Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
it was the worst'. Some respondents were unable to nominate a worst
holiday. Some holiday experiences were affected by poor weather. Other
respondents indicated that their accommodation had caused their holiday
experience to be poor - for example, 'stayed in a hotel room. All in the one
room. Kids wouldn't go to sleep. No backyard, etc. No locks on doors so kids
kept escaping. No kitchen so had to eat all the time in the onsite restaurant.
Very stressful!' Another example was 'poor or unclean accommodation'
and respondents often referred to children being awake very early or not
sleeping properly due to lack of blinds, noise, or poor-quality beds. Others
stated that it the facilities were inadequate for the size of the family it added
too much household work. For example, 'where the accommodation was
deficient in too many things … it adds to the household chores instead of a
holiday being about relaxing it is more work'.
The final question was 'Are there any other comments you would like to
make?' Almost half of the respondents made a comment. Some mentioned
stress, such as 'I think family holidays with young kids are very stressful
unless there is some support for the parents and opportunities for parents
to have some time to themselves'. Another response was 'travelling with
young children, especially toddlers, can be more trouble that it is worth
which is why we have not taken long holidays'. And similarly, 'a wise friend
once told me once you have kids they are no longer called holidays but
“time-away”. I now agree.'
Discussion
Holiday experiences are greatly affected by the presence or absence of
children (Freysinger & Ray, 1994; Lin & Lehto, 2006). Freedom from typical
family obligations is sought by mothers (Davidson, 1996; Small, 2005) as
well as fathers (Schänzel & Smith, 2011). Rest and relaxation are a common
holiday purpose for many people (Leiper, 2004) and 70% of people state
that reducing stress is their main reason for going on a holiday (Plog, 2005).
Despite this, family holidays are among those things that can cause the
most family conflict (Carr, 2006).
This study has revealed that family holidays can add to stress in some
cases. While almost half (48%) of the respondents stated that reducing stress
was one of their reasons for taking a holiday, it was not necessarily achieved.
Only around one-third (34%) of respondents found that the holiday had the
desired effect of reducing stress. At times, contributors to the stress were
variables such as the weather. Often the sheer orchestration of packing for
a family and dealing with the needs of children while en route added stress
to the travel experience. Yet, of significance here, at times the creation of
stresses and the cause of negative holiday experiences were accommodation
facilities not being suitable. Where laundry facilities were promoted in the
brochure, they were sometimes inadequate or at other times not present. The
