Family time surpasses the importance of making money
The importance of family time has surpassed the emphasis placed on making money in the average American household, a new study released at the Vacation Ownership Investment Conference in Orlando has revealed.
Peter Yesawich, chairman and chief executive of trend analyst consultancy Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell, said after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, respondents to the company's National Leisure Travel Monitor had showed a clear switch to wanting to spend more "quality time" with their families.
In 2000 only 26% of adults took their children on holiday but last year there was a 10% rise, with 36% of parents taking a family trip with their kids.
The desire has become so prevalent that 61% of parents questioned also admitted they would not mind taking their children out of school in order to go on holiday as a family, said Yesawich.
Another trend revealed in the survey is that of "togethering", where ad hoc groups of friends and relatives choose to go on holiday together to spend quality time with each other. Disney has even set up a "magical gatherings" package to cope with the phenomenon.
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By Emily Manson
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