The senior travel market continues to grow in size and market influence. Yet few studies have assessed the factors that influence individual choices, or travel experiences and outcomes as a whole. This study empirically examined the links between senior tourists’ self-determined motivations, tour preferences, memorable experiences, and life satisfaction as a result of travel. A hierarchical model was tested using data collected from Australian tourists aged 50 years and older who had participated in educational packaged tours. Study results revealed that many individuals derived a range of psychological benefits that remained with the traveller long after the actual trip had been completed. Memorable experiences and perceived benefits were found to meditate the relationships between motivations or tour preferences and the life satisfaction of the senior tourists. The study contributes to the tourism and hospitality field by extending our current knowledge of senior tourist experiences, and how these serve to enhance the eudaimonic dimension of their subjective well-being. The theoretical and practical implications of such are outlined, as are suggestions for future research.

高级旅游市场的规模和市场影响力持续增长。然而，很少有研究评估影响个人选择或旅行经历和结果整体的因素。这项研究从经验上考察了高级游客的自我决定动机，旅行偏好，令人难忘的经历以及旅行带来的生活满意度之间的联系。使用从50岁及以上参加了教育套票旅行的澳大利亚游客收集的数据对分层模型进行了测试。研究结果表明，许多人在实际旅行完成后的很长一段时间内就获得了一系列的心理好处，而这些好处仍然伴随着旅行者。令人难忘的经历和可感知的好处被发现可以冥想动机或旅游偏好与高级游客的生活满意度之间的关系。该研究通过扩展我们目前对高级游客体验的知识以及这些知识如何有助于增强其主观幸福感的eudaimonic维度，为旅游和酒店领域做出了贡献。概述了这种方法的理论和实践意义，以及对未来研究的建议。