Implications of generational change: European river cruises and the emerging Gen X market

Abstract

This article focuses on the Generation X (Gen X) cohort that will replace the baby boomers as the main target market for tourism experiences tailored specifically to the senior/mature market in the coming years. Its context is a successful segment of the cruising industry: the European river cruising sector. The study explores the potential impacts of this generational change on river cruising. Little is currently known about Gen X’s tourism motivations, expectations and behaviour. Generational theory is employed in this study as the framework to identify distinct features of the Gen X cohort. Using a phenomenological research design, 39 in-depth interviews were conducted with participants in two important European river cruise source market countries, Australia and the United States. Findings of this study indicate that Gen Xers have distinct tourism motivations, needs and interests that have evolved from their formative experiences. A range of political, financial and social issues have been identified that may affect Gen Xers’ predisposition towards products aimed for the mature market such as European river cruises in their currently offered format. The study contributes to tourism theory, offering an understanding of Gen Xers’ desire and ability to participate in such tourism activities in the future.

Keywords

Consumer behaviour European river cruises generation change generation theory Generation X tourism behaviour

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

(2003) The future of event marketing. Event Solutions, 17 March, 03.

Australian Government (2016) Study assist. Available at: www.studyassist.gov.au/sites/studyassist/helppayingmyfees/hecs-help/pages/hecs-help-welcome (accessed 20 August 2017).

Barrow

(1994) Marketing to generation X. Canadian Manager 19(1): 23–24.

Beaudoin

(1998) Gen X spirituality. Tikkun 13: 45–67.

Benckendorff

Moscardo

Pendergast

(2010) Tourism and Generation Y. Wallingford: CAB International.

Bowen

Fidgeon

Page

(2014) Maritime tourism and terrorism: customer perceptions of the potential terrorist threat to cruise shipping. Current Issues in Tourism 17(7): 610–639.

Bruce

(2015) Generation X marks the spot. Canadian Business 88(6): 22.

Cennamo

Gardner

(2008). Generational differences in work values, outcomes, and personal-organization values fit. Journal of Managerial Psychology 23(8): 891–906.

Chen

(2018) Income source effect on retiree’s tourism behaviour. Annals of Tourism Behaviour 68: 4–6.

10.

Chen

Shoemaker

(2014). Age and cohort effects: the American senior tourism market. Annals of Tourism Research 48(0): 58–75.

11.

Cresswell

(2007) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Choosing Among Five Approaches. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

12.

Cruise Lines International Association (2005) CLIA Cruise lines ride the wave of unprecedented growth [Press release]. Available at: www.cruising.org/about-the-industry/press-room/press-releases/pr/clia-cruise-lines-ride-the-wave-of-unprecedented-growth (accessed 25 November 2017).

13.

Cruise Lines International Association (2014) North America consumer profile. Available at: http://www.cruising.org/sites/default/files/pressroom/CLIA_NAConsumerProfile_2014.pdf (accessed 1 September 2017).

14.

Cruise Lines International Association (2015) Cruise industry source market report 2014. Available at: www.cruising.org.au/downloads/CLIA-Report-2014-pdf.pdf (accessed 1 September 2017).

15.

Cruise Lines International Association (2017) 2017 Cruise industry outlook. Available at: www.cruising.org/docs/default-source/research/clia-2017-state-of-the-industry.pdf?sfvrsn=6 (accessed 25 November 2017).

16.

Cruise Lines International Association Australia (2017) 2016 Cruise industry source market report. Available at: www.cruising.org.au/Tenant/0000003/5090_CLIA_Market_Report_AUS_Final_LR.pdf (accessed 28 November 2017).

17.

Dotson

Clark

Dave

(2008) Travel motivations and destination activities of young travelers of different ages: an empirical study in the United States. International Journal of Management 25(4): 665–672, 778.

18.

Dowling

(2006) Cruise Ship Tourism. Wallingford: CABI.

19.

Duman

Mattila

(2005) The role of affective factors on perceived cruise vacation value. Tourism Management 26(3): 311–323.

20.

Elliot

Choi

(2011) Motivational considerations of the new generations of cruising. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 18(1): 41–44.

21.

Erdeji

Dragin

(2017) Is cruising along European rivers primarily intended for seniors and workers from Eastern Europe? Geographica Pannonica 21(12): 115–123.

22.

Erfurt Cooper

(2009) European waterways as a source of leisure and recreation. In: Prideaux

Cooper

(eds) River Tourism. Wallingford: CABI, pp. 95–116.

23.

Gallagher

(2011) The cost of caring for an elderly parent rises. Westchester County Business Journal 47(28): 34.

24.

Gardiner

Grace

King

(2015) Is the Australian domestic holiday a thing of the past? Understanding baby boomer, generation X and generation Y perceptions and attitude to domestic and international holidays. Journal of Vacation Marketing 21(4): 336–350.

25.

Gardiner

King

Grace

(2013) Travel decision making: an empirical examination of generational values, attitudes, and intentions. Journal of Travel Research 52(3): 310–324.

26.

Gelston

(2008) Welcome to the generation wars: as Boomer bosses relinquish the reins of leadership to generation X, both are worrying about generation Y. For the good of the enterprise, everyone needs to do a better job of getting along. CIO 21(8): 0.

27.

Gerson

(2009) The Unfinished Revolution: How a New Generation is Reshaping Family, Work, and Gender in America. New York: Oxford University Press.

28.

Glover

Prideaux

(2008) Identifying tourism demand: the Gold Coast and Cairns in 2020. In: Where the Bloody Hell Are We? CAUTHE Conference. Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia, 6-9 February 2008.

29.

Glover

Prideaux

(2009) Implications of population ageing for the development of tourism products and destinations. Journal of Vacation Marketing 15(1): 25–37.

30.

Glusac

(2012) Interest in river Cruises soars. New York Times, 29 June 12.

31.

Goh

Lee

(2018) A workforce to be reckoned with: the emerging pivotal generation Z hospitality workforce. International Journal of Hospitality Management 73: 20–28.

32.

Hicks

(1999) Boomers, Xers and Other Strangers: Understanding the General Differences that Divide Us. Wheaton: Tyndale House.

33.

Hill

(2013) What’s behind the river-cruise boom: smaller ships, intimate itineraries woo more travellers. The Wall Street Journal, 2 January 13.

34.

Howe

Strauss

(2007) The next 20 years: how customer and workforce attitudes will evolve. Harvard Business Review 85(7/8): 41–52.

35.

Hung

Petrick

(2011) Why do you cruise? Exploring the motivations for taking cruise holidays, and the construction of a cruising motivation scale. Tourism Management 32(2): 386–393.

36.

Jennings

(2010) Tourism Research, 2nd ed. Milton: Wiley.

37.

Jennings

(2012) Generation X. Nation’s Restaurant News 46(9): 36.

38.

Kester

JGC

(2003) Cruise tourism. Tourism Economics 9(3): 337–350.

39.

Kupperschmidt

(2000) Multigeneration employees: strategies for effective management. The Health Care Manager 19(1): 65–76.

40.

Lee

Gates

(1992) Generation X. Transition 56: 176–190.

41.

Lehto

Jang

Achana

, et al. (2008) Exploring tourism experience sought: a cohort comparison of Baby Boomers and the silent generation. Journal of Vacation Marketing 14(3): 237–252.

42.

Levine

(1994) Generation X. Forbes 154(2): 293.

43.

Hudson

(2013) The application of generational theory to tourism consumer behavior: an American perspective. Tourism Management 37(0): 147–164.

44.

Littrell

Paige

Song

(2004) Senior travellers: tourism activities and shopping behaviours. Journal of Vacation Marketing 10(4): 348–362.

45.

Losyk

(1997) Generation X; what they think and what they plan to do. Futurist 31(2): 39.

46.

Mackay

(1997) Generations, baby Boomers, their parents and their children. Sydney: MacMillan.

47.

Mannheim

(1952) Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. London: Routledge.

48.

McCrindle

Wolfinger

(2009) The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations. Sydney: UNSW Press.

49.

McMullin

Comeau

Jovic

(2007) Generational affinities and discourses of difference: a case study of highly skilled information technology workers. The British Journal of Sociology 58(2): 297–316.

50.

Meredith

Schewe

(1994) The power of cohorts. American Demographics 16(12): 22.

51.

Moustakas

(1994) Phenomenological Research Methods. London: SAGE.

52.

Nimrod

(2008) Retirement and tourism themes in retirees’ narratives. Annals of Tourism Research 35(4): 859–878.

53.

Noble

Schewe

(2003) Cohort segmentation: an exploration of its validity. Journal of Business Research 56(12): 979–987.

54.

Peisley

(2004) Cruising in Europe. Travel & Tourism Analyst 2: 1–39.

55.

Pennington Gray

Fridgen

Stynes

(2003). Cohort segmentation: an application to tourism. Leisure Sciences 25(4): 341.

56.

Poon

(1993) Tourism, Technology and Competitive Strategies. Wallingford: CABI.

57.

Power

(2016) Age pension age increasing to 67 years (not 70 years). Superguide, 12 January, 16.

58.

Prebensen

Woo

Chen

, et al. (2013) Motivation and involvement as antecedents of the perceived value of the destination experience. Journal of Travel Research 52(2): 253–264.

59.

Prideaux

Cooper

(2009) River Tourism. Wallingford: CABI.

60.

Riquier

(2015) Old Richer, all others far Poorer Vs. Before Generational Wealth Divide Millenials, Generation X hit by Great Recession; gun-shy over home buys. Investor’s Business Daily. p. 1. Available at: http://search.proquest.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/docview/1704413857accountid=10382

61.

Ritchie

(1992) Get ready for ‘generation X’ soon the primary market, and very unlike ageing baby Boomers. Advertising Age 63(46): 21.

62.

River Boat Ratings (2014) The thinking person’s guide to river cruising. Available at: www.riverboatratings.com (accessed 11 September 2017).

63.

River Cruises Europe (2015) River Cruises Europe. Available at: www.rivercruiseseurope.co.uk (accessed 12 September 2017).

64.

Rodrigues

(2012) Constraints, Nostalgia and North Americans’ visits to rural Europe. European Journal of Tourism Research 5(2): 186–190.

65.

Scenic Tours (2015) Scenic Tours Europe Luxury River Cruises 2015/6. Australia: Scenic Tours, pp. 34–35.

66.

Schewe

Noble

(2000) Market segmentation by cohorts: the value and validity of cohorts in America and abroad. Journal of Marketing Management 16(1–3): 129–142.

67.

Seatrade Europe (2015) River Cruises gaining in popularity. Available at: www.seatrade-europe.com/press-service/press-releases/press-release/datum/2015/08/17/river-cruises-gaining-in-popularity/ (accessed 1 September 2017).

68.

Shaw

William

(2004) Tourism and Tourism Spaces. London: SAGE.

69.

Singer

Prideaux

(2006) The impact of demographic change on future demand-a focus group study. In: To the city and beyond CAUTHE 2006 Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 6–9 February, 2016.

70.

SSA (2016) Social security. Available at: https://www.ssa.gov (accessed 5 July 2017).

71.

Strauss

Howe

(1991) Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069. New York: Quill.

72.

Strauss

Howe

(1999) The New Generation Gap, Gen X Papers. Boston: Atlantic.

73.

Tamborini

Iams

(2011) Are generation Xers different than late boomers? Family and earnings trends among recent cohorts of women at young adulthood. Population Research and Policy Review 30(1): 59–79.

74.

Tulgan

(1996) Common misconceptions about generation X. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 37(6): 46–54.

75.

United States Census Bureau (2010) Census of population 2010. Available at: https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-03.pdf (accessed 5 July 2017).

76.

United States Department of Labor (2016) Vacation leave. Available at: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/vacation_leave (accessed 5 July 2017).

77.

United Nations World Toursim Organization (2016) UNWTO tourism highlights 2016 edition. Available at: http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284418145 (accessed 1 March 2017).

78.

Uniworld (2016) 2016 Europe & Russia Boutique river cruises. Pittsburg: Uniworld, pp. 1–2.

79.

Veal

(2006) Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism. 3rd ed. Sydney: Prentice Hall.