DEMENTIA TOURISM AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DESTINATION REJUVENATION: SIMPLY A SUPPLY SIDE OFFER OR A NEED FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CAREGIVERS?

Many tourism destinations worldwide have lost their attractiveness and reached stagnation. In order to enable them to find a way to rejuvenate they need to find new innovative offers and explore new target markets. Recent changes in the population, in particular the aging factor, enable to identify new promising markets, such seniors. Seniors are considered as an important new target market to invest in since they have spending power to travel and they travel for longer time and off-season. Although seniors are an interesting market, they bring with them the effects of ageing, i.e., disability. Among different disability, dementia plays an important role. This made policy makers and businesses starting to be interested in dementia tourism. Some supply led initiatives have already been created, but further insights are needed to understand whether people with dementia and their caregivers are interested in such offers. This paper aims to explore this further. The qualitative findings of this research shows that people with dementia and their caregivers will benefit of such tourism offers, and they are willing to participate in them if extra-care is offered. This shades positive lights on the fact that such an offer could be successful. However, it is important to notice that not every caregiver is positive in making their beloved one participating in such activities, and they won’t be willing to participate as well. As a matter of fact, factors such as the level of cognitive impairments, and the level of behavioral impairments influence the possibility to join such activities. The willingness of joining such activities is also influence by the family bond: husbands and wives are more prone to participate than children. This depends as well on the perception of tourism as a beneficial activity by caregivers, and the need of diversion, respite, and enjoyment of time together. If caregivers do not see tourism as something positive for their wellbeing and the one of the beloved one they will not be interested. Last but not least the lifestyle before dementia and past experience of tourism in early stage of dementia influence strongly the willingness to participate. With this in mind the markers should spend time in making sure that this offer will be appealing to their target market before starting an initiative, which although being extremely good in theory, might not be actually needed in the reality.