Spencer Schar is an entrepreneur with a passion for travel, having visited 24 countries to date. This article will look at multigenerational travel, exploring its many benefits.
On an individual level, travel is enriching. However, multigenerational travel helps family members to see things from other perspectives. Whether traveling with siblings, parents, grandparents, children, or grandchildren, family travel has numerous benefits.
Brian Tan is the CEO and founder of the online travel referral website Zicasso. Mr. Tan indicates that his company has seen a considerable uptick in interest for big, multigenerational family trips. In addition to grandparents and grandchildren being separated for long periods during the pandemic, Mr. Tan suggests that other factors are contributing to the boom in family vacations, including a post-pandemic increase in savings levels and a shift towards more meaningful experiences, including visiting bucket-list destinations. According to statistics from the Zicasso booking platform, reservations for parties of six or more have increased by more than half since 2019.
Keen to keep ahead of this trend, the Hotel Napoleon in Paris, France, is tweaking its offerings to cater for multigenerational groups. The hotel enables parties of anywhere between 4 and 18 family members to stay together by providing accommodation with interconnecting rooms. Meanwhile, Zemi Beach House in Anguilla has also set its sights on family bookings. The resort, which is part of the Hilton LXR Hotels and Resorts portfolio, has increased its offering of family services and amenities, including expanding its dynamic kids club programming.
Traveling is an eye-opening experience in itself, presenting an opportunity to learn about new places and cultures on a level that is simply impossible without visiting in person. Travel presents a vital escape from the stresses and strains of daily life, helping travel companions to strengthen their bonds, enjoying precious quality time together and creating memories to last a lifetime. The embedded video looks at travel from a child’s point of view, exploring the benefits of travel for children.
Studies show that travel can be particularly beneficial to a child’s education. Exposing young people to different cultures helps them to be more open-minded. In addition, experiential learning has been shown to be infinitely more impactful than conventional classroom-based teaching models. As children spend their time learning about new cultures, sampling different cuisines, there is also a good chance that they may be picking up a little of the language.
Spending time in new destinations together strengthens bonds between family members. In an “always on” age, individuals of all ages often struggle to find time to spend time with their loved ones without distractions. Family travel coaxes people to intentionally set aside time to spend with those they care about most.
In an era of ever-increasing digitization, people spend an inordinate amount of time glued to smartphones and other digital devices. A trip overseas presents a prime opportunity for a digital detox, unplugging from email, games, apps, and social media to spend quality time together, resting the body and mind. Digital detoxes have a plethora of different benefits in terms of health and wellbeing, including reduced stress and anxiety, improved sleep quality, increased mindfulness and self-awareness, enhanced productivity and creativity, and improved interpersonal relationships.
In a post-COVID-19 world, there has been an exponential increase in interest for multigenerational travel, with families having placed their vacation plans on hold throughout much of 2020 and 2021. Today, the travel industry is booming. As families emerge from the shadow of COVID-19, they are seeking out more meaningful and memorable ways to spend quality time with their nearest and dearest. The attached PDF provides an overview of prominent travel trends in 2024.