Kids Have Say in Family Travel

February 22, 2005

Kids Have Say in Family Travel
February 22, 2005 – According to a new poll from Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell, 71 percent of children say they "need" a vacation. The poll included more than 800 children between the ages of 6 and 17.

Three-fourths of the children polled also said that a vacation of seven days or more is the ideal length. According to other recent surveys, the average vacation taken in the U.S. is just four days.

A third of the children reported that they are more likely to talk with their parents during family vacations than when at home; 45 percent said they are less likely to argue with their parents; 48 percent said they are more likely to eat together as a family, and 75 percent said they are "less likely to spend time watching television."

"From a kid’s point of view, it’s clear that vacations provide much-needed time to reconnect with family, whether through sharing a meal or simply talking more than they do at home," said Peter Yesawich, chairman and chief executive officer of YPB&R.

Additionally, over one-third of those children polled said they helped research some aspect of their family’s vacation on the Internet. Theme parks topped the list of destinations children like to go, followed by beach or lake vacations and cruise vacations. In the theme-park category, nearly one-half of kids picked Walt Disney World (Florida) as their first choice, followed by Universal Studios in Florida and Disneyland in California.

Top-rated vacation activities were swimming, eating out, staying in a hotel or resort, going to a theme park, staying up late, and going to a beach or lake.

When asked what the worst part of going on a vacation with mom and dad was, children agreed it is getting up early and riding in the car.