If you have kids, there is no doubt that you willl want a family vacation each year so that you can make memories with them. You might love the idea of staying all-inclusive somewhere sunny, or even of an exotic and adventurous vacation… but have you considered what your kids want to get out of your family vacation?
Kids on vacation – What do they want?
It should come as no surprise that kids on vacation have strong opinions about what they want from a family getaway. The travel experts at Lonely Planet published an article recently which discusses the research results from a study conducted by Booking.com; they were looking into kids and their travel priorities, and they gathered reviews from over 20,000 kids in this process.
So, here’s what kids really want from their family vacation (according to Booking.com, anyway):
Travel goals for young children (Ages 5-11)
Nearly three quarters of all kids between 5 and 11 years of age reported that they would want to spend some time swimming or at a water park of some kind when they’re on vacation; going to the beach was also a priority for over half of the kids in question (that’s not much of a surprise, though, right?). Around 54% of kids on vacation were interested in doing things they couldn’t do while they were at home, and over 40% wanted to meet other children and play with them while on vacation.
Food was also a big thing for these young kids on vacation; they wanted to eat all the icecream they could (around 34%) and to generally have the foods and treats they weren’t always allowed at home (32%). Some kids also wanted really bouncy beds (though they weren’t asked if they thought mom and dad would allow them to jump on them!) and others wanted to stay in a room bigger than the one they had back home. Perhaps if we were all so easily pleased life would be much, much happier!
What older Kids on vacation look for (Ages 12-15)
Older kids on vacation have different priorities when it comes to family getaways, which is not really surprising. Another thing that shouldn’t surprise us is that WiFi connection was at the top of the wish list; 89% of kids rated a good WiFi connection at the top of their priorities. 44% were also thinking about getting good photos for their social media accounts, but like their younger counterparts, the beach weighed on these kids minds too. Mostly, however, older kids on vacation wanted to stay in touch with the life they had back home; making new friends was a priority for only 25% of children aged between 12 and 15.
So, as you can see your kids really do know what they want when it comes to a family vacation; consult them and see if you can get them excited about the planning process too.
