AUT University academics Heike A. Schanzel and Ian Yeoman have just had a paper published discussing “Trends in Family Tourism” (Journal of Tourism Futures, 2015: Vol. 1 Iss 2 pp. 141 – 147). In it, the authors discuss how family travel is predicted to grow at a faster rate than all other forms of leisure travel. It is a phenomena shaped by changes in demography and social structures, including a growing number of older people. Longevity and smaller core families have led to the family becoming more vertical rather than statically horizontal in form. Grandparents are enjoying more time with their grandchildren as they live longer. “In 1960”, write the authors, “the life expectancy of a UK woman was 73 and the mean age for giving birth was 27. Presently, the life expectancy for a woman is 81.9 and the age for giving birth is increasingly in their 30s. Present day grandparents can expect to enjoy several more years with their grandchildren than those of the 1960s”. People expect grandparents to continue to play an active role in their grandchildren’s life.
Increasingly re-connection holidays across generations become a way for extended families to spend valuable time together, and 75% of travellers plan their holiday around a milestone event such as a birthday, reunion, wedding or anniversary – and even a holiday, to bring family members together. More baby boomers are becoming grandparents who are typically healthier, mobile and want to spend quality, fun time with their grandchildren.
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Permanent link to paper: Heike A. Schänzel Ian Yeoman , (2015),”Trends in family tourism”, Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 1 Iss 2 pp. 141 – 147 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JTF-12-2014-0006
