**1. Introduction**

The progressively aging population observed in recent years is among the most important social and economic issues of the modern world. Compared to 2000, when the percentage of women over 60 and men over 65 was 14% of the total population, demographic predictions for 2030 anticipate that this share will increase to 24%, amounting to a total of 9 million, 290 thousand people on average in Europe (Zieli ´nska-Szczepkowska and Samusjew 2015). Eurostat forecasts indicate that elderly people will be close to 28% of the population in the European Union in 2050 (Zmuda-Pałka and Siwek ˙ 2019).

The increase in the number of seniors, despite differences in individual countries, is global (Urbaniak 2016). At the end of the past century, it was accepted that the aging of the population is a key challenge of the 21st century. This is reflected in the senior policies adopted by the European Union. In 2005, the green paper, Confronting Demographic Change: A New Solidarity between the Generations (2005), was published, and three years later the communication entitled The Demographic Future of Europe—From Challenge to Opportunity (2008) was published. These documents emphasized that the aging of society can and should be used to increase the competitiveness of the European economy.

The progressing demographic changes influence various aspects of our life, including tourism traffic. The structure of travelers undergoes changes, as well as their expectations, needs, and motivations (Alén et al. 2012; Fu and Zheng 2011; Kim and Kim 2020). Tourism,

**Citation:** Zieli ´nska-Szczepkowska, Joanna. 2021. What Are the Needs of Senior Tourists? Evidence from Remote Regions of Europe. *Economies* 9: 148. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/economies9040148

Academic Editor: Aleksander Panasiuk

Received: 1 September 2021 Accepted: 1 October 2021 Published: 11 October 2021

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

being one of the most dynamically growing industries, in order to continue to expand, must account for new trends and regularities. In connection with the clearly noticeable aging of societies, especially in Europe, the tourism of elderly people is an area with high development potential. A wide group of recipients means vast development opportunities in many European regions, especially poorer ones. Regions lying in direct proximity to the border are usually remote, and remain to a lesser or greater degree marginalized in many ways, especially economic and political. The problem of peripheral location is a significant issue assumed by the European Union. In accordance with Growing Regions, Growing Europe: Fourth Report on Economic and Social Cohesion (2007), 26% of all regions are classified as remote regions (20% of the EU) and inhabited by one-quarter of the citizens. In countries of the EU, the main measure for classifying a given area as remote is GDP per capita below 75% of the EU average (according to the purchasing power parity).

In many countries, the direction of development for remote regions that is provided by tourism is treated as one of the elements of multifunctional development. This results from the immense potential from the stimulation of other sectors as well as creating new places of work. Researchers into the development potential of silver tourism in the European Union noticed, as early as 2010, in accordance with the communication, Europe—The World's No. 1 Tourist Destination—New Political Frameworks for the European Tourism Sector (2010), that one of the greatest challenges for the European tourism sector is the progressing demographic change connected with the aging of the population. The continuation of senior policy in the tourism sector has its place in the financial programming period for the years 2014–2020. Although tourism was not included as a thematic objective for the regulation of the European structural and investment funds (ESIF), seeing as how it is more a center or sector of the economy than an objective, the regulation nevertheless anticipates many possibilities of thought-out investment in tourism. Tourism will continue to play a significant role in the planned financing from the ERDF program, as well as in investments connected with the maintenance, protection, promotion, and development of natural and cultural heritage<sup>1</sup> .

The silver economy creates a new possibility for dealing with the problems of aging through a proactive approach to the market, which makes use of the production of goods and services resulting from the needs of an aging society. The increasingly better health conditions of elderly people, as well as raising awareness when it comes to assuming physical activity, facilitate the popularization of active tourism (Zieli´nska-Szczepkowska and Zr´ óbek-Róza ´nska ˙ 2014). The elderly are undeniably specific clients, who possess large amounts of free time, and are thus a large potential source of economic growth. On the other hand, some of the seniors from remote regions are forced to deal with inadequate financial resources for the realization of long-range tourist expeditions. An answer to their needs may be the poorer border regions of European countries, which are abundant in natural and cultural assets, and which, at the same time, are facing the challenge of adapting their touristic offerings to the needs of the elderly.

The aim of this article is to analyze senior touristic behavior, including an assessment of the motivations and decision-making issues of senior travelers, in 11 remote regions of nine European counters (Finland, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain, Ireland, and Greece) based on information gathered from 1705 questionnaires. In addition to presenting the results of the questionnaire studies carried out among seniors, the results of interviews with representatives of the tourism industry and local governments on the topic of the development of senior tourism are analyzed. This publication also makes use of subject literature, as well as statistical data pertaining to demographic forecasts. Strategic documents placed on the website of the European Commission, as well as information on the subject of the international project supporting the development of senior tourism, entitled "TOURAGE—senior tourism development in European remote regions", were also used within the framework of the present study.
