resort management
Resort management analysis: seniors market
Accepting the proposition that demography represents our destiny to a large degree, the example in Table 1.1 focuses on one factor that is expected to influence resort futures and is susceptible to management influence, namely the growing significance of our seniors market. The electronic newsletter Travel Impact Newswire reports on ‘The Impact of Demographic
Change’ in one of its issues. One story relates to a Mastercard
Insights Report on Japan’s older women – the ‘silver aristocrats’. Japan is at the forefront of aging societies and its older women have become ‘a powerful and important segment, expected to command some US$313 billion of spending power by 2013’ (Travel Impact Newswire, 2005: 6). It goes on to say:
A whole new industry has come into existence catering for their special needs (including health spas, continuing education centers, and amateur associations dedicated to the pursuit of a wide variety of hobbies and interests). Demand for consumer goods and products tend to have a low threshold, whereas demand for services could expand virtually indefinitely as long as consumers are provided with new and satisfying experiences.The growth of demand for services will be limited only by businesses’ ability to innovate.
Resorts are well placed to become a part of such business practice and innovation. To attract guests in the today’s highly competitive market all resorts need to stand out by differentiating themselves from their competitors.
Many are attempting to do this by applying competitive advantage principles and through branding to increase their top of mind awareness amongst consumers.We can already see movement in these directions for the seniors market.
There is a strong expectation that health and wellness will be a major feature of the senior’s market, and that such interest will not be confined to the traditional hot springs resorts. For example, the Daydream Island
Accepting the proposition that demography represents our destiny to a large degree, the example in Table 1.1 focuses on one factor that is expected to influence resort futures and is susceptible to management influence, namely the growing significance of our seniors market. The electronic newsletter Travel Impact Newswire reports on ‘The Impact of Demographic
Change’ in one of its issues. One story relates to a Mastercard
Insights Report on Japan’s older women – the ‘silver aristocrats’. Japan is at the forefront of aging societies and its older women have become ‘a powerful and important segment, expected to command some US$313 billion of spending power by 2013’ (Travel Impact Newswire, 2005: 6). It goes on to say:
A whole new industry has come into existence catering for their special needs (including health spas, continuing education centers, and amateur associations dedicated to the pursuit of a wide variety of hobbies and interests). Demand for consumer goods and products tend to have a low threshold, whereas demand for services could expand virtually indefinitely as long as consumers are provided with new and satisfying experiences.The growth of demand for services will be limited only by businesses’ ability to innovate.
Resorts are well placed to become a part of such business practice and innovation. To attract guests in the today’s highly competitive market all resorts need to stand out by differentiating themselves from their competitors.
Many are attempting to do this by applying competitive advantage principles and through branding to increase their top of mind awareness amongst consumers.We can already see movement in these directions for the seniors market.
There is a strong expectation that health and wellness will be a major feature of the senior’s market, and that such interest will not be confined to the traditional hot springs resorts. For example, the Daydream Island