The clients

Families
 
Family holidays have obviously changed over the last few decades because of the evolution of the family structure, mainly characterized by the smaller and smaller size of families, and the increase in the number of single parent families, but also by the mobility of those families, often linked to professional mobility.
 
Although they have changed, family holidays are still an important choice of holidays as they make up for a special moment to revive and strengthen home ties. In this context, the fact that a too large part of the population cannot go on holidays is still a real challenge to take up, to guarantee that the greatest number of families can benefit from time off on holidays.  
 
Among the supply related to social tourism which attracts a great number of families, we need to mention holiday resorts and other similar accommodation structures where there are activities adapted to children of different ages and a series of activities meeting the needs of families. Camping is also an option that is of interest to a consequent number of families, allowing a special bond with nature.
 
According to a Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) survey, families appreciate very much children activities. Special meals for children (41%) and hotel discounts for families (30%) are the most looked after, as well as the supply of toys and video games (22%), supervised activities (13%) and baby-sitting services (6%).
 
An opinion poll carried out in spring 2005 by the American website “thefamilytravelfiles” shows that family trips respect the tendency of leaving more often but for a shorter period of time. Indeed, 35% of the respondents gone on family holidays mention doing it twice a year, and 35% three times or more. This departure frequency has consequences on the duration of family holidays: 75% of them last for less than a week, of which 35% are 2-5 day trips.
 
Young people
 
The young people’s tourism is a phenomenon which has been strongly influenced by post-war youth movements in order to obtain peace. Today, young travellers (15-25 years old) make up for more than 20% of international tourist arrivals according to statistics established by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
 
Many factors can explain this tendency, now noticeable on all continents: the increase in education level, the wish to get to know other cultures and to learn a new language, the promotion of this type of experience in the professional field and the development of a supply of products and services adapted to young clients.
 
A survey from the World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation shows that young people travel on average more often, they want to discover more new destinations, spend more than the average in comparison with their income and they use internet more to book. Their trips are shorter than the average traveller’s, all categories of age included, but they seem to be getting more information about their place of destination, culture, etc. before they leave.
 
To give a few figures, in 2007 (year when the survey was carried out), 62% of young travellers were also students. Their median yearly income was US$ 5,000. The main motivations of the young tourists were discovering new cultures/horizons (34%) and in second place “relax and have fun” (28%). The factors they take into account when preparing their trip are first of all that the trip costs as little as possible, then they should be able to explore most of the destination, or it should be a secure destination.
 
Nowadays, there is a wide range of specialized products and services which are adapted to young clients, ranging from language study vacations to working abroad and cultural exchanges, internships and voluntary service, without forgetting youth hostels and other young people accommodation centres. A lot of different options are also offered to the young people and to students so they can travel at a low cost with different means of transport as well as insurance programmes adapted to this kind of clients.     
 
Seniors
 
The demographic evolution over the last few years has been characterized by a rapid growth rate of the over 60 year olds. This reality, which can be explained by both the increase in life expectancy and the decrease in the number of births, will only become more marked in the future.
 
The tourism industry took into account this population data, and it allowed for the development of a supply of products and services adapted to the needs of those clients in the travel sector. Today, the seniors’ tourism makes up for a real market which is however not homogeneous.
 
Are considered as seniors people older than 50-55 years old (according to different sources). Therefore this includes “young seniors”, still working, newly-retired people and the elderly. Altogether, they prefer to stay in the country they live in. The oldest ones like in particular the countryside, whereas the younger ones enjoy the seaside more. The average length of their trip is longer than that of younger people, and a good proportion of them prefers to stay at friends’ place or, in a less important number, some of them prefer to stay at a second home or at a hotel.  Seniors favour discovering new things, culture and the contact with the inhabitants.
 
Seniors are not always equal wealth-wise, and the disparities noticed are often stronger at the time of retiring. If while working, differences are already obvious between social layers, all the income singularities, when retiring, make these differences even more exacerbated, in particular for those who are alone and benefit from one pension only. The tendency to go on holidays is very often influenced by income more than by any other factor, such as age or health, which are connected.
This is why this market is also more and more taken into account by politicians who, in the framework of their socio-economic policies, wish to help seniors go on holidays, especially during low season, through implementing programmes in partnership with the private sector.
 
Disabled people or people with reduced mobility
 
The obstacles that disabled people come across when organizing and enjoying tourist trips are not only architectonic obstacles, but also obstacles connected to negative attitudes and behaviours. Even more than in other fields, it is fundamental to train the tourism industry staff to increase its awareness of special needs of disabled people, of adaptation measures needed for accessibility, and of the way to provide appropriate services to these clients, taking into account the different kinds of disabilities.
 
Disabled people tourism has become an increasingly consequent market, as it is based on a growing demand and on the interest from the tourism industry due to different factors:
 
- The number of people with a disability, and therefore the number of potential clients, is huge;
- Disabled people usually travel with a friend, a relative or a social worker, and the number of potential clients can be doubled;
- The tourism market has changed a lot; it is not only the young people who are travelling, but also the elderly are travelling more and more;
- The disabled people and the elderly can travel in low season, which contributes to a more homogeneous demand throughout the year, which all of the tourism operators are wishing to have;
- Those clients usually book long in advance, which represents an assurance for the tourism industry.
 
To respond to this demand, they have implemented different services and equipments to allow access for disabled people to holidays and leisure, according to their needs and their interests. Those services also help improve the quality of life of other people like the elderly, people suffering from allergies, people recovering from an accident or young children. Nowadays, thanks to “accessible tourism”, the disabled can access and use the equipment, leisure centres and different infrastructures.
 
In spite of the important improvements made in this field, there are still a lot more to do since the easily accessible structures are not a lot, and the disabled encounter difficulties in the organization of their holidays.
 
One of the fundamental problems related to the accessibility of tourism concerns the lack of harmonization of norms and standards, which differ from one country to another, depending on the laws and approaches in place.