Can travel relieve the loneliness of the elderly?

This paper aims to investigate whether travel can alleviate the loneliness among the elderly. Empirical tests involving data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study database yielded notable findings. Based on Ecological Systems Theory, we investigated the mediating mechanisms of travel's impact on loneliness among the elderly. Findings showed that self-evaluated health status and sleep time at the microsystem level, satisfaction with children's relationships at the mesosystem level, and social interaction at the macrosystem level served as mediators. Subgroup heterogeneity analyses revealed practical implications.