Social tourism for seniors in Spain: an example to be followed?

Abstract This chapter aims to identify the determining factors and the main aspects to be developed to facilitate healthy and active ageing, thus improving the life quality of elderly people based on the Spanish government's social tourism programmes designed for this population group. This chapter starts with a contextualization of the social tourism concept, followed by a review of the public policies for active and healthy ageing and their impact on the tourism industry. Finally, an in-depth analysis of social tourism programmes in Spain is presented. Included is an exploratory analysis of the impact of social tourism on seniors' quality of life.