**3. Methodology**

The distinct deep demographic changes taking place in recent years are not only a topic of scientific inquiry but also a matter of strategic interest, both at the level of individual countries and regions, as well as for actual EU institutions. In 2010, the European Commission, in a communication entitled *Europe, the world's No. 1 tourist destination: A new political framework for tourism in Europe*, revealed for the first time that, in addition to challenges such as economic crisis, climate change, and the development of new technologies, the European tourism sector should also take into account the issues that result from the wide-reaching aging of society. According to the European Commission, tourism will play an immense role in the development of many European regions, especially the poorer ones<sup>2</sup> .

The above changes will require a fast reaction from the tourism sector so that it can maintain its current level of competitiveness. Seniors possess buying power as well as free time. In order to fully take advantage of the economic potential of the silver economy, it is essential to identify the needs of and create an adequate offer for the senior tourist.

A response to the abovementioned challenge was the realization of an international project (entitled "TOURAGE—Developing Senior Tourism in Remote Regions") in 2012– 2014, financed by the INTERREG IV C Interregional Cooperation Programme. The project was created thanks to the intense cooperation of regions affiliated in the Network of Eastern External Border Regions (NEEBOR), which in many cases are distant from each other and scarcely populated, whose economic development and employment are faced with great challenges. This was also observed by regional authorities, accounting for the development of tourism in their regional development strategies.

Eleven partners from nine European Union member states were involved in the realization of the project (Figure 1):


Management Agency, Hungary;


• The Podkarpackie Region, Poland; • The County Council of Granada, Spain;

**Figure 1.** Geographical coverage of the partnership of the "TOURAGE—Developing Senior Tourism in Remote Regions" project. **Figure 1.** Geographical coverage of the partnership of the "TOURAGE—Developing Senior Tourism in Remote Regions" project.

• The Regional Development Agency of the Prešov Self-Governing Region, Slovakia.

In the first part, an extensive review of the literature (desk research) focusing on the motivation of senior tourists, their needs, and the decision-making process in the case of travel requirements was conducted to identify travel motivations expressed by senior tourists from remote regions of Europe. Information cited in the literature was selected to be included in the questionnaire. In the first part, an extensive review of the literature (desk research) focusing on the motivation of senior tourists, their needs, and the decision-making process in the case of travel requirements was conducted to identify travel motivations expressed by senior tourists from remote regions of Europe. Information cited in the literature was selected to be included in the questionnaire.

In the second part of the research, a questionnaire was developed to collect quantitative data. A survey was conducted among local seniors. To better understand the needs of this target group, I had to develop an adequate and comprehensive questionnaire for them. With this local senior questionnaire, I sought to identify what kind of traveling habits, motivations, and needs the regional seniors have while they are living on retirement pensions. The aim of the questionnaire was to seek out important information regarding how we should develop the regional touristic services so that they meet the needs of senior citizens. In the second part of the research, a questionnaire was developed to collect quantitative data. A survey was conducted among local seniors. To better understand the needs of this target group, I had to develop an adequate and comprehensive questionnaire for them. With this local senior questionnaire, I sought to identify what kind of traveling habits, motivations, and needs the regional seniors have while they are living on retirement pensions. The aim of the questionnaire was to seek out important information regarding how we should develop the regional touristic services so that they meet the needs of senior citizens.

The questionnaire comprised 22 questions (11 questions on the motivations and needs of senior tourists in Europe, three region-specific questions to bring added value for the local authorities, and eight questions regarding background information on the general characteristics of seniors). The questionnaire comprised 22 questions (11 questions on the motivations and needs of senior tourists in Europe, three region-specific questions to bring added value for the local authorities, and eight questions regarding background information on the general characteristics of seniors).

Thanks to the realization of the TOURAGE project, I used different types of occasions to meet with local seniors and ask them for their opinions on tourism-related issues: Thanks to the realization of the TOURAGE project, I used different types of occasions to meet with local seniors and ask them for their opinions on tourism-related issues:


The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part included questions regarding the travel behaviors and trip characteristics of the respondents. It was designed to gather opinions on travel motivations and the needs of seniors from remote regions of Europe, including questions on the travel preferences of seniors, their travel plans, the sources of information they used in their decision-making process, popular destinations for their holiday trips, the modes of transportation they used when traveling, and the barriers that they feel discourage travel. Senior tourists were also asked to give opinions on a five-point Likert scale (1—no importance to 5—extremely important). One of the questions included seven closed attributes and one open attribute concerning their motivations for traveling, in which seniors were asked to rate the perceived importance of each of the attributes for considering their preferences. The last question of the first part included 31 closed attributes and one open attribute, covering the major touristic components of destination selection, including, for example, accommodation, accessibility, natural and cultural attractions, and public services.

The second part dealt with the personal characteristics of the respondents, gathering data on their gender, age, length of retirement, place of residence, marital status, educational level, and annual income compared to the national yearly average of retirees in each region.

The content validity of questionnaire items was evaluated by tourism professionals from each region and one scientific expert. Subsequently, a pilot test was conducted to assess how well the research instrument works. To increase the variety of respondents, the questionnaire was translated into Polish, Finnish, English, Latvian, Slovak, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Spanish, and Greek.

Questionnaires were distributed and collected in 2014 in the TOURAGE project regions. As a result, 1705 questionnaires were filled and analyzed, amounting to an average of 142 per region (Table 2).


**Table 2.** Number of filled questionnaires in remote regions.

Two seminars dedicated to the elderly in tourism were also organized during the realization of the studies. The participants of the meetings were representatives of local governments, organizations affiliated with and operating on behalf of seniors, academic institutions, and tourism businesses, with whom interviews on the following topics were carried out: the possibility of using the potential of elderly people in the tourism industry, the assessment of the quality of the existing touristic offerings for seniors, the role of local governments in the direction of supporting the touristic activity of elderly people, and the interest of entrepreneurs in the elderly as the recipients of tourism services.
