Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from their travels. Gmelch (2004) found that parents want their children
not only to have a positive holiday experience but also to also learn from
their travels. Gmelch highlighted that 'a seldom mentioned motivation to
travel is the desire of parents to interest their children in the world around
them: many family trips are undertaken to expose children to interesting
and significant places - historical, cultural, and natural' (Gmelch, 2004: 9).
Parents want and expect destination information to be developed specific-
ally for a young audience, but in keeping with society's pressures that this
be produced appropriately, such as emphasising cultural education.
To provide an indication of the size of the family traveller cohort, the
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) revealed in its
2011 'Tourism highlights' that 51% of all international tourist arrivals (or
480 million arrivals, including for example business tourists) were those
travelling for leisure, recreation and holidays. This did not include those
who were combining a trip that included visiting friends or family, even
though it is believed that many in this category would be undertaking a
family holiday. This was an additional 27%. If family holidays account for
about 40% of the international tourist arrivals as suggested by many DMOs,
this demonstrates how substantial this cohort is as a tourist market and the
potential power of children, as many of them can influence their parents'
buying (Lindstrom, 2004; Schor, 2005).
Tourism researcher Priscilla Boniface (1995) recommends that when
marketing tourism to young people and educating them about tourist
destinations and cultural sights it is vital to consider the messages from their
perspective. Boniface (1995) maintains if cultural tourism is to be promoted
successfully to a young audience there must be an understanding that they
are a specific target audience and the marketing material must be developed
in a way that speaks to them, engages and is appropriate. She explains that
too often information aimed at a young audience is delivered more for the
adult and is developed in a language appropriate for an adult audience.
The traditional promotional approaches used in destination marketing,
such as brochures, posters and slogans, are less effective when it comes
to marketing a destination to a young audience (Smith, 2007). Their
'educational and curiosity motives' (Boniface & Cooper, 2001: 356) must be
considered as otherwise they do not engage or they simply just switch off
(Sutherland & Thompson, 2001). The Future Laboratory (2004) expressed
it clearly by stressing that young people are very cynical about up-front
advertising and marketing materials. Therefore, they need to be reached in
different and possibly more creative ways than the conventional marketing
products that might appeal to their parents and other adults.
