The inspiration for this issue’s cover story (“Outside the Comfort Zone,” page 12) came from the 2019 Virtuoso Luxe Report. According to that research, the No. 1 trend in family travel is “active or adventure trips.” As you can read in the story, any thoughts a travel advisor might have about only booking families according to a preconceived comfort zone is a sure way to disappoint clients — and lose business.
Other top trends on Virtuoso’s list include multigenerational trips; beach resort stays; celebration travel; and guided or private touring. Advisors should certainly be aware of all these types of vacations — and adjust their selling strategies accordingly — but there’s another issue that’s even more important when it comes to family travel.
As you can read on page 10, the Family Travel Association (FTA) has announced #TakeFamilyTime, its initiative to encourage parents to take all their vacation days each year. This habit of leaving vacation days unused is an unfortunate tendency across all occupations and demographics.
According to the FTA’s 2018 Family Travel Survey, nearly six in 10 parents (58%) don’t take all the days to which they are entitled.
Obviously, this has a negative impact on the travel industry as a whole — including the work of advisors. And, according to research, travel is a great way to aid in kids’ development and success later in life. So, depriving a child of this benefit is not only bad for business — it’s just plain wrong.
The FTA is looking to share information about the importance of taking more time off, and Family Getaways and TravelAge West will partner with the organization on this initiative. We’ll be announcing more details of this project soon.
Increasing family travel is a win for everyone involved, and we’re proud to lead the charge on this important topic.
