Social tourism in later life

This chapter provides an overview of research into the social tourism experiences of older people otherwise unable to take a holiday away from home. It discusses how studies have demonstrated the opportunities such holidays provide participants for escape, reminiscence, respite, companionship and reflection and the challenges they simultaneously present related to anxiety. The chapter does not define or discuss the origins, definitions and meaning of social tourism in depth (as this is done elsewhere in this volume). Instead, it opens by mapping the growth of the world’s older population, moves on to explore how social tourism has the potential to enhance older people’s quality of life, improve their well-being and enable them to better cope with everyday adversity, before concluding with reflections on future research avenues.