Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
also explore the possibility of weaving learning opportunities into the 'term
time' holiday, to attempt to overcome, at least in part, the engagement and
progression problems involved in taking children out of school in term time.
Impact of the Changing Make-Up of Families on the
Family Tourism Product
In many European countries more and more children are living in households
with stepfamilies or just one parent. The growth in working mothers has
also led to a greater role for family members in informal childcare, grand-
parents in particular (Grandparents Plus, 2010). Additionally, increased life
expectancy and falling fertility rates across Europe mean that there is an
ageing population (European Commission, 2010; ONS, 2010a; Royal Geo-
graphical Society, 2011) and fewer children per family. Indeed, according to
the European Commission (2010) as the baby-boom generation of the late
1940s, 1950s and early 1960s retires, the European Union's active popula-
tion will start to shrink from 2013/2014 and, with the number of people
aged over 60 increasing twice as fast as it did before 2007, there will be
additional strains placed on the welfare systems of member states. In the
UK there has been an increase of 1.7 million people over the age of 65 in the
25 years between 1984 and 2009 and over the same period there was also a
significant reduction in the proportion of the UK population aged under 16.
Indeed, it is projected that, by 2034, 23% of the population will be aged 65
or over, compared with 18% aged under 16 (ONS, 2010a). Also of interest is
the projected change in the ratio of women to men aged 65 and over, falling
from 156 women to 100 men in 1984 to a predicted 118 women to every 100
men by 2034 (ONS, 2010a).
The fall in the dependency ratio (i.e. the number of people of working
age supporting each pensioner), from the current 4:1 to a projected 2:1
by 2050, the increasing pressure on health and social services, the current
downturn in the global economy, a rise in retirement age and a shortfall
in retirement savings are further issues to challenge the tourism industry
(Royal Geographical Society, 2011).
The key question is, what do these significant demographic changes
mean for the tourism industry and, more specifically, the family tourism
market? What is clear is that they will present further challenges and op-
portunities for the industry in the form of catering for the needs of changing
family structures alongside an ageing population. The constraints to the
selection of a destination, type of holiday or even a holiday itself centre
on personal, family, social and situational influences which include gender,
age, stage in the family life cycle or life-stage, social class, income and other
work-related issues (Page & Connell, 2009). The family life cycle groups
people by age, marital status and whether they have children but does not
