Abstract
The paper evaluates whether tour operators' current promotional activities are effectively targeting the increasingly important seniors market. It provides an overview of recent research on senior lifestyle and leisure characteristics and uses this research as a basis for evaluating whether current marketing messages and images are reflecting the changing reality of seniors' lives. The empirical data are drawn from the UK and a range of tourism operators' vacation brochures are examined using exploratory, qualitative content analysis techniques. The findings, however, may have some relevance for all marketers interested in targeting this segment. The paper concludes that there is a notable mismatch between the narrow range of consumer images projected by mainstream tourism marketers and the increasingly active and varied consumption experiences of seniors. © Henry Stewart Publications.