Family trips are on the rise —ITB Berlin

IPK International and ITB Berlin examine trends in family trips abroad – steady growth despite declining birth rates in many countries – Spain is the most popular destination for families

Berlin, 25 August 2016 – Despite declining birth rates, family trips are on the rise. In 2015, around 78 million Europeans went on family vacation abroad and spent a total of 640 million nights on these trips. This is the result of a special evaluation of the World Travel Monitor®, conducted by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin.

Over the last 10 years, the annual average growth rate of holiday trips with children (aged under 15) has been around two percent, which corresponds to the growth rate for all holiday trips undertaken by Europeans. For family trips, Europe is the preferred destination as 90 percent spend their holidays there. The most popular destination for families is Spain, where around 15 percent spend their holidays, followed by France. In recent years, Germany has registered high growth in this segment. As in 2007 it was still ranked sixth behind Spain, France, Italy, Austria and Turkey, Germany is now ranked on the third place and the number of family tourists there has almost doubled. Outside Europe, the most popular destinations for families are the USA, followed by Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Thailand. The three source markets with the highest demand for family trips are Germany, the UK and France, which altogether account for more than one-third of European family tourists.

Off to the beach

Beach holidays are the most popular type of family holidays, with two in five spent on lakes or by the sea. The main motivation for families is to relax, while sunbathing and swimming as well as good food and drinks are also very important. Although having been on the rise in recent years, with 17 percent, city breaks follow beach holidays by far in popularity. The focus here is on sightseeing and experiencing a city’s atmosphere.