Seasonality in Tourism: Do Senior Programs Mitigate It?

Abstract

Seasonality is a widely recognised and accredited phenomenon known to cause an imbalance in tourism activity throughout the year, prompting tourist destinations, both public and private, to consider how best to plan the use of their resources. One way of mitigating the economic imbalances that seasonality can cause is to find strategies for seasonal adjustment, such as travel programmes aimed at the elderly. This paper analyses the seasonality of tourism activity in some EU countries, and in particular in Spain. Different indicators are used to compare the results and carry out a sensitivity analysis. The study then focuses on tourism programmes for the elderly in Spain to see whether this type of programme helps to alleviate the seasonality of tourism activity. To corroborate this, an econometric model is specified and estimated, which enables the scope of these programmes to be compared.