Travel Trends 2012: Family Travel
It’s going to be authentic and meaningful, and there will be plenty to do for the whole family.
• Multigenerational happenings: Families are looking for authentic experiences and adventures to share, from American National Parks to Asia. And increasingly, that means three generations. Grandparents are taking their children and grandchildren on their bucket-list trip to the Galapagos Islands or Africa. Parents are following their college students abroad, touring where they are studying. —Eileen Ogintz; also a Have Family Will Travel blogger
• Value is in the experience: Wherever families go, they recognize that value stretches beyond the trip’s cost. Families are likely to spend more to get the experience they want, including opportunities to give back to the communities they visit. —Eileen Ogintz
• Fizzle staycations! People want to get away from home. —Eileen Ogintz
• Step aside, chicken tenders: Chefs are taking note of parental demands for healthier children’s offerings on their menus, all geared towards more sophisticated but still young palates. —Eileen Ogintz
• Convenient diversions: More and more. horseback riding, scuba diving and location-specific sports are available right from your hotel. Also, not only adult business facilities but teenage rooms allowing computer access, gaming rooms and even small cinema theatres are the trend. —Neale Haynes photographer and Have Family Will Travel blogger
• More opportunities than ever: More direct flights, such as from London to places like the Maldives are on the rise. These new flight patterns are creating new travel opportunities for families that would not normally have travelled to a place requiring inconvenient plane changes. —Neale Haynes
Travel Trends 2012: Global Travel
Travel Trends 2012: Gear and Accessories
Travel Trends 2012: Spa and Wellness
Travel Trends 2012: Tell us about your 2012 travel endeavours
