According to a Best Western International Poll, Fido is more popular in the back seat than Grandma on vacation!
Today's
family vacations are shorter yet more elaborate and expensive,
involving journeys to farther -- particularly exotic -- locations than
what most people remember from their childhood, according to a recent
survey by Harris Interactive commissioned by Best Western
International. In addition, travelers are more likely to include pets
in their trips over grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Vacation 2.0: Now Versus Then
Eighty-eight
percent of U.S. adults who take family vacations indicated that a
getaway these days is different from when they were children. More than
half (55 percent) claimed that today's vacations are more expensive,
while just over two-fifths (42 percent) said they now travel greater
distances. The study also found that:
-- 36 percent stay in
hotels more now than as a child, with 29 percent of adults who have
children under 18 living in their households indicating they are less
likely than those without children living with them (39 percent) to
stay in hotels more now than they did as a child.
-- While more
than a quarter of respondents indicated that today's vacations have
become more elaborate than they remember (28 percent) and that they go
to more exotic locales than they did as a child (27 percent), 19
percent say vacations have become shorter now than in their youth.
-- When respondents were asked who comes along on their family
vacations, more people indicated they include their pets (13 percent)
over grandparents (10 percent), aunts and uncles (9 percent) and
cousins (nine percent). On a regional level, Midwest travelers are
slightly more likely to include pets vs. those in the West, South, or
Northeast.
Value Still Reigns Supreme
Among
those who take family vacations, value for the money (62 percent) and
the desire to spend time with loved ones (38 percent) are the top
considerations when determining where to go on the family vacation, as
opposed to an equal amount of activities for adults and children, which
came in near the bottom at 14 percent.
"Though value for the
money is still a primary factor for many American families, today's
vacation experience is impacted by a number of changes in the way they
spend their free time," said Emily Kaufman, Best Western's family
travel expert otherwise known as The Travel Mom. "For example, parents
who remember taking simple family road trips to visit relatives, or go
camping or fishing when they were kids, are now embarking on more
frequent, yet shorter getaways to places they never dreamed of visiting
when they were young."
The 2007 Best Western International
Family Vacation Study also discovered that, contrary to popular
opinion, children do not always determine where the family goes on
vacation. Only one percent of adults polled indicated that the kids
have the most sway in the decision-making process. Despite the fact
that many upscale properties are adding "kids concierge services" and
other special programs for children, the presence of specific kids'
activities or programs at a resort is actually the least important
factor in selecting a place to go for vacation. Only 4 percent overall
of those who usually stay in hotels for family vacations and 12 percent
of those with children under 18 living in their households who stay in
hotels for family vacations cited this as one of the most important
factors in selecting a hotel. Families whose households include
children under 18 (30 percent) are less likely than those without kids
(40 percent) to consider educational, historic, or cultural experiences
as a factor in where to go on a family vacation.
by Brandy Schaffels
Contributing Editor
