Modern Family

Whether it’s immediate family or “multi-gen” — with toddlers, teenagers or grandparents — tour operators are continuing to target the family travel niche, reports Ann Ruppenstein in this week’s digital edition of Travel Courier.

“Family travel is becoming more and more significant in people’s lives,” says Dina Bertolo, VP of product development at Air Canada Vacations. “They want to create lasting memories.”

Bertolo points out that it’s not uncommon to receive requests from families with kids of all ages, including infants, preschool, pre-teens and teenagers 18 and under.

“We have noted increasing demand for family travel, whether it’s a family of four or larger families, as well as multi-generational and extended family travel,” she says.

Air Canada Vacations currently offers over 223 family-friendly resorts, many of which feature dedicated kids’ pools and supervised kids clubs, as well as discounts for kids. Some have double, triple or quadruple adjoining rooms, as larger families seek this type of accommodation.

“Many resorts feature kids’ menu and wide array of dining options, kid-friendly entertainment and activities, waterparks and play areas,” she says.

A growing number of requests and bookings for family travel led Air Canada Vacations to expand its family-friendly offerings. As part of its 2015/16 lineup, the company added the PLAY Collection, which features all the regular Family Collection amenities, and kids eat, play and stay for free across 75 participating hotels.

“We have introduced a wider range of product offerings in each destination… more good value for price hotels as well as exciting new mid-range to luxury hotels,” she says.

As clients are making bookings for a range of three people to upwards of 20, she says the family market can be a very lucrative business for travel agents. In addition to destination family reunions, she says there’s also growing interest for destination weddings with a significant number of family members joining the wedding group.

While families have already been a focus at G Adventures since 2013, innovation manager Alistair Butchers told Travel Courier the company noticed an increase in those travelling with teenagers in the last year.

“We knew we had a high percentage of families with teenagers travelling on our classic trips, so we added departures for families with teenagers to our family product line,” he says.

For the full story, check out this week’s digital edition of Travel Courier by clicking here.