[version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
No competing interests were disclosed.
The global demographic shift to an ageing population has placed individuals aged 60 and above as a crucial tourism market segment due to several factors. The senior tourism market, a growing segment, has distinct preferences and needs. Motivation for tourism, tourism-related needs, concerns for accessibility, travel companions, and past experiences determine the preferences of senior tourists. Comprehending these preferences is vital for the tourism industry to cater to this market segment effectively and sustainably. While researchers have extensively examined preferences, there is a lack of research on senior tourists’ accommodation preferences. This scoping review aims to map research trends and provide a future research scope on senior tourists’ accommodation preferences.
The updated Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodological guidelines were adopted for this scoping review protocol. The proposed scoping review will be aligned with the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley, the Population, Concept, Context (PCC) framework, to develop the research questions, and the Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methodology (TCCM) framework for synthesising, summarising and reporting. Studies indexed in Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases published in English from their origin to 2025, irrespective of study location are included. The articles will be screened independently by two reviewers for eligibility. The extracted data will be presented graphically and descriptively.
This scoping review maps the existing literature on senior tourists’ accommodation choices by adopting the TCCM framework. This study will provide future research directions associated with senior tourists’ accommodation preferences.
This scoping review protocol was registered with the Open Science Framework (OSF). DOI:
There is no direct involvement of human participants in this study on secondary data; therefore, ethical clearance is not required. The results of this review will be disseminated through journal publications and conference presentations in the future.
A significant shift towards an older population has been observed in the global demographics. The World Health Organization (WHO) highlights that, globally, the older population (aged 60 years and above) is projected to double—reaching approximately 2.1 billion by 2050—compared to one billion in 2020. The current growth in the older population is much faster than in the past.
To address the range of negative consequences associated with demographic changes in the elderly population and foster the sustainable development of society, the UN announced 2021–2030 as the ‘
As the world’s second-largest industry, tourism is responsible for promoting healthy ageing by actively engaging with the older population.
The literature clearly indicates a growing interest in ageing, tourism, and the physical, mental, and social well-being of the elderly population.
According to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) article on methodology for scoping review protocols
Following the Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework, research questions were developed (
What are the global trends in research on senior tourists’ accommodation preferences? What is the current state of research on senior tourists’ accommodation choices in terms of theories used, context studied (geographical and cultural settings), characteristics, and methodologies employed? What are the future research scopes for senior tourists’ accommodation preferences?
PCC: Population, Concept, Context.
Senior tourists aged 60 years and above
Senior tourists towards accommodation preferences
No restrictions on the location and timeline of the study
The selection of related studies will be done using the PCC mnemonic to establish the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the review.
This review will consider studies related to senior tourists. Studies should include participants aged 60 years and above. The minimum age criterion of 60 years is set, as mentioned by the WHO. Studies comparing senior tourists with other age cohorts will also be included.
Considering the increased population of older adults, the tourism industry considers senior tourists an important travel market segment. Research on the senior tourist segment is growing in the current scenario. During tours and travel, senior tourists demonstrate different motivations, preferences, technology adoption, and concerns for accessibility, health, and safety than other age cohorts.
Studies published until August 2025 will be included in this review. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the trends in senior tourist research, this review purposefully considers studies published from its origin. There will be no limit on the geographical location considered in the study for inclusion in the review to maintain the broader scope of the review. Although the published research article domain should be among social sciences and humanities, it should not include other areas such as agriculture, medicine and engineering.
This study will include peer-reviewed articles which can be qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method, or interventional in nature to ensure the rigor of the research and its findings. However, it does not consider book chapters, conference papers and reports.
Articles will be searched in two major databases, Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). The suitable terms mentioned in
Older people
Aged, older adults, elderly, seniors, older people, older tourists, geriatric, older population, aging population, senior tourists, senior citizens, older citizen
Tourists
Hotel guests, tourists, tourists, customers, consumers
Hospitality industry
Hospitality, travel industry, tourism, hotel industry, lodging, accommodation sector, hotel, lodging industry
Using the search string, the document list will be exported from both databases and uploaded to Rayyan software for deduplication and title-abstract screening. The screening will include two stages: title-abstract and full-text screening of each article, where two reviewers will assess the articles based on the specified criteria set according to the research objectives. Conflicts between reviewers will be resolved by discussing the article and review criteria together; a third reviewer will assist in cases of further ambiguity. A PRISMA flowchart will be created to elaborate on the number of articles searched, included, and excluded during the process.
The final included articles will be processed to retrieve information that will be compiled into a dataset. The data will be extracted and organised in Microsoft Excel to visualise details about the research problem, design, key findings, and implications. The format of the data extraction sheet is mentioned in
Number
Item
Description
1
Title of the paper
What is the title of the article?
2
Journal
In which journal the article is published?
3
Year
When did the article got published?
4
Authors
Who all are the authors of the paper?
5
Problem addressed
What issue is focused upon to resolve?
6
Research design
What is the research method used?
7
Country of the study
Which country the study is performed in?
8
Age definition
What is the age criteria set in sampling/study?
9
Theory used
What existing theories are used/developed?
10
Findings
What are the major outcomes/results of the study?
11
Limitation
What are the limits/drawbacks of the study?
12
Future scope
What are future recommendations given in the study?
13
Theoretical implication
What theoretical benefits are obtained from study?
14
Managerial implication
What managerial/practical benefits are obtained from study?
Once the data extraction is complete, the collated data will be synthesised and summarised by visualisation and descriptive methods using the TCCM framework. Both quantitative and qualitative studies will be summarised descriptively and thematically.
We will focus on the first research question by identifying trends and themes of the selected articles and grouping them to understand existing research on senior tourists’ preferences. Additionally, to address further research questions and inform future recommendations, this study highlights unexplored gaps and key research areas, providing a foundation of existing knowledge and identifying opportunities for future studies on senior tourists’ accommodation preferences.
We plan to disseminate the scoping review findings in peer-reviewed journals for publication and conference presentations.
To date, we have completed the initial phase of conceptualising the idea and forming research questions, along with the search strategy and inclusion criteria. We formed a search string by running a pilot search in databases, and will proceed with the search, followed by deduplication and screening of the published articles.
A scoping review is the best approach for mapping and synthesising broader evidence and gaps across multiple disciplines.
This scoping review involves a study on secondary data, that is, existing published articles, and does not involve any human participants directly.
There are no underlying data linked to this article.
OSF: A Scoping Review Protocol on Senior Tourists’ Accommodation Preferences,
Figshare: ‘PRISMA-P’ checklist. DOI:
Study data can be accessed according to the terms of the
The authors would like to thank Manipal Academy of Higher Education for providing access to the databases and administrative support and respective service providers of Microsoft Office, Rayyan, Figshare and Mendeley for use of their software.
The review would benefit from a clearer operational definition of “senior tourists.” It is currently unclear whether this term refers to functionally independent older adults, those who use mobility aids (e.g., walkers or wheelchairs), or individuals with significant physical or cognitive impairments.
Given that accommodation preferences may vary substantially according to functional status and type of health condition, greater clarity is essential. As this is a scoping review, the authors may consider explicitly limiting the population to healthy, community-dwelling, functionally independent older adults (chronic diseases permissible), while excluding individuals with established disabilities, whose tourism preferences may follow a different pattern and warrant separate analysis.
Is the study design appropriate for the research question?
Yes
Is the rationale for, and objectives of, the study clearly described?
Partly
Are sufficient details of the methods provided to allow replication by others?
Yes
Are the datasets clearly presented in a useable and accessible format?
Yes
Reviewer Expertise:
Older adults; Mobility and functional performance; Rehabilitation (neurological/geriatric); Independent living and community participation; Outdoor mobility and environmental accessibility; Falls prevention in older adults.
I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard.
The study proposed by the authors, which consists of the scoping review, is significant in determining the determinants of the choice of accommodation places for senior tourists.
As the authors indicated, the scoping review aims to identify research trends and future research scope on senior tourists' accommodation preferences. The justification of the presented purpose is done correctly and sufficiently. The design of the study is suitable for the three research questions posed:
1) What are the global trends in research on senior tourists’ accommodation preferences?
2) What is the current state of research on senior tourists’ accommodation choices in terms of theories used, context studied (geographical and cultural settings), characteristics, and methodologies employed?
3) What are the future research scopes for senior tourists’ accommodation preferences?
However, in this matter, I have a small suggestion for the authors to consider when determining the study population and then analysing the source texts concerning the perception of various forms of accommodation by seniors
Seniors are an increasingly heterogeneous group every year due to their health conditions and the use of new technologies. If literature sources referring to seniors are sought during the study, it is necessary to break down the results (if possible) into at least two groups: people aged 60-69 and 70+. This is because younger seniors often used new technologies during their professional activity and had access to better health care than older seniors. The first indicated factor, i.e. new technologies, affects the ability to search for and compare accommodation places remotely and independently. On the other hand, the chance to benefit from better health care means that younger seniors are more likely to use accommodation services and will be more likely to use them in the future because they will be active as tourists.
Therefore, what the authors write about in the introduction, i.e. "ageing comes with an increased risk of geriatric syndromes, malnutrition, disability, and poor health, resulting in a reduced quality of life and placing an enormous medical and healthcare burden on society" is perceived differently in the group of younger seniors and in the group of older seniors.
For this reason, the authors' search for attributes of the choice of accommodation by senior tourists cannot be generalised to the entire generation group of people 60+. In a group with such an age range, there will be parents and their children; differences are always observed on this level.
Both methods and datasets are appropriate for the study and the answers to the research questions.
Is the study design appropriate for the research question?
Yes
Is the rationale for, and objectives of, the study clearly described?
Yes
Are sufficient details of the methods provided to allow replication by others?
Yes
Are the datasets clearly presented in a useable and accessible format?
Yes
Reviewer Expertise:
multivariate data analysis, econometrics, social sciences, analysis of behaviour and needs, tourism and the tourism sector
I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard.