What
Last month, the Family Travel Association shared the results of a new survey of travel advisors. The study, which was co-sponsored by G Adventures and TravelAge West, shows that nearly all advisors (90%) book family travel. Agents also report that most clients (91%) spend more than $2,500 per trip, and most (89%) take up to three trips per year.
Why It Matters
The survey also notes that 70% of advisors expect their family travel business to grow this year, while another 27% expect it to stay the same. As a whole, the results reinforce the importance of the family travel market for advisors looking to grow their business in 2020.
Fast Facts
- According to the survey 70% of advisors actively market to families. The most common marketing methods are sending emails to current clients (83%) and social media (73%).
- The top destinations for family travel include the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Walt Disney World/Disneyland and Hawaii. The top types of travel are all-inclusive resorts, beach vacations and ocean cruises.
- The survey also showed that 42% of advisors book vacation rentals for families and 60% charge a fee for booking vacation rentals.
- Agents said the biggest challenges to family travel are affordability (76%), scheduling (70%), timing of school breaks (61%), pleasing everyone in the family (49%), air travel (32%) and parents getting time off work (22%).
- The biggest opportunities for advisors in family travel are multigenerational travel (79%), boomer grandparents (60%), millennial parents (43%), blended families (43%), same-sex parents (11%) and skip gen travel (7%).
What They Are Saying
“According to Travel Weekly’s Annual Industry Survey, with the exception of cruises, more agents say they sell family travel than any other specialty,” said Rainer Jenss, founder and president of the FTA. “With that as a starting point, we wanted to take a deeper dive into what travel advisors had to say about this complex, yet very lucrative, category.”
“Family travel has been an exciting and important market for G Adventures,” said Ben Perlo, managing director USA and Latin America for G Adventures. “We firmly believe that sharing experiences with your family creates lasting memories, opens the world to your children or grandchildren and enhances the family bond. We are dedicated to learning more about family travel through our advisor community and partnering with the FTA in their annual survey provides access to key information, which allows G Adventures to better serve this market and our advisors.”
The Details
Family Travel Association
www.familytravel.org
