Catégorie : Trends

More and more grandparents are travelling with their grandchildren

Auteur de l’article Par Claude Péloquin
Date de l’article 16 juin 2004
Aucun commentaire sur More and more grandparents are travelling with their grandchildren

A 2003 survey by Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell (YPB&R) found that one-third of grandparents have travelled with their grandchildren in the last twelve months. In the United States, more than 15% of travel includes children with grandparents. About 21% of this intergenerational travel does not include the children’s parents.

Travelling with the family unit

During the last decade, and especially since 9/11, family values have assumed increasing importance. With spare time diminishing, time spent with family often becomes a priority. When we think of family, we sometimes limit ourselves to parents and children, but in reality, grandparents play an important role within the family unit. This feeling of closeness can translate into the older generation going on vacation with their grandchildren.

This socio-demographic development holds the promise of new opportunities, and at the same time means that we need to revise our traditional clientele segmentation. There are already promotional campaigns specifically addressing this pairing. At the Hilton chain, children under 18 can share their grandparents’ room free of charge. In Loews hotels, seniors accompanied by young people are offered discounts, surprises and special activities. Certain travel agencies even specialize in «grandtravel», organizing tours specifically designed for children and their grandparents.

Passing fad or serious trend?

Today’s parents are caught up in the hurly-burly of an active life and in demanding professional careers. The level of family consumption often requires two salaries. Grandparents, who are retired or semi-retired baby-boomers, are delighted to play a role in parenting. They want to take advantage of opportunities to connect with their grandchildren, and vacation activities can offer quality time.

Another phenomenon is the availability of the parties to go on holiday. In the United States, more than 60% of parents approve of their children taking holidays during the school year, and grandparents generally have a lot of spare time. To this availability, add the financial resources of the grandparents, which make it possible to go on holiday with or without the parents. Another factor is the difficulty spouses often have in arranging simultaneous vacation time.

A growing opportunity

The demand will continue to increase as more baby-boomers go into retirement or semi-retirement. In response to the perceived demand, the American Automobile Association (AAA) even published a book, entitled Travel with Your Grandkids, to help grandparents plan their holidays. The book covers several issues, including how to:

convince reluctant parents
involve grandchildren in planning the trip
strengthen the grandparent-grandchild relationship
set limits and establish rules

There is a wide range of activities of interest to this segment, from downhill skiing to science museums, golf, cruise-excursions, theme parks and hiking. The heritage or commemorative element could be exploited as it strikes a chord with grandparents who are eager to pass on their knowledge and to tell to their grandchildren about their personal history.

It is also important to consider what is of interest to the children, especially since they, too, have a say in travelling with their grandparents. The majority (56%) of children between 6 and 17 years old say that they would like to take a trip with their grandparents. The youngest (6 – 8) are the most enthusiastic (78%).

Companies that adopt a targeted promotional strategy during slower periods could also get results. Small details like surprise gifts for young children, or activities that capture their interest can act as triggers when the family is planning a vacation. For example, Mexico City offers a little paradise for kids (Ciudad de los Niños). In this theme park, children play the role of grown-ups, sitting in the pilot’s seat in a real American Airlines’ cockpit, making pizzas in a Domino pizzeria, or feeding a dummy baby inside a hospital. And to be totally consistent, children pay the full price of admission, parents pay half price and for grandparents… it’s free!

Sources:
– White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group. «Grandparent/Grandchild Market a Growing Opportunity», October 2003.
– The Philadelphia Inquirer. «Travel with ‘grands’ comes in all flavours», 16 May 2004, p. N02.
– Hugues Court, Paula. «Cruising with Grandchildren», LovinLife.com [www.wwseniors.com], 9 September 2003.
– Buhasz, Laszlo. «Marketing to the new senior», The Globe & Mail [www.globetechnology.com], 11 October 2003, p. T2.
– American City Business Journals. «New travel trend: ‘grandtravel’», 8 November 2001.
– Gardyn, Rebecca. «The New Family Vacation», American Demographics, 1 August 2001.

Commentary from Thomas P. Cullen

This is a topic which should be of interest to many aspects of the travel industry. I believe it is a symptom of a global change in the way markets are defined and in motivations to travel.

The « business market » has traditionally been differentiated from the « leisure market ». However, these boundaries are changing, and I believe that the industry can no longer assume the business trip is for business only. Children are not only traveling with grandparents, they are traveling with parents – blue suit moms and dads, who increasingly take kids along on a business or convention trip. Las Vegas entrepreneur Steve Wynn recognized this many years ago when almost single handedly he transformed the topless, sin city gambling mecca to a family friendly convention destination.

The other quantum change is related to the nature of demand drivers. A review of intergenerational travel packages offered by Elderhostle is indicative of this change. The traditional « architectural » tourism is being replaced by learning/educationally motivated travel, cultural travel, and health related travel.

Worldwide business travel probably accounts for 60% of all travel demand. Within 15 years, perhaps sooner, leisure oriented travel will account for 60%, and business only travel declines as a percentage of the total.

Communications technologies will replace a lot of business travel as a younger, more technology saavy generation of business people grow into decision making positions in industry. The implications for packaging, pricing, positioning and distributions systems for the hotel, airline, and cruise industries are significant.

Thomas P. Cullen

Professor
School of Hotel Administration
Cornell University
SEE ALSO
Travel – It’s Not Just for Adults Anymore
An essay written by Mr. Cullen

Étiquettes baby-boomers, children, families, segmentation strategies, travel behavior

Trends

Travel – It’s Not Just for Adults Anymore

Auteur de l’article Par Thomas Cullen
Date de l’article 1 juin 2004
Aucun commentaire sur Travel – It’s Not Just for Adults Anymore

More and more children are traveling, with parents, grandparents, on vacations, cruises, study trips, sports excursions, and accompanying Mom or Dad on a business or convention trip.

According to the Travel Industry Association (TIA), more than 32 million business trips in 1998 included children, a 250 percent rise in 10 years. And that’s just in the United States. The trend is also apparent in Canada, Europe and the Far East.

Parents often cite compressed time schedules as the reason for talking the kids alone. Two working spouses, common in North America and Europe, and the increasingly common « blue-suit Mom, » battling the time pressure of being an executive and a parent, find it rewarding and economical to extend a business trip through the weekend, taking advantage of lower leisure travel oriented air fares and lower hotel rates.

Many parents and grandparents consider travel to be a positive educational experience for the kids. In a recent TIA survey, 22 percent of parents who took the family along on a business trip let their children miss school to travel with them – although in most cases (43 percent) the absence was just a single day.

Hotel, airlines, and rental car companies address the kid’s market with varying enthusiasm. Most, but not all, hotels feature a « kids stay free with parents (or grandparents) when sharing the room. » Disney and some other resort properties have specifically designed hotel rooms to accommodate mom, dad, the kids and grandma.

Family rooms or suites are increasingly found in urban hotels situated in major business and tourist destinations. Four Seasons sends a high chair, as well as a baby’s bed to the room of those traveling with infants. The Metropolis Hotel in downtown San Francisco offers a family suite with bunk beds, chalkboard and crayons, TV with kid’s cable channels and even a separate bathroom with splash toys.

Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton and Westin have activity programs for kids at various properties around the globe. While Mom or Dad are busy at work, brother and sister take classes, visit local sights or play sports – a short-term equivalent of packing the kids off to summer camp. No longer can a hotel easily differentiate between the business and leisure markets.

Some vehicle rental firms offer child car seats as a no-cost option, and airlines have become much more tolerant of parents’ lugging child safety seats and strollers into passenger cabins. American provides a complimentary amenity kit that features two diapers, a baby spoon and bib, and a coloring book, and most airlines now offer special meals for children. United Airlines, for instance, gives parents a choice of child, toddler or baby meals, as well as McDonald’s Friendly Skies (MFS) meals with burgers.

Singapore Airlines, a favorite of the Asia bound business traveler, has taken note of business travelers bringing the kids alone. They offer an interactive in-flight entertainment system in all classes. Nintendo games like Super Mario, F-Zero and Kirby’s Dream Course help keep the kids occupied on the long Pacific flights.

Cruises have long been a favorite for older travelers, many traditionally catering to a mature market interested in minimizing the hassle and planning associated with land based travel. Increasingly those mature travelers are taking their grandchildren along.

« Camp Carnival » is a feature of every Carnival Cruise Lines ship. Between a family breakfast and a family dinner, the younger set is kept busy with activities geared to their age group. These include competitions and classes for three age specific segments the « Junior Sailors » (ages 2 to 5), First Mates (ages 6 to 8), and Navigators (ages 9 to 12).

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has special children’s menus and seatings for dinner, so the grandparents can dine together at a later seating and with a menu better crafted to their tastes. « Teen centers, » with video games, elaborate baby-sitting facilities, and playrooms for younger children, are common on many cruise lines.

Campus vacations, while not originally designed for families, have quickly adapted to take advantage of the trend of traveling with children. What began as Cornell Adult University, during the summer at central New York’s famous Ivy League institution, now offers adult and family learning vacations on campus as well as seminars, study tours, and cruises to destinations all around the world, not just for adults for also targeted at the family market. Some of the programs are parallel – education for parents and/or grandparents combined with sports camps for the kids.

Even conventions, exhibitions and trade shows are starting to cater to delegates’ families. There has been an increase in frequency of such events booked at the end of June, right after school lets out. Many now commonly offer day trips and other family activities as well as evening events for both delegates and their families.

Elderhostel offers a wide variety of modestly priced intergenerational programs and vacation trips targeted at grandparents and grandchildren. A Google search returned 94 intergenerational programs offered by Elderhostel. One focuses on developing the relationship between grandmothers and their granddaughters, while another offers an intergenerational opportunity to learn about dinosaurs in Utah. One program for grandparents and grandchildren redefines the image of the elderly and the young.

The flight training program is an intensive introduction to flying in ground laboratories, aircraft simulators, as well as actual pilot training in a Cessna 172 single-engine aircraft. Another program takes the two generations to British Columbia where in a safe harness and supportive environment they climb a rock bluff, rappel from a cliff, swing like Tarzan on a zip line, and solve problems cooperatively in a ropes course.

The traditional market segment boundaries are changing. With the aging of the baby boomers over the next decade, expect the grandparent – grandchild travel market to become a major target for the travel industry.

Thomas Cullen is Associate Professor at the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University.

What do we see in our crystal ball?

Auteur de l’article Par Michèle Laliberté
Date de l’article 31 mai 2004
Aucun commentaire sur What do we see in our crystal ball?

The pace of everything will only speed up. We see trendy new destinations, enthusiasm for new products, pronounced customer segmentation and new players that shake up a sector of activity. Lots will be going on in the tourism industry.

Overall factors

Socio-demographics – Populations will be increasingly concentrated in urban areas. By the year 2015, over half of all humanity will live in cities. By the year 2020, nearly 90% of the Canadian population will reside in the country’s 25 largest urban regions. The globalization of the job market will lead to greater geographic mobility.
Growth period – The largest economic increase in global tourism should occur from 2010 to 2020 with the arrival of emerging markets, such as China and India, and significant growth of close-to-home travel and short trips.
Security – Terrorism will be part of the equation, and travellers will adjust. The impact of terrorist attacks will be more local. Security measures will be standardized around the world and their cost will push airfares up.
Environment – Environmental and social awareness will increase. In tourism, this trend will take several forms like ecotourism, equitable tourism, responsible tourism and sustainable tourism. Certain hotels will become eco-friendly. As certain places sustain damage, mass tourism will decline.
Technology – Technology will continue to develop at a rapid pace and involve all sectors of the industry. For example, cellular phones will be used to plan and organize all aspects of trips, and high-definition televisions and computers will provide virtual visits of a destination, with sights, sounds, scents and textures, as if the prospective traveller were actually there.

Sectors of activity

Airline industry – With their greater speed and capacity, planes will make available to many travellers destinations that still seem remote. As the world becomes smaller and more accessible, the door will open to affordable long-haul getaways.
Accommodation – Hotel rooms with state-of-the-art technology will make it possible to combine business and pleasure, switching focus as needed.

Clientele and products

Clientele – International tourists will exceed one billion in 2010, rising to 1.5 billion in 2020. As baby boomers retire en masse from 2010 to 2020, they will represent most of this clientele and shape demand; they’re active, educated, healthy, demanding and more adventurous. Forget the shuffleboard! When it comes to emerging markets, young adults will have the most impact.
Destinations – A new hierarchy of destinations will take hold as Asia and India become more popular. Combined with the growth of new destinations (Qatar, Brazil, Slovakia, etc.), competition among countries will be more intense. The various regional economic agreements (EEC, APEC, etc.) will facilitate travel within trade zones, and tourism will become a regional, rather than global, phenomenon.
Products – Offbeat ideas will continue to emerge. Products like extreme adventure, learning travel, and even silence and relaxation will reflect customers’ life styles. The demand for quality products will be strong.

Sources:
– Sarrasin, Bruno and Guy-Joffroy Lord. « L’évolution du tourisme international: une analyse prospective à l’horizon 2010, » Téoros, fall 2003, p. 5-9.
– The Thomson Future Holiday Forum, [www.lexispr.com/thomson/report.htm] 2004.