This paper sets out to answer the following research question: Is nostalgia an important travel motive that helps to explain why older tourists choose a specific sustainable destination?
This paper is a conceptual paper and uses a systematic literature review as the main method of secondary data analysis.
The findings suggest that nostalgia significantly contributes to the overall tourism experience, because older travelers often have a strong sense of nostalgia that dominates their memories and provides a positive view of the past that contributes to a greater sense of continuity and meaning in their lives.
Being a conceptual paper is its limitation in itself. For DMOs and marketers, it is important to understand what are the specific characteristics of a sustainable destination that are likely to serve as a cue for developing nostalgic emotions to help promote it. This can be achieved by designing nostalgic advertisements that are based on the history and cultural uniqueness of tourist attractions that stimulates the older tourists' love of history and culture, to motivate them to visit these sustainable destinations. DMOs need to capitalize on the nostalgic sentiments that are expressed by older tourists themselves that should also be used to promote nostalgia as a marketing strategy to attract potential consumers. To achieve this, potential tourists need to be shown imagery of older adults living their lives to the fullest. These include sharing photos of seniors doing “soft adventure” activities such as kayaking, hiking, and camping as well as other social activities such as dancing, socializing, learning, and cooking as examples of all the activities that older adults used to do when they were younger. Another strategy is for DMOs to use virtual reality trips to demonstrate that nostalgia contributes to sustainable tourism as it can accurately portray a destination’s atmosphere and to include its rich sensorial appeal. Nostalgia that is evoked by virtual reality has also been found to facilitate the marketing of “slow travel”, which encourages experiences of deep cultural exploration which entails choosing slower transportation, thus highlighting environmental consciousness (Juhl and Biskas, 2023). Future studies are needed to investigate how the beneficial effects of nostalgia can be employed to improve the quality of people’s social lives through sustainable tourist experiences.
For DMOs and marketers, it is important to understand what are the specific characteristics of a sustainable destination that are likely to serve as a cue for developing nostalgic emotions to help promote it. This can be achieved by designing nostalgic advertisements that are based on the history and cultural uniqueness of tourist attractions that stimulates the older tourists' love of history and culture, to motivate them to visit these sustainable destinations. DMOs need to capitalize on the nostalgic sentiments that are expressed by older tourists themselves that should also be used to promote nostalgia as a marketing strategy to attract potential consumers. To achieve this, potential tourists need to be shown imagery of older adults living their lives to the fullest. Another strategy is for DMOs to use virtual reality trips to demonstrate that nostalgia contributes to sustainable tourism as it can accurately portray a destination’s atmosphere and to include its rich sensorial appeal.
Raising awareness of ageism and the need to market older individuals in a different way is key.
Nostalgia is related to sustainable tourism, especially to the pillar of social sustainability that helps to bring people together. It is also regarded as one of the main contributing motives behind an older traveler’s choice of a sustainable destination. However, very few studies have acknowledged the importance of nostalgia as a motivation for travel, especially for repeat visitations.
Introduction
Nostalgia contributes to sustainable tourism because it links together environmental and social sustainability. UN Tourism described sustainable principles as relating to the pillars of environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. As a result, scholars have strongly advocated that a suitable balance needs to be established between these three dimensions or pillars that guarantee the long-term sustainability of tourism. Thus, sustainability should be seen as more than just looking after the natural environment; it is also about considering the social and economic impact of what we do and how we do it.
Several studies have supported the importance of nostalgia as contributing to environmental and social sustainability. Wu et al. (2020) concluded that nostalgia experienced at a heritage destination was associated with tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour which included promoting recycling, sustainable energy use, low-carbon transport and green consumption in tourism activities. Nostalgia has also been found to be a powerful social emotion (and as such, linked to social sustainability), because of its capacity to provide a sense of connectedness with other people (e.g. friends, family) and social occasions in which they are surrounded by others. Nostalgia also expresses such intrapersonal psychological benefits as providing meaning in life, self-continuity, optimism and inspiration (Juhl and Biskas, 2023).
Social sustainability has often been overlooked as a critical pillar of sustainability, although in recent years it has gained increased recognition (Wang and Ke, 2024). Initially, when the Brundtland Report (1987) introduced the concept of sustainable development, emphasis was placed on economic and environmental sustainability (Colantonio, 2009), while social sustainability was portrayed as being forgotten, neglected and marginalized (Opp, 2016). However, in recent years, researchers have focused more on social sustainability as being crucial in helping to create liveable communities where residents live and form local interpersonal networks (Khamis et al., 2023).
Several researchers have also theorized that nostalgia is one of the main driving forces behind travel (Wang, 2023) and has been specifically identified as one of the contributing factors that may help destination management organizations (DMOs) to better understand and promote why older tourists seek out the tourist experience (Christou, 2018).
The main aim of this study is to contribute to the body of scientific literature through a discussion of the importance of nostalgia as a travel motivation to promote the sustainable travel behaviour of older tourists. In addition, this study supports the need for DMOs to adopt and promote socially sustainable practices such as nostalgia in their marketing programs to motivate older tourists to visit their destinations.
Significance
Tourism researchers (Karagöz and Ramkissoon, 2023; Russell, 2008) have noted the effect of nostalgia on travel decision-making that may be applied to better understand the older adult travel market which has not been explored in previous studies. This extensive review will also attempt to introduce the motive of nostalgia so that DMOs can better comprehend why older tourists choose a certain destination, and to explain why they respond to various destination attributes based on this need.
Methods
This paper links together the concepts of nostalgia and tourism. This conceptual paper provides an integration of the literature into an integrated framework and highlights directions for future inquiry. Conceptual papers use as their basis a method of secondary data analysis that does not provide any new empirical data (Gilson and Goldberg, 2015). Conceptual studies do not necessarily propose new theory but rather seek to bridge existing theories in interesting ways, to link work across disciplines, provide multi-level insights and broaden the scope of our thinking (Cropanzano, 2009). A good review provides a qualitative overview of the extant literature that, “provides a contribution value akin to valuable works of art” (Short, 2009, p. 1312). It addresses the “what’s new” question: Is nostalgia an important travel motive to help explain why older tourists choose a sustainable holiday destination?
This study uses several information sources, including an iterative search of several literature databases including the Web of Science, ResearchGate and Google Scholar to connect existing theories and their research findings. This paper aims to analyse the body of information to expand the generality and applicability of the findings and to produce new knowledge through the process of integration (Pickering and Byrne, 2014). Several databases were accessed and searched using a specified set of keywords (older tourists; senior travel; motivations for travel; nostalgia; personal nostalgia; historical nostalgia and older tourists) to gather and identify any research gaps. A total of 66 research studies that were published between 1979 and 2024 were identified, retrieved and analysed to identify research gaps on the topic. The classification serves to highlight the areas of interest and findings of various scholars as well as to offer a review based on the social-psychological and tourism literature.
Literature review
This introductory section discusses what is nostalgia, and how it affects people’s lives.
What is nostalgia?
The word nostalgia was first coined by a Swiss physician, Johannes Hofer, who in the late 17th century described this as a disease that was suffered by Swiss mercenaries who found themselves isolated from the sights, sounds and smells of their Alpine world (Beck, 2013). Hofer used the word “heimweh”, which is translated from German-Swiss as meaning “homesickness”, suggesting that that these soldiers missed the intimacy of family relations and the congenial give-and-take of village life. Symptoms included bouts of weeping, irregular heartbeat and anorexia that were attributed at that time to demons inhabiting the middle brain.
In the 19th century, nostalgia was no longer looked upon by the medical profession as a disease; rather, various scholars began to define nostalgia from a psychological perspective that exhibited symptoms such as anxiety, sadness and insomnia (Sedikides et al., 2008). For Freudians, nostalgia was often considered to be a mild kind of neurosis stimulated by “a concern over, or denial of the future”. Davis (1979) regarded nostalgia as a painful desire or yearning to return home, generally with happy, personal associations with a former place or time. The term is originally derived from the Greek “nostos”, to return home, while “algia” denotes a painful condition. Taken together, they signify “a painful yearning to return home” (Davis, 1979, p. 1). However, Wildschut et al. (2006) in their study of British undergraduate students obtained evidence to support that nostalgia was mostly a positive emotion with narratives including far more positive expressions than negative ones. At the same time, there was some evidence of descriptions of disappointments and losses that included such issues as separation and even the death of loved ones.
Several authors have argued that nostalgia is more than just being a “homing instinct”. Rather, it may be the result of dissatisfaction with modernization, or a yearning for a more secure and stable existence (Overton, 1984). Overton (1984) supported the sentimental view that returning home was very often important for migrants. In fact, the visits of returning expatriates have become a very significant form of tourism in Newfoundland, with surveys showing that the Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) market accounted for a large part of the Newfoundland tourist trade. One of the more popular definitions of nostalgia was by Holbrook and Schindler (1991) as, “a preference (general liking, positive attitude, or favourable affect) toward objects (people, places, or things) that were more common (popular, fashionable, or widely circulated) when one was younger (in early adulthood, in adolescence, in childhood, or even before birth)” (p. 330). Havlena and Holak (1991) stated that everyone in the world is susceptible to it, regardless of their age and temperament.
In a tourism sense, the concept of nostalgia not only refers to a longing to return home but has been broadened to include a sentimental longing for something far away, something with spatial and temporal distance. The temporal distance is not limited to one’s own past experiences but also includes a collective past that is centred on its history. Based on these different classifications, Stern (1992) categorized nostalgia as either “personal nostalgia” or “historical” (or vicarious) nostalgia. Personal nostalgia denotes a sentimental longing to return to one’s personally remembered past often recollected in adult life as the source of great warmth, security and love. Conversely, historical nostalgia expresses the desire to retreat from contemporary life by returning to a time in the distant past that was viewed as superior to the present.
Koskinen-Koivisto (2016) noted that nostalgia treats the past as harmonious and idyllic, in contrast with the present that is often portrayed in a negative or a pessimistic light. In this case, an individual can often view nostalgic reminiscences through rose-tinted glasses that creates the desire to go back to the past or “back to their roots” (van Dijke et al., 2015). For example, a 2015 study of changing American values found that 53% of adult respondents believed that the 1950s was a preferable time to live, compared to current times (Jones et al., 2015).
Results
Nostalgic emotions have been discussed in the next section as an important motive for travel and have been shown to be important in encouraging tourists to return to the home where they grew up, and often where they received great warmth, security and love.
Nostalgia and the tourist experience
Nostalgic memories often hold a special place in most traveller’s hearts. Nostalgic travel recollections allow tourists to relive the moments they cherished during their past “voyages”. Here is one recollection of a tourist re-visiting a trip to Paris, France.
One of my most cherished nostalgic travel recollections takes me back to the enchanting streets of Paris. As I wandered through the labyrinthine alleys, the aroma of freshly baked croissants wafted through the air, and the sound of melodic French conversations echoed around me. Every corner I turned revealed a new hidden gem, from quaint cafes tucked away in cobblestone alleys to magnificent architectural marvels towering above. The City of Love truly knows how to leave a lasting impression. Whether it was savoring decadent macarons at Ladurée or strolling along the Seine River at twilight, the memories of Paris still evoke a sense of joy and wonder. The Eiffel Tower, standing tall and proud, offered a breathtaking view of the city, while the Louvre Museum housed centuries worth of art and history (Travel Savvy Tips, 2023, Dec. 3).
The nostalgia motive can also exhibit feelings that result from some degree of dissatisfaction with the present, which is believed to encourage tourists to travel to a destination with the aim of engaging with the past because it reawakens the desire for a memorable experience (Lee, 2015). For example, a couple returning to the destination where they were married or where they spent their honeymoon; a man going back to the site where he often fished with his father during his childhood; or an older woman travelling back to the town in her home country where she grew up. In these cases, nostalgia is seen as an emotion, as a means of fulfilling the desire to relive youthful dreams or bygone experiences, and/or to revive a personal history often filled with joy, happiness and satisfaction (Otoo et al., 2020; Wang, 2023).
Nostalgic tourists have also been described as motivated by a desire to fulfill their ancestral identity by consuming a range of cultural experiences (Russell, 2008). Baker and Kennedy (1994) identified two types of nostalgic tourists: real and historical. A real nostalgic tourist is one who seeks to revisit their past cultural environment and to relive personal bygone experiences, such as an expatriate returning home after a long time away. An historical nostalgic tourists seek to visit an idealized cultural environment that they have not directly experienced, but rather one that has been communicated to them through indirect means (e.g. movies, books) (Stern, 1992). For example, an historical nostalgic tourist has a strong interest in history, great admiration for the arts and architecture, has a romantic identification, and/or a sense of loss of these in contemporary society (Goulding, 2001).
In the past, motivational research has focused on a wide range of push and pull motives, and findings from these studies have provided an important basis for an understanding of tourist needs and wants. Nostalgia is generally regarded as an intrinsic motive that is based on the destination’s unique attributes (Hsu et al., 2007). This theory suggests that the individual is pushed by his or her innate motive to travel and pulled by destination-specific attributes when choosing a travel destination to seek some form of remedy for the need to re-live past experiences, the memories of which trigger thoughts and feelings of pleasure and sadness.
The pull motivation often drives the individual to seek the need to re-live past experiences, the memories of which can trigger thoughts and feelings of either pleasure or sadness. Recently, researchers have theorized that nostalgia should be seen as a push travel motive. Leong et al. (2015) recognized nostalgia as a significant push motive which increases an individual’s desire to travel which at the same time contributes to the overall tourism experience.
Nostalgia and destination loyalty
Nostalgia has also been found to be a powerful stimulus to enhance destination loyalty (Zeng and Xu, 2021). Understanding the need for nostalgia can help to explain a tourist’s destination choice, and how individuals respond to various destination attributes based on this need. In the Chinese context, nostalgia is often associated with longing for things from the past which signifies that nostalgic feelings and attachment exist for the natural and human landscape of a person’s homeland. In support, Meng et al. (2019) concluded that migrants pursue authentic rural destinations which have an emotional and memorable appeal because it stimulates their nostalgic feelings. This can either be the countryside or the city where the obsolete or nostalgic atmosphere triggers memories of the past. Liu (2015) pointed out that for the Chinese population, nostalgia not only refers to the memories and soft emotions of a missing homeland or lived place, but it can be a cultural feeling, an enlightenment or a sense of identity.
Liu (2015) used the concept of “xiangchou,” to describe a romantic or spiritual longing for their rural homeland, because of the pressures that many are facing in their urban life. This has been attributed to China’s rapid urbanization and modernization which has led to dramatic changes in urban and rural landscapes, resulting in traditional lifestyles disintegrating. This has resulted in people reminiscing about the past physical space, cultural memories, cultural feelings and their cultural identity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang (2023) acknowledged nostalgia’s restorative function as a coping mechanism to help deal with pandemic distress, leading to revenge travel, destination revisitation and preferences for historical attractions. Nostalgic memories also provided the solace to older adults in the context of uncertainty and change during a pandemic (Huntley and Bratt, 2022).
Travelers can also experience anticipatory nostalgia (Batcho and Shikh, 2016) that arises immediately after a peak moment occurs during travel (e.g. enjoying the beautiful view from the top of a mountain) or to feel a sense of loss when thinking about resuming everyday life the next day. It offers a reflection that encourages tourists to appreciate “the moment” which contributes to consumers’ global evaluation of a travel experience (Bergs et al., 2020). Anticipated nostalgia can also refer to experiencing a positive emotion or the anticipation of feeling nostalgic for a travel experience in the future (Cheung, 2023).
Nostalgia and virtual trips
Virtual reality has also been used to determine the impact of virtual trips on travelers’ immersion and nostalgia, influencing their future travel intentions (Shin and Jeong, 2022). They sampled 303 individuals who had visited Orlando, Florida, since 2015. The sample was invited to take a virtual trip via an Internet link and then complete a survey. In the survey, participants were asked to assess the interactivity, usability, sensorial appeal and authenticity of the virtual trip; their immersion in the trip; their felt nostalgia for the destination, past life and social activities; and their behavioural intentions. They found that immersion in the virtual trip was found to hinge on authenticity and sensorial appeal, which they stated demonstrates the importance of including high-quality, representative content in virtual trips to intensify engagement and to generate the traveler’s intention to revisit the destination.
Destination nostalgia increases the intention to revisit the destination or to visit a similar destination, which indicates that virtual trips could be used to attract both returning and new tourists. The authors also examined whether tourists’ personalities played a role in the relationships between nostalgia and behavioural intentions. They found that the more self-confident and daring “allocentric” tourists might want to discover unchartered destinations than revisit a previous one, despite a strong sense of nostalgia. Less adventurous “psychocentric” tourists, who tend to prefer comfort and convenience, might be more inclined to revisit a familiar place, even if they do not feel particularly nostalgic on looking back. Overall, the researchers concluded that nostalgic feelings led to increased revisit intentions and intentions to visit similar destinations. In addition, the moderating effects of travel personality were also observed in the relationship between nostalgia and behavioural intentions.
Nostalgia has become a popular theme used in tourism advertising campaigns to stimulate positive attitudes toward brand sponsors and to encourage future purchase intentions (Ju et al., 2016a, b). Destination nostalgic advertising has been used to arouse the viewer’s sentimental longing for the past that specifically targets tourists who may have had a direct personal connection (i.e. personal nostalgia), enabling them to recall a personally experienced past. Muehling et al. (2014) further argued that particular prior experiences that occur in tourist’s lives are stored in long-term memory to support these connections. Su et al. (2024) found in their study using an online survey platform in China, of 24 participants (70.8% were females and 29.2% were males; 70.8% were aged between 25 and 40), who were randomly assigned into two experimental groups of 12 people each, that read nostalgic destination nostalgic advertising (arouses the viewer’s sentimental longing for the past), while destination non-nostalgic advertising focussed on the present. The results confirmed that when tourists were exposed to destination nostalgic advertising, they were more stimulated to generate a greater sense of history and to activate greater visit intentions. The researchers concluded that DMOs could design nostalgic advertisements that are based on the history of tourist attractions to evoke the tourists' sense of history, to develop their trust and to encourage them to visit these destinations.
Discussion
This section highlights the growth of global ageing in the future and discusses what are the implications of the increased number of older travellers on the tourism industry. This will include a discussion about the importance of nostalgia as a travel motivation for older tourists that should be promoted by DMOs as marketing strategies to increase their desire to travel, while at the same time contribute to their overall tourism experience.
The ageing tourist
The United Nations stated on its website (https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/ageing) that population ageing is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the 21st century. This World Health Organization (2022) has also forecast that the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double from 1.1 billion in 2020 to 2.1 billion in 2050. By 2030, it has been estimated that 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. The EU’s population is also projected to age as the number of older people will increase significantly. By 2100 those aged 65 years or over will account for 31.3% of the EU’s population compared with 21.1% in 2022. The share of those aged 80 years or above in the EU’s population is projected to have a two-and-a-half-fold increase between 2022 and 2100, from 6.1% to 14.6% (Eurostat Statistics Explained, 2023).
Based on these projections, the World Tourism Organization has forecasted that the number of international tourist arrivals is expected to reach 1.8 billion by 2030 (UNWTO Report Tourism Towards 2030). These projections are based on the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide increasing by an average of 3.3% a year, which will result in an average of 43 million additional international tourists who will add to the tourism marketplace every year.
The senior travel market has been described as the growth engine for future tourism projections and is regarded as having a huge impact on the global tourism market (Otoo et al., 2020). This increased propensity to travel will significantly increase due to a more active generation of seniors who are benefitting from a higher life expectancy; higher disposable income; improved medical and health technologies; a change in attitude toward lifestyle savings and more free time (Huber et al., 2019). Travel has been found to contribute to a better quality of life for older tourists. Feedback from interviews conducted based on a senior social exchange program in Portugal (Amaral et al., 2020) stated how the tourism experience had changed them as a person which included feelings of happiness and joy; a better mood was created; there was a willingness to learn new things and to interact with people; and a desire for exchanges to last longer. Several studies (Hu et al., 2023; Patterson and Balderas-Cejudo, 2022) have also synthesized an extensive range of research studies that supported the importance of tourism as a means of maintaining and improving the health and quality of life of ageing travellers.
The tourism experience also plays an important role in determining whether travellers are enjoying a trip, which has been found to contribute to long-term (or nostalgic) memories that can be recalled at a later date (Yin et al., 2017). In their study, data were obtained from 342 tourists who had visited the heritage city of Lijiang in China. The researchers found that autobiographical memory created feelings associated with a positive mood state, high levels of destination attachment and greater purchase intentions for the products available in the tourist’s hometown.
Nostalgia as a tourist motivation for older travellers
While travel motivations have been widely analysed for the general population, there has been very few studies that have explored the complexity of senior tourism motivations (Otoo et al., 2020). Sharma and Swarmy (2019) also concluded that senior travel motivations have been largely neglected in the past. These researchers have supported the importance of further empirical investigations into the motivations of senior tourists that need to be based on systematic and consistently administered survey data, especially from a multi-country perspective. One of these key motivations is nostalgia.
Nostalgia has been found to significantly contribute to the overall tourism experience (Hajra and Aggarwal, 2021). Although nostalgia is experienced across the lifespan, research has found that older adults are usually sentimental and heavily invested in the past, and that a strong sense of nostalgia often dominates their memories as they recall the past (Koskinen-Koivisto, 2016). This is because nostalgia provides a strong connection between an older person’s past and present life, that is, nostalgia can provide a positive view of the past that helps to provide a greater sense of continuity and meaning in their lives. In many cases, this has resulted in older tourists choosing to visit memorable places to visit that involve historical and heritage interest; the purchasing of souvenirs and to visit museums (Patterson, 2018).
Asenjo et al. (2009) collected data from a mail survey where 1,000 self-administered questionnaires were sent to a mailing list generated by randomly selecting addresses of Italian family names from the White Pages website in Perth, Western Australia. A total of 218 useable responses were collected of which half of the sample population were aged over 50. Based on Stern’s distinction between personal versus historical nostalgia, the researchers were interested in determining how nostalgia influences travel attitudes and intentions of a tourist destination among travellers with an Italian heritage. They concluded that only personal nostalgia exerted a positive influence upon travel attitudes which in turn was positively related to their travel intention. Based on these findings, it has been concluded by other researchers that personal nostalgia is mainly associated with special and pleasant events such as memorable travel experiences and anniversaries. This is because individuals tend to recall positive memories and hence feel strong, positive nostalgic emotions (Ramkissoon and Uysal, 2018). Nostalgic emotions can trigger motivations such as entertainment and joy seeking, and this can have an effect on an individual’s revisit intentions (Stephan et al., 2014).
Hajra and Aggarwal (2021) described nostalgia as … “a powerful drug, intoxicating an individual with the euphoria of fantasy and yearning for the bygone days” (p. 6570). Nostalgia can counteract the effects of loneliness by increasing perceptions of social support, but loneliness can also trigger nostalgia. Nostalgia occurs in all cultures and among all age groups, especially among older adults who are vulnerable to social isolation, and nostalgia that can help overcome feelings of loneliness (Koskinen-Koivisto, 2016).
Gergov and Stoyanova (2013) studied a sample of 121 older Bulgarian adults (aged between 60 and 92) and found that older people were very sentimental about their past. Nostalgia was also found to be strengthened by their vulnerability from the loss of social support because of retirement, or family and friends through death and/or mobility. For many older adults, social exclusion can result because of the person devoting themselves to their memories, and to often speak affectionately and enthusiastically about their past lives.
However, as noted previously, nostalgia as a motive for travel has not been extensively explored in the literature on senior tourism. In one of the few studies that has been conducted, Cleaver-Sellick (2004) segmented four travel segments of the senior travel market based on their travel motives: discovery and self-enhancement, enthusiastic connectors, reluctant travellers and nostalgic travellers. She identified nostalgia as the biggest travel motivator for the largest segment of mature travellers, while the cognitively younger, wealthier, healthier and better-educated seniors were motivated to travel mainly for discovery and self-enhancement.
Marketing nostalgia to attract older travellers
This research suggests that tourism marketers and brand managers should increasingly use nostalgia marketing as a means of attracting older consumers. This is because in the past, nostalgia can be used to tap into the recollections of consumers by reviving promotions, products and packages associated with the past (Holak and Havlena, 1992). Stern (1992) concluded that products that were found to be important signifiers of self-concept in American culture, served as reminders of moments in their personal past. As a result, several companies are now using nostalgia with the intent of triggering an emotional response from the older consumer. This practice is known as retro marketing or flashback branding. Several writers attribute this trend toward retro things as the need to hold onto a romanticized vision of an earlier time (Laham, 2015). It is like playing “dress-up” that helps us pretend that everything about an earlier era was simple and good. Marketing an “actual taste of youth” has also been heavily marketed to diet-conscious adults, such as by miniaturizing well-loved but often fattening products. For example, miniature oreos and low fat mini-ice cream bars provide the benefits associated with the remembered taste, but without the caloric content. The appeal to personal nostalgia is also evident in the revival of packaging from the past, notably the distribution of Coca-Cola in its original, green-tinted glass bottles (Kerr, 1991).
Conclusion
There is little doubt that nostalgia plays an important role in the tourism experience, because of the need of older travellers to re-live past experiences which has often been described as “The good old days”. Nostalgia sparks memories that trigger thoughts and feelings of pleasure, while in some cases, sadness and loss. Several researchers have suggested that greater attention needs to be placed on further developing this area of knowledge to better understand the relevance of nostalgic emotions within the travel industry. Nostalgic emotions need to be studied separately from other motives such as escape, relaxation, visiting family and friends, and cultural enrichment.
It has been recognized in the research literature that nostalgia specifically experienced at a heritage destination is often associated with tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour and thereby contributes to sustainable tourism. Nostalgia was also found to have an impact on socially sustainable emotions because of its ability to provide a sense of connectedness with others in a community. This research suggests that nostalgia increases an individual’s desire to travel while at the same time to contribute to the overall tourism experience. This is because personal nostalgia emotions were found to exert a significantly positive effect upon individuals’ travel attitudes that increased their revisit intentions. Personal nostalgia is defined as a sentimental longing to return to a person’s remembered past that is generally seen as a great source of warmth, security and love.
For many older travellers, in particular, nostalgia provides a positive view of the past that helps to provide them with a greater sense of continuity and meaning in their lives. Historical nostalgia was also found to be popular for many older travellers that travel to sustainable tourism destinations because these experiences evoke a love of history and cultural traditions that is often triggered by visiting older buildings, ancient arts or historical ruins.
For DMOs and marketers, it is important to understand what are the specific characteristics of a sustainable destination that are likely to serve as a cue for developing nostalgic emotions to help promote it. This can be achieved by designing nostalgic advertisements that are based on the history and cultural uniqueness of tourist attractions that stimulates the older tourists' love of history and culture and to motivate them to visit these sustainable destinations.
DMOs need to capitalize on the nostalgic sentiments that are expressed by older tourists themselves that should also be used to promote nostalgia as a marketing strategy to attract potential consumers. To achieve this, potential tourists need to be shown imagery of older adults living their lives to the fullest. These include sharing photos of seniors doing “soft adventure” activities such as kayaking, hiking and camping as well as other social activities such as dancing, socializing, learning and cooking as examples of all the activities that older adults used to do when they were younger.
Another strategy is for DMOs to use virtual reality trips to demonstrate that nostalgia contributes to sustainable tourism as it can accurately portray a destination’s atmosphere and to include its rich sensorial appeal. Nostalgia that is evoked by virtual reality has also been found to facilitate the marketing of “slow travel”, which encourages experiences of deep cultural exploration which entails choosing slower transportation, thus highlighting environmental consciousness (Juhl and Biskas, 2023).
Future studies are needed to investigate how the beneficial effects of nostalgia can be employed to improve the quality of older people’s social lives through sustainable tourist experiences. Areas for further study include studying nostalgic motives separately from other motivations; examining the importance of promoting nostalgia for environmental and socially sustainable tourist destinations; and the use of virtual reality to encourage older tourists to visit sustainable destinations.
