Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(for more detail see Schänzel, 2010). Temporality as a longitudinal element
to family holidays was signified more by a continuation of the main themes
and perspectives than distinctions between the stages. This made its overall
importance less dominant and more constant than the other two dimen-
sions. The dominant themes and perspectives are now illustrated with
examples from the findings.
An Illustration of Children, Fathers and Group
Dynamics According to the Main Themes
Examples from the findings are used to illustrate generational, gender and
group dynamic perspectives according to the main themes and are contextu-
alised with finding from the literature. This allows some understandings of
family group dynamics, and of individual family member perspectives, such
as those of fathers and children, which are under-represented in tourism
research. The main themes centre on the ideal of family togetherness in
family time and the reality of also needing own time, and the negotiation
of the internal dynamics between the two. Family time encapsulated the
purposiveness of spending time together with the immediate and extended
family and included idealised notions of change of routine, social connected-
ness and social identities. In contrast, own time encapsulated freedom from
those family commitments to pursue own interests alone or with peers,
which included comparisons with non-family holidays and previous family
holidays. The relationship between family time and own time led to the
internal family group dynamics of cooperation, compromise and conflict.
The different perspectives of generation (children), gender (fathers) and
group dynamics are used to illustrate the main themes (see Figure 5.1) with
New Zealand birds as pseudonyms for family names.
Children as an illustration of generational perspectives
The notion of
family time
as being fun was particularly prevalent in the
voices of children and highlights the importance of including the genera-
tional perspective of children in the research process:
Going out, having some time together and having fun. (Tui girl, 14, pre-
holiday family interview)
Seeing all the relatives and having fun with them as well, particularly
my cousins. (Weka girl, 8, post-holiday family interview)
The emphasis on fun by children has been recognised (e.g. Carr, 2011;
Gram, 2005; Hilbrecht
et al
., 2008) but gets often overlooked because the
