As a direct consequence of these global ageing patterns, the travel and tourism industry is set to welcome the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964). Baby boomers are now accounting for a greater share of all tourism spending than previous cohorts of older travelers. The World Tourism Organization (2001) has predicted that by 2050, international travelers who will be aged 60 years and over would exceed two billion trips per annum, compared to 593 million in 1999. This significant population increase by older travelers will have a noticeable impact both on the type of holidays undertaken and the destinations that are chosen. To cater for this increased demand for tourism services, many countries are beginning to experience a significant impact on their natural resources, consumption patterns, pollution levels, and social systems. Sustainable tourism is becoming the new ‘buzz’ word for tourism operators, as they attempt to incorporate a suitable balance between the three dimensions of tourism development: the environmental, the economic, and the socio-cultural.

This Special Issue will comprise of a selection of papers that will address the three pillars of sustainable tourism and are based on the following key themes:

1. Environmental: The optimal use of environmental resources, the maintenance of essential ecological processes, and the need to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity, which are key elements of sustainable tourism development. Although travelling to warmer climates will still be popular, research indicates that many older travelers are demanding new and exotic destinations to visit in their search for memorable experiences, which has implications for the environment. Baby boomers now prefer to take holidays where they can learn something new and/or embark on different historical, educational, and cultural experiences.
2. Socio-Cultural: Sustainable tourist services need to respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, so as to conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and to contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance. Educational tourism is becoming more popular for many older travelers who commit themselves to learning about a different culture and/or volunteer to help residents from rural and remote communities as well as poorer third-world countries.
3. Economic: It is hoped that the search for new and exotic destinations by baby boomers will help to provide socio-economic benefits for all stakeholders that will be fairly distributed, including employment and income-earning opportunities for host communities, as well as the adequate provision of social services to help to alleviate poverty.

Papers selected for this Special Issue will undergo a rigorous peer-review process.

Dr. Ian Patterson
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• senior tourism
• baby boomers
• aging
• older travelers
• cultural tourism
• educational tourism
• adventure tourism
• volunteer tourism