Kiwi families are taking more long-weekend breaks, close to home, throughout the year. Photo / Getty Images
Kiwi families are taking more long-weekend breaks, close to home, throughout the year. Photo / Getty Images
The family holiday remains thrilling but times and places are are on the move, writes Alexia Santamaria
Family travel has changed so much over the past few decades. I remember a time when a trip to Taupo was a wildly exciting prospect, let alone the giddy heights of the overseassojourns my kids and their mates seem to take for granted.
But now there are so many different options for families to escape the daily grind of school and work and have fun together somewhere different; there's never been a better time to travel. And people are also holidaying in different ways. Here's the latest in family travel trends from industry experts.
More local holidays more often
Bookabach recently did a survey of 500 New Zealand parents and found 76 per cent of them confirmed they would be taking more long weekend getaways in 2019, an increase of at least 50 per cent compared to last year. A sign of the times and a need to escape our frenetic technology-dominated lives perhaps?
Simone Scoppa, Travel Expert at Bookabach says, "Our recent survey really showcased the changing behaviour of shifting from the traditional one long summer holiday to shorter, more frequent, breaks throughout the year.
"Let's be honest, taking a holiday - even if it is a long weekend - gives us all something to look forward to. Our study also found that 79 per cent of New Zealanders overwhelmingly believe that pre-booking long weekend getaways provides a more positive outlook on daily life."
Cruisin' it up
Anyone living in a port town will have noticed the increased frequency of cruise-ship visits, those giant floating resorts are pretty hard to miss. But it's not just the over-60 set being drawn to this style of travel; P&O, one of the biggest players in this sector, has reported significant growth in the number of families and groups cruising out of Auckland.
Skip-generation travel - where grandparents take the grandkids on holiday with them - is growing, particularly in cruising. Photo / Getty Images
Their recent statistics say the number of families on seven-plus night cruises has risen 19 per cent since 2017 and groups in general have increased by 24 per cent.
Brent Thomas, House of Travel commercial director, notes another interesting trend in this sector. "We are seeing a particular growth in the skip-generation travel market within cruising, where grandparents travel with grandchildren. This is creating a lot more demand for family and interconnecting cabins so it's important for customers to book early.
"Close to home, cruising around the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, and Australia are popular choices for families."
Getting more adventurous
While easy trips to resorts in the Pacific Islands or a classic Gold Coast holiday are still some of the most favoured options for families, Victoria Courtney, Flight Centre NZ Product Nation Leader, says they are definitely noticing more interest in slightly more "daring" trips abroad.
"Families signing up for adventure travel are definitely on the increase, there's been a 77 per cent rise in Kiwi families travelling on adventure tours in 2019 for one major company alone."
Kiwi families are travelling further afield, thanks to better flight connectivity. Photo / Getty Images
Going further afield
There also seem to be subtle shifts in destination choices as more families look at mid- and long-haul trips.
"The Pacific Islands and Australia are key, traditional holiday spots for families but we are also seeing more and more families interested in travelling to mid-haul destinations such as Hawaii and Bali," says Thomas.
"As children get older, it makes it easier for families to travel a bit further. The United Kingdom is a long-haul destination families are travelling to - trying new things, and spending more time exploring everything it has on offer.
"The West Coast of the US is also popular, with a trip to Disneyland high on the agenda; but now with flights directly to Houston and Chicago, families are also looking to head to Florida and Disney World. From Chicago they can also travel easily to the East Coast to visit New York and Washington DC."
It certainly looks like our travel habits are changing. I'm trying really hard to resist the urge to say "Kids these days don't know how lucky they are." Those trips to Taupo (and the Coromandel and the Mount) were beautiful but an intrepid adventure in Vietnam or cruising to New Caledonia sounds pretty good too.
