Silver-Grey Tourism in Local Community-Based Tourist Attractions in Pampanga: Basis for Enhancement of Local Community-Based Tourist Attractions
Authors: Danica R. Suba-Barin  
Published: December 2024

The study aimed to determine the prospects and problems of silver-grey tourism in local community tourist attractions in Pampanga Province and to use it as a basis for enhancement of Local Community-Based Tourist Attractions.  The study was conducted with 336 Filipino Silver-Grey Visitors as respondents residing within the Philippines aged 60 years old and above. This included the preferences of the respondents in terms of types of tours, outdoor activities, pricing, safety and security, mode of transportation, type of information used and budget. This looked into the differences in preferences of the silver-grey visitors when grouped according to their profile. Furthermore, the problems encountered during their visits to the tourist places were determined. A questionnaire was provided to the respondents. The respondents were looked into as to their age, sex, the frequency of visits to local community-based tourist attractions, and place of origin. The study utilized a questionnaire created by the researcher, which was chosen based on relevant literature related to the study. There were more female respondents than male respondents. As for the age, majority were of age 61-65 years. The study also showed that the number of married who were still traveling was far from single and widow / er respondents. Record of visit frequency also showed that majority of the respondents only visited the listed local community-based tourist attractions once. The study showed that silver-grey visitors tend to be budget conscious as they prefer the cheapest price an attraction can offer, the price for entrance fees (Php500 and below) and the total budget that they are willing to spend is Php1,000 and below. Most of the participants were from the provinces of Bataan and Pampanga. Data gathered provided a list of the most visited local community-based tourist attractions in a certain area. The top attractions with the highest number of visits are Mt. Arayat National Park, followed by Lubao Bamboo Hub and Ecopark, and then Nayong Pilipino. Zoocobia Fun Zoo and Sandbox come in fourth and fifth, respectively. The attraction with the lowest number of visits is New Gintung Pakpak. The study discussed the preferences of Filipino Silver-Grey visitors in terms of different aspects such as types of tours, outdoor activities, prices, safety and security, mode of transportation and budget. The null hypothesis was tested for each aspect. In terms of "types of tours", the computed P-value for age (P=0.789), civil status (P=0.215), frequency of visit to local community-based tourist attractions (P=0.590) and place of origin (P=0.053) are more than 0.05 level of significance while as to sex (P=0.008), the null hypothesis is rejected. Next, in terms of "outdoor activities", the computed P-value for age (P=0.789) and sex (P=0.750) are more than 0.05 level of significance thus, null hypothesis failed to be rejected, while as to civil status (P=0.001), frequency of visit to local community-based tourist attractions (P=0.005) and  place of origin (P=0.000), null hypothesis is rejected. With regard to "prices", the computed P-value for age (P=0.939), sex (P=0.065), civil status (P=0.292), frequency of visit to local community-based tourist attractions (P=0.682), and  place of origin (P=0.845) are more than 0.05 level of significance. In terms of "safety and security", the computed P-value for age (P=0.813), sex (P=0.193), civil status (P=0.220), frequency of visit to local community-based tourist attractions (P=0.658) and  place of origin (P=0.209) are more than 0.05 level of significance. In terms of mode of transportation, the computed P-value for age (P=0.769), sex (P=0.234), civil status (P=0.482), and frequency of visit to local community-based tourist attractions (P=0.379) are more than 0.05 level of significance; however, as to place of origin (P=0.011), the null hypothesis is rejected. Lastly, in terms of budget, the computed P-value for age (P=0.406), civil status (P=0.064), frequency of visit to local community-based tourist attractions (P=0.515), and place of origin (P=0.681) are more than 0.05 level of significance thus, null hypothesis failed to be rejected while as to sex (P=0.019), the null hypothesis is rejected.