67 Family Travel Statistics and Trends

Family travel has evolved over the years. More and more parents each year are taking time out of their schedules to relax, unwind, and reconnect with their children on exciting family vacations. The traditional beach getaway has slowly become less desirable, and instead families have started opting for more unique, adventurous, culturally explorative trips.

As family travel continues to change, so do the trends and stats. It’s important to stay up to date with your information, so I’ve put together a brief list of the most recent, most relevant studies and statistics relative to family travel.

Important Family Travel Statistics

1. A whopping 88% of parents are very likely, or likely to travel with their children within the next twelve months. (NYU)

2. 5% of parents are unlikely, or very unlikely to travel with their children within the next twelve month. The top reasons given for this decision were not being able to afford travel, not having enough vacation time, and having children who are too young for travel. (NYU)

3. Shorter vacations (up to one week) are the most common type of vacation that families take. (NYU)

4. While summer is the most popular time of year for family travel, there is also a strong interest in spring break and winter break. 80% of families took a vacation during summer, 42% of families took a vacation during spring break, and 33% of families took a vacation during winter break. (NYU)

5. The majority of families book their travel plans within three months of their scheduled departure date. (NYU)

6. A family’s main priority when taking a family vacation is “visiting new places and exploring together” (49%). This is closely followed by “relaxing and unwinding together” (42%). (NYU)

7. 25% of families have booked with a travel agent in the past five years. When asked why they had used a travel agent, the most common answer was the ease of booking and convenience. (NYU)

8. 9% of families said they spent less than $500 on travel in the last year. (NYU)

9. 15% of families said they spent between $500 – $1000 on travel in the last year. (NYU)

10. 22% of families said they spent between $1000 – $2500 on travel in the last year. (NYU)

11. 30% of families said they spent between $2500 – $5000 on travel in the last year. (NYU)

12. 18% of families said they spent between $5000 – $10000 on travel in the last year. (NYU)

13. 5% of families said they spent between $10000 – $20000 on travel in the last year. (NYU)

14. 1% of families said they spent more than $20000 on travel in the last year. (NYU)

15. The five most popular types of trips that families go on are day trips (87%), weekend getaways (84%), theme park trips (73%), beach vacations (68%), and road trips (68%). (NYU)

16. Some other, less preferred types of family trips include museum visits (61%), big city vacations (49%), family reunions (46%), camping trips (45%), safari or wildlife viewings (19%), cruises (19%), and volunteer/mission trips (7%). (NYU)

17. Only 43% of parents have visited a national park with their children before. (NYU)

18. Certain US States are more preferred for family vacations than others. The most popular state, Florida, has been visited by 55% of families before. This is followed by California (31%), New York (26%), Pennsylvania (24%), and Tennessee (21%). (NYU)

19. The top three states that parents hope to visit with their children in the future are Florida, California, and Hawaii. (NYU)

20. Families tend to stay at certain accommodations more than others when traveling. Hotels are the most frequented choice, with 61% of families admitting they often stay at hotels while on vacation. They are followed by resorts (22%), motels (21%), vacation rentals (16%), and campsites (15%). (NYU)

21. Over 70% of families have never stayed in RVs, trailers, timeshares, or home exchanges while on vacation. (NYU)

22. When asked what factor was most important when selecting where to stay on a family vacation, 77% of parents said it was getting the best value for their budget. This was followed by amenities for their children, close proximity to attractions and activities, a kid friendly environment, and free WiFi. (NYU)

23. 75% of families have not booked with a travel agent in the past five years. When asked why they hadn’t used a travel agent, the most common answer given was the fear of it being too expensive. (NYU)

24. When asked where families would typically splurge on their travel decisions, 83% said it would be on the destination visited. This was followed by staying in accommodation near the destination and paid attractions. (NYU)

25. 63% of parents reported that they rarely or never spend time working while on a family vacation. 25% of parents said they work occasionally, 8% frequently, and 4% constantly. (NYU)

26. When asked what resources give them information or inspiration for where to go and what you do, 59% of parents said travel websites, such as Expedia and TripAdvisor. 40% of parents also said Facebook. (NYU)

27. When asked what the main priority was when taking a family vacation, 49% of parents said it was to visit new places and explore together. This was closely followed by 42% of people wanting to relax and unwind together. (NYU)

28. When asked what grade they would give the travel industry (accommodations, airlines, attractions, cruise companies, etc.) when it comes to serving their family’s needs, the average grade given was a B-. (NYU)

29. 44% of Millennials take their vacations with their kids. (Travel Agent Central)

30. Millennial families account for 16% of all travelers. (Travel Agent Central)

31. Nearly half (49%) of families decided where to go or what to do on vacation based on pictures they’ve seen on social media. (Alamo)

32. Family travel accounts for 30.8% of outbound tourism. (GlobalData)

33. Family travel is predicted to increase by 25% by 2022. (GlobalData)

34. 70% of families globally take at least two family vacations a year, with Asian families taking more than twice as many family trips than Westerners. (Agoda)

35. British and Singaporean families are the most adventurous. Exploring new cultures as a family travel experience is more popular among these two groups (48% and 46% respectively) than any other. Chinese and Thai families are the least likely to investigate new cultures on their vacations. (both 29%). (Agoda)

36. 71% of Aussie travelers have traveled with their core family (parents and children) in the past year, 8% with extended family and 20% with grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

37. Aussies look forward to relaxing (69%), getting quality time with their family (67%), and getting away from routine (61%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

38. The top three concerns Aussies have during family trips are falling sick (31%), the standard of the accommodation (24%), and having disagreements with their family (13%). (Agoda)

39. 69% of Chinese travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 9% with extended family and 30% with grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

40. Chinese travelers look forward to relaxing (65%), getting quality time with their family (65%), and trying new things (44%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

41. The top three concerns Chinese travelers have during family trips are falling sick (45%), having disagreements with their family (20%), and the standard of accommodation (13%). (Agoda)

42. 81% of Indonesian travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 31% with extended family and 54% with grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

43. Indonesian travelers look forward to getting quality time with family (68%), relaxing (52%), and trying new things (49%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

44. The top three concerns Indonesians have during family trips are falling sick (47%), the standard of accommodation (19%), and having disagreements with their family (13%). (Agoda)

45. 74% of Malaysian travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 37% with grandparents and/or grandchildren, and 19% with extended family. (Agoda)

46. Malaysian travelers look forward to getting quality time with family (80%), relaxing (70%), and trying new things (52%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

47. The top three concerns Malaysians have during family trips are falling sick (44%), the standard of accommodation (19%), and having disagreements with their family (16%). (Agoda)

48. 75% of Filipino travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 37% with their extended family, and 53% with their grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

49. Filipino travelers look forward to getting quality time with family (78%), relaxing (69%), and trying new things (52%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

50. The top three concerns Filipinos have during family trips are falling sick (34%), the standard of accommodation (28%), and having disagreements with their family (17%). (Agoda)

51. 65% of Singaporean travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 12% with their extended family, and 20% with their grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

52. Singaporean travelers look forward to relaxing (70%), quality time with family (70%), and trying new things (54%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

53. The top three concerns Singaporeans have during family trips are falling sick (37%), having disagreements with their family (23%), and the standard of accommodation (17%). (Agoda)

54. 86% of Thai travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 66% with their grandparents and/or grandchildren, and 33% with their extended family. (Agoda)

55. Thai travelers look forward to spending quality time with their family (66%), relaxing (63%), and trying new things (36%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

56. The top three concerns Thai travelers have during family trips are falling sick (31%), the standard of accommodation (24%), and not having enough privacy (13%). (Agoda)

57. 70% of British travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 5% with extended family, and 13% with grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

58. British travelers look forward to relaxing (74%), getting away from routine (65%), and quality time with family (64%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

59. The top three concerns Brits have during family trips are the standard of accommodation (28%), getting sick (17%), and having disagreements with family members (11%). Nearly a third (27%) said that they don’t have any concerns at all. (Agoda)

60. 62% of Vietnamese travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 20% with extended family, and 37% with grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

61. Vietnamese travelers look forward to spending quality time with family (61%), relaxing (60%), and exploring new cultures (46%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

62. The top three concerns Vietnamese travelers have during family trips are getting sick (43%), the standard of accommodation (19%), and disagreements with their family (18%). (Agoda)

63. 65% of American travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 11% with their extended family, and 23% with their grandparents and/or grandchildren. (Agoda)

64. American travelers look forward to getting quality time with their family (69%), relaxing (67%), and getting away from routine (65%) the most while on family trips. (Agoda)

65. The top three concerns American travelers have during family trips are falling sick (23%), the standard of accommodation (20%), and not having enough privacy (14%). Nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) said they don’t have any concerns about traveling. (Agoda)

66. About 6% of families travel by train, bus or ship on vacation. (ValuePenguin)

67. The typical vacationing U.S. family spends about 44% of their travel funds getting to, from, and around their destination. They spend an average of more than $2,100 each year on the transportation costs for their vacations. (ValuePenguin)

Hi, I’m Ash!

I’m a laid back traveler who loves experiencing new things and spontaneity. My favorite hobbies are hiking, gardening, skincare, and all things tea.

My biggest goal is to spread the word about sustainable travel and show everyone how easy it is to partake in. If you wanna learn more about that or get to know me better, feel free to click here.