Study on the Influence of Educational Background on Silver-Haired People's Motivation to Travel: A Group Difference Analysis based on Nostalgia, Culture and Socialisation

With the acceleration of the aging society, the tourism market of silver-haired people has great potential, but their internal motivational differences have not been fully analyzed. This study focuses on the differential influence of educational background on the travel motivation of the elderly group, and explores how it plays a role in travel decision-making behaviours based on the three dimensions of cultural motivation, nostalgia motivation and social motivation. Through a questionnaire survey of 43 Chinese silver-haired people and multiple response analysis, the study found that: (1) both cultural and social motivation had a significant positive effect on travel intentions, but the intensity of the effect was group-differentiated; and (2) educational background had a significant moderating effect: the high-education group was more concerned with cultural immersion and nostalgic experiences, while the low-education group relied more on social connections. Research suggests that ignoring educational differences will lead to homogenisation of market strategies. Therefore, it is suggested that the industry should segment the market according to educational background and design differentiated products and services.