7 Trends Defining Family Travel: Experts Weigh In
Family travel is making a major comeback as the world emerges from the pandemic, with experts reporting an unprecedented surge in demand in 2023. The 2022 Annual US Family Travel Survey from the Family Travel Association and NYU found that 85% of parents surveyed were planning to travel with their kids this year, a significant 15% increase from pre-pandemic levels. To get a better sense of what’s driving this trend, we asked top travel specialists specialists to weigh in on the rise in family travel. Here are 7 key trends they’re seeing and tips for families to navigate the post-pandemic travel boom.
TREND 1
Multi-Generational & Extended Family Travel
The pandemic has reinforced the value of spending time with loved ones, and this is especially true for travel. “The biggest request that has emerged and will continue post-pandemic is for multi-generational travel,” says Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder of US-based Indagare (@indagare). During the pandemic, many families had to put off group trips or destination celebrations, but now they're happening in full force. Biggs Bradley is also seeing a related trend in families booking longer multi-generational trips to spend more time together.
The 2022 Annual US Family Travel Survey from the Family Travel Association and NYU found that nearly half of respondents are planning to take family vacations this year with people outside of their immediate family. Specifically, 47% of respondents reported planning a multi-generational trip, and 46% of respondents reported planning a trip with family members beyond parents and in-laws in 2023. David Clapworthy, US-based Head of Trading at Audley Travel, shares a nuance about this trend: “The make-up of these groups has grown from the three-generation trips seen for many years, to client bookings with four generations traveling together (some spanning the decades from babies to great-grandparents). This is an industry-wide trend as the boomer generation retires and are living longer and staying more active than the generations before them,” adding that, “these trips end up being quite luxurious – there are more people so the family can stay in exclusive and private villas or suites at a reasonable per person price.”
Henley Vazquez, co-founder of US-based Fora (@hellofora), has also observed a rise in demand for multi-generational travel, especially for beach vacations, dude ranches in the American West, and safaris in Africa and the Galapagos. “Safari may not be the first choice of a destination for younger families, but grandparents aged during the pandemic, and families want a chance to do this kind of trip with grandma and grandpa before they can't travel like this anymore,” says Vazquez. When planning multi-generational trips, Vazquez recommends looking for destinations and properties that are tailored to the varied activity levels and interests of multi-gen travelers.
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TREND 2
Remote & Adventure Travel
Another trend experts are noticing is families venturing to more unconventional family destinations — focused on unique, remote, and adventure travel — in addition to traditional favorites. “Families are visiting destinations that are traditional family favorites, such as Europe and the UK (especially England, Italy, France and Spain), and they are visiting more remote destinations such as Egypt, Japan, Israel, Morocco, Chile, Australia, Bali and South Africa,” says Ashley Ganz, founder of US-based Artisans of Leisure (@artisansofleisure).
Elaborating on this trend, Vazquez shares that “parents are bringing their kids more places where before they might have been more cautious, like Morocco, Egypt, and Central America — Costa Rica in particular.” Vazquez attributes this trend to a realization among parents during the pandemic that life is too short to put off bucket list trips. “We lost years sitting at home, and whereas parents used to think, ‘I'll take the kids to Morocco later,’ now they’re saying, ‘let's just go,’” Vazquez explains.
So what are families with young children doing at these far-flung destinations? In short, a lot. “Each family likes to do different things,” says Ganz, “such as nature excursions in the Atacama Desert, luxury safaris, exclusive dinners in the desert in Morocco, and sunrise hikes in Bali.”
Pointing to places like Lisbon in the winter (which is often in the mid-60s), Slovenia, Iceland, and New Zealand as examples, Biggs Bradley observes that more families are choosing remote and less-touristed destinations to escape crowds and heat, “not because of pandemic-related concerns anymore, but because heat and crowds can be overwhelming for young children.”
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TREND 3
Slow Travel
Family travel in 2023 is all about taking it slow and savoring the moment. According to Sonia Jones, founder of Australia-based Sonia Jones Travel (@soniajonestravel), “slower is key, and less is more.” This trend is all about taking the time to really explore and get to know a place, connect with the locals, and have an authentic experience.
Sebastian Modak, in a recent recent Conde Nast Traveler article on this travel trend, explains that, “slow travel means tamping down our own built-in, conditioned obsessions with time and allowing the world to move just a little slower so that we can actually notice it.” Chisato Nishiyori, General Manager Japan at 360 Private Travel, observes that more families are traveling “to scratch beneath the surface — to do their bucket list items, but also to spend time getting out there and just getting lost.”
Many experts we spoke with report that more families are opting to stay longer in one place for an immersive travel experience. “More than usual, families are staying in places longer. Instead of a 3-night stay, now it’s more like 4 or 5 nights,” says Angela Adto Tepper, founder of US-based AZA Luxury Travel (@azaluxurytravel), “there’s this element where they really want to immerse themselves in the culture and the experience.”
While destination-hopping remains popular for cross-country driving trips in places like Italy, France, and Portugal, experts report a rise in families spending more time in fewer places in countries like New Zealand, where visiting lots of destinations used to be the norm. “We’ve been seeing a trend in people wanting to slow down, staying in two places for seven days each, as opposed to touring the whole country,” says Sam Porter, owner of New Zealand-based Seasonz (@seasonztravel).
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TREND 4
Cultural & Educational Travel
The trend in family travel to European culture capitals shows no signs of slowing down. “We're seeing a strong continuation of Europe travel, with France, Italy, and Greece being the top European destinations, with Spain and Portugal really starting to come up,” says Vazquez, noting this was one of the top trends identified in Fora’s 2023 Hot List. “Europe demand came back immediately post-pandemic,” observes Biggs Bradley, adding that Europe has always been a popular destination for families, especially those with younger children, who are drawn to cities like London, Paris, and Rome for their iconic landmarks and cultural attractions.
According to the 2022 Annual US Family Travel Survey, family trips to cities and trips with an educational and cultural focus are on the rise. The survey found that "city vacations are experiencing a considerable rebound: the percentage of families expecting to take a family trip has increased from 34% in 2021 to 65% in 2022. Museums and cultural attractions also show an increase in appeal from 36% (2021) to 48% (2022)." This increase in demand for cultural and educational travel is likely driven by families looking to incorporate more learning experiences into their vacations, turning travel into a mini-world-schooling experience for their kids.
Adto Tepper points out that this trend in educational travel is particularly pronounced, with more families seeking out experiences that allow them to learn about history and culture in a meaningful and hands-on way. "I'm seeing more of an educational drive in family travel, for example, families going to Normandy, visiting the D-Day beaches, and taking guided tours to learn about a very iconic historical moment. Normandy has always been popular, but usually it's multi-generational trips, or families with a relative that was in or close to the war. But now, it's like, ‘I want to bring my children there to learn about it.’”
But families are not just interested in museums and historical sites. They also want to combine educational and culture travel experiences with their personal interests. Ganz explains, “Families want to incorporate their interests more than ever. Recent family travelers of ours have raved about activities such as private pastry lessons in Paris, after-hours tours at famous sites such as the Tower of London in England, private access at archeological sites in Egypt, and pop culture tours in Japan.”
Biggs Bradley also notes an intersection between the trend in cultural and educational travel with unique and remote travel for families. “We have planned trips for families with older kids exploring Marrakech staying at La Mamounia, and experiencing Berber culture and a night in the desert in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains at Kasbah Tamadot or at Dar Ahlam in Skoura; and in the Galápagos with time spent in Quito and on a luxury yacht in the archipelago; and to Egypt, combining time in Cairo with our expert private guides and the original Indiana Jones with a boat trip down the Nile by boat to Luxor and Valley of the Kings.”
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TREND 5
Entertainment-Inspired Travel
The power of entertainment in influencing travel destinations cannot be overstated. From popular shows such as Emily in Paris and The White Lotus, to hit feature films like Harry Potter and Disney classics, people are increasingly seeking out destinations featured in their favorite shows and movies. In fact, according to the 2022 Annual US Family Travel Survey, movies (81%) and TV shows (73%) are the top two sources of travel inspiration for families.
This trend highlights the desire many travelers have to immerse themselves in the worlds they see on their screens and make their own memories in the process. Adto Tepper shares, “Families want to travel to all these places they see in shows, like The White Lotus, Emily in Paris, Outlander for Scotland — even Game of Thrones is still going strong.” Notably, entertainment travel can also have its downsides, such as overtourism leading to more crowds and higher prices, “I've been telling clients to go to Sicily for years and those that did are so glad they went before The White Lotus Season 2 came out,” says Adto Tepper.
But this trend is about more than just seeing the destinations featured in TV shows and movies. As Angela Caes, owner of US-based Fernleaf Travel, points out, families are also looking to combine entertainment-inspired travel with educational travel experiences. For example, Caes describes a family-favorite Paris tour that focuses on the fashion districts with an Emily in Paris theme, where tweens and teens can learn about Paris by exploring and taking pictures of areas they choose. Caes notes, “At the end of the day, they not only have learned a lot about Paris, they've created a reel, and the guide photographer teaches them iPhone photography tips along the way.”
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TREND 6
Nearcation
As the world reopens and international tourism is on the rise, experts note a continued demand for travel close to home. Enter the nearcation: “During the pandemic, we discovered our backyard and now we love playing in it,” says Vazquez. Even travelers in other countries, such as Australia, are embracing local travel to explore unique and interesting destinations and attractions close to home that they didn't even know existed until lockdown, according to Jones.
Another reason more families may be vacationing closer to home is cost concerns. “Domestic travel is not going away,” says Vazquez, “this is still an incredibly popular choice, for families in particular, because flights are so expensive. People think, ‘I'd love to go to Italy, but Italy's really expensive, so how about California instead.’” According to Vazquez, some of the most popular domestic trip types for families this year are national parks, dude ranches, and the California Riviera experience.
A summer 2023 travel trends survey by Bankrate found that many travelers are planning staycations (28%), driving instead of fly (26%), or traveling a shorter distance (23%) due to rising travel costs and inflation. To make the most of your travel dollars, Bankrate recommends booking in advance, researching the best deals, and using rewards, miles, and other perks. In a statement shared in the survey report, Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, notes that travel rewards “represent real value, and too few travelers are planning to redeem them this summer. Your rewards won’t get more valuable over time — use them before you lose them.”
Another way that families are managing higher travel costs while staying closer to home is by visiting off-season destinations during the summer. According to Vazquez, more families are going to the Caribbean and Central America in summer months because these destinations are “less crowded, more affordable, and still fun.”
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TREND 7
Booking Well In Advance
Travel planning can be a balancing act between spontaneity and foresight, but in 2023, the latter is proving to be the winning strategy. As Biggs Bradley notes, "Families are planning farther ahead." And Ganz echoes this observation, stating, "We are finding that families are planning their vacations a few years in advance." This shift away from last-minute planning is driven by the increased difficulty of securing accommodations in popular destinations in the U.S. and Europe. According to Biggs Bradley, "Last-minute planning is also harder to do now as hotels in popular destinations are booking much farther in advance."
Fora’s 2023 Hot List reinforces the importance of advance planning, stating, "This is the year 'the early bird gets the worm' and advance planning is crucial, whether for bucket list trips or shorter getaways." Vazquez elaborates on this observation in the report, "With such high hotel demand and recent airline issues, 2023 vacations will need to be planned more than six months in advance." According to Adto Tepper, for popular destinations like Italy, “even booking 5 to 6 months out is considered very last-minute this year.”
Fortunately, airlines and hotels have become more flexible with cancellation and rebooking policies since the pandemic, and more families are buying travel insurance as an extra precaution. But the bottom line, according to experts, is that if you want to travel this year — especially to any of the Top Family Destinations in 2023 — don’t wait. The best accommodations are likely to be booked well in advance, and you don't want to miss out on your dream family trip. So take a cue from these travel industry insiders and start planning your next family adventure now.
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All photos courtesy of Unsplash
