The Role of Information Technologies in Silver Tourism

Abstract

The global population is aging as a result of longer life expectancy and fewer births. According to forecasts, by 2050 almost half of the population will be over 65 years of age. The literature extends this age range to the point of recognizing as the silver population all individuals over 50 years of age, who are included in what is called the “silver population”. The silver population has important socio-economic implications, significantly affecting the management of companies and sectors, from the approach to the customer to the hiring of workers with what has come to be known as intergenerational integration. It is a new framework for action that gives rise to a new economy of opportunities, the so-called “Silver Economy”. The rapid advance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) coincides with this phenomenon, raising questions about possible digital divides and technological opportunities in the Silver Economy. The aim of the paper is examine the role of ICTs in Silver Tourism. To outline the framework of the study, the existing literature on the relationship between ICTs and the Silver Economy is analysed, using bibliometric analysis through VOSviewer. This software is a content analysis tool for the construction and visualization of bibliometric networks, known as “scientific mapping”. This approach is divided into two phases, with a sequential logic. After an initial review of scientific articles working on the topic of study, the search descriptors that best describe the topics analyzed were selected. Subsequently, three searches were conducted in relevant scientific databases, such as Web of Science and Scopus, to generate the necessary databases. The collected articles were subjected to a filtering process, eliminating duplicates and thus refining a consolidated database. Finally, VOSViewer was used to perform a bibliometric analysis, allowing the visualization and study of thematic patterns and trends present in the collected literature. Results reveal the importance of ICTs as a strategic and operational cornerstone for the development of the Silver Economy. It is recognized that the older population requires products and services adapted to their needs, with ICTs being both a driver and a barrier to the development of this new economic scenario. Based on the above, we proceeded to evaluate the participation of publications related to the field of tourism and to review articles analyzing the relationships, effects and consequences of ICTs in the field of tourism and silver tourists. As a result, an important gap was identified and future avenues for research on the role of ICTs in the design of tourism offerings, the quality and value of services at any stage of the experience, as well as the evaluation of these services, focused on the silver market of the tourism sector (Silver Tourism), are proposed.