Family Travel Statistics: 19 Facts Trend To Consider (Explained)

Looking for family travel statistics, facts and trends?

Well, travel and tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world, and family travel is one of the biggest sub-industries within it.

Around 100,000,000 Americans plan holidays and trips with their family in the summer months alone. In fact, about 70% of US families are highly likely to take a family vacation over the next year.

So, what are the family travel statistics to consider? Here are some of the most common family travel statistics:

35% of US travelers travel with their families.
100 million Americans and 40% of families expect to enjoy a family vacation this summer.
68% of US families plan summer vacations specifically.
53% of US families will go on a road trip this year.
About 44% of people aged between 18 and 35 travel with children.
62% of parents travel with children under the age of five.
70% of US families expect to take a vacation within the next year.
59% of families only plan the basics and leave the rest up to spontaneity.
43% of families travel with children to National Parks.

By 2022, the number of families who take vacations together is expected to increase by about 25%. This 25% increase will lead to about 376 million trips within the year.

The potential for holiday companies to make a lot of money will increase dramatically, especially since 30% of these families spend between $2000 and $5000 per trip.

Because of how much money is pumped into the industry, travel companies would be wise to look at the statistics of family travel so that they can cater to the highly popular group.

In this article, we are going to take a look at these statistics in more detail. Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Family Travel Statistics Overview

👉 As we already mentioned, 70% of US families are looking to take a trip with their family in the next year.

👉 About 95% of these families say that their number one priority when selecting a destination is to find a place where everyone will be happy and entertained.

👉 More so, from these traveling families, about 70% of them look for children-specific amenities especially.

👉 That is why about 60% of families choose to stay in hotels over other housing accommodations. After all, hotels tend to be located in areas where more amenities are available.

👉 Today, about 74% of all booking and research for vacations is done online. Within the past year, only about 25% of families booked their trips through some sort of travel agent.

With this in mind, it shows that family travel is becoming more independent, both in the planning and booking steps of the journey.

Additionally, both children and adults are making decisions concerning the outcome of the trip.

Quick Family Trip Statistics

Below you can find some travel family trip statistics:

35% of US travelers travel with their families.
100 million Americans and 40% of families expect to enjoy a family vacation this summer.
68% of US families plan summer vacations specifically.
53% of US families will go on a road trip this year.
About 44% of people aged between 18 and 35 travel with children.
62% of parents travel with children under the age of five.
Family trips are expected to increase by 25% by the year 2022.
74% of US families use online tools when researching and booking vacations.
30% of families will spend between $2000 and $5000 on their travels.
54% of US family travelers prefer to travel by plane, whereas 47% prefer to travel by car.

Family Travel Frequency

Below you can find some statistics about family travel frequency:

70% of US families expect to take a vacation within the next year.
65% of families took multiple vacations that lasted one to three nights last year.
64% of families took multiple vacations that lasted four to six nights last year.
35% of US families expect to take a vacation that is 50 miles or more away from their home within the next year.
Young UK families average more holidays than old UK families in a single year.

It seems that having children does not affect the frequency of vacations. Within the next year, 70% of US families are expecting to take a vacation with their children and loved ones.

Still, the frequency of visits to new places is largely determined by the age of the children. Families with younger children tend to take more vacations than those with older children.

👉 For example, young UK families take about 2.2 holidays domestically on average a year. Older UK families, in comparison, only take 1.9 holidays on average a year.

Additionally, families with children born after 2010 typically take more than three trips a year, which is much higher than families with children born before 2010.

Because of this fact, it seems to suggest that families with younger children see more value in initiating vacations and trips.

It might be because this demographic has lower commitments, which allows them to travel more often. Older children often have friends, school, and work that put more limits on family travel.

Family Travel Destinations

Below you can find some statistics about family travel destinations:

70% of families list amenities for children as being the most important factor when deciding on a vacation destination.
24% of families travel internationally for multiple days with children.
43% of families travel with children to National Parks.
41% of millennial families travel with children to beach locations and resorts.
83% of families will spend more money in order to prioritize the vacation destination.
60% of families will book hotels.

The travel destination is one of the most important factors related to family travel. The vast majority of family travelers stay in hotels because they are located in areas with amenities for children.

Because amenities for children is an important factor when it comes to destination decisions, it would make sense that most people select hotels as the number one housing option for family travel.

Two of the most popular family vacation destinations include National Parks and beach resorts. These locations make sense for family travel because they offer many amenities for children without breaking the bank. Museums and theme parks also see a lot of family travelers.

For international travel, Mexico and Italy tend to be some of the top locations For family travel. This is likely because of the predictable warm weather, especially during the summer months.

Family Travel Accommodations and Trip Types

Below you can find some statistics about family travel accommodations and trip types:

80% of families prefer to take their vacation during the summer months.
42% of families prefer to take their vacation during spring break.
77% of parents took a beach vacation.
82% of parents have taken a city vacation.
49% of parents took their children for a camping vacation within the last year.
Millennial families with children prefer major metropolitan cities and beach resorts.
91% of families like the idea of having an unplugged vacation.
37% of families took an unplugged vacation in 2019.
92% of the families that took an unplugged vacation deemed it successful.
60% of families prefer hotels, whereas 21% prefer resorts and 17% prefer friends.
52% of families make travel decisions based on the quickest options, whereas 34% make their decisions based on the most affordable cost.

Because family vacations have to be made around school times, most families prefer to take vacations during the summer months or spring break.

Additionally, many families tend to like unplugged vacations, likely because they allow family members to spend more quality time together.

In order to spend more time together, most families make travel decisions based on quick travel. This allows the family to spend more time together since they don’t have to travel as much.

Similarly, many families make decisions based on affordability, which allows them to spend time together while doing the activities they like the most.

Family Travel Spending Habits

Below you can find some statistics about family travel spending habits:

Annual family travel costs about $160 billion a year.
On average, families spend $1014 for every overnight trip.
Over 50% of families spent $1000 to $4999 on trips within the last year alone.
The average duration of an overnight trip lasts five days.
72% of families do not travel due to cost.
77% of families list budget, cost, or value as being the most important factor when deciding on a vacation.
44% of US family travelers spend the most money transporting to and from the vacation destination.
62% of family travelers skip out on souvenirs and shopping.
83% of US families prioritize budget and spending on the destination as opposed to other parts of the traveling.
63% of families spend more money on eating out and general food on their vacation.

Something that probably does not come as a surprise to you is how much money goes into the family travel industry.

Most families look to pack as much fun and experience into their trip at the lowest cost possible. As a result, many families skip out on shopping and souvenirs so that they can spend more on destinations and attractions.

Food and eating out attributes to a large portion of families’ budgets while vacationing. Over half of families spend more on food during vacations, implying that most families treat themselves to nice food on their holidays.

Because family travel cost so much, with the average cost being $1014 per trip, many families view cost as a barrier to taking vacations.

Family Travel Decision Making

Below you can find some statistics about family travel decision making:

95% of families said their number one priority was keeping the family members entertained and happy on the travel.
70% of families view available child-friendly amenities as being an important factor when deciding on a destination.
Only 25% of families researched and booked their holidays using a travel agent over the past five years.
90% of respondents enjoy planning their vacations.
59% of families only plan the basics and leave the rest up to spontaneity.
63% of family travelers view travel review sites as the most influential factor when booking and planning a trip.
46% of family travelers look to friends and family for booking and planning a trip.
74% of families use search engines in order to research and book travel destinations and activities.
49% of families use social media pictures to pick a destination, which shows an increase of 10% over the last year alone.

One of the most unique features of modern family travel is the independence they experience. More common now than ever, families are independent whenever they research and book their vacations.

This is shown in the fact that only 25% of families used travel agents within the past five years.

Instead, the majority of travel decisions are based on online sites and personal recommendations from friends and family members.

Social media also seems to be an increasingly popular way for people to decide on their destinations.

Most families make their decisions so that everyone can be entertained and happy while on the trip. More specifically, about 75% look for accommodations that are fun and safe for children specifically.

Final Thoughts

Family travel is a sub-industry within the travel and tourism industry that can’t be ignored. Being one of the largest groups to travel, travel industries certainly need to take note of these statistics to learn how to cater to this group better.

In the future, it will be interesting to see how these statistics change. It seems that social media will continue to be a larger determiner for where people travel.

Similarly, unplugged vacations may become more and more prevalent.

References

https://www.condorferries.co.uk/family-travel-statistics

https://blog.accessdevelopment.com/tourism-and-travel-statistics-the-ultimate-collection