Childhood jet-setters

June 16 2009 , Written by thediversetraveller Published on #Britain, #Britishchildren, #child, #children, #countries, #destinations, #family, #familytravel, #holiday, #hotel.com, #parents, #research, #travel, #Travel News, #travellers, #under16

The youngest edition to my family, my two-year old nephew Levi is well travelled, by the time he was 18 months, he had been to Eygpt, Israel and Malta. Bit, these days that's nothing new, according to recent research by Hotels.com, he is typical of today's young travellers.

Their research revealed that in the course of a generation, under-16s Brits have visited twice as many countries as their parents. It seems we're a nation of childhood jet-setters.

While a child today will have visited an average of 14 different countries by the age of 16, their parents only visited an average of seven countries by the same age – a 100% increase in travel in just a generation.

A child in 1978 would possibly have travelled 15,552 miles by the age of 16, while a child today could notch up 39,803 miles, enough to circumnavigate the earth one and a half times*.

And while, over the years, the rise of low-cost city and beach breaks has contributed to British children venturing to Europe, today’s under-16s are also heading further afield.

The Hotels.com research showed that one in five children (18%) have travelled to Asia before their sixteenth birthday, whilst one in six (16%) have been to destinations in Africa.

According to Hotels.com research, almost every child in Britain (98%) has made a trip across the Channel visiting European destinations before they reach 16.

Continent	% of children under 16 who have visited each continent

Europe                        98%
North America            34%
Asia                           18%
Africa                        16%
Australasia                13%
South America            9%

Alison Couper, Director of Communications at Hotels.com, says: “While a generation ago, one-in-ten of us hadn’t ventured overseas by 16, now the same percentage of youngsters have been to more than 14 countries by the time they reach their sixteenth birthday, which is a huge turnaround between parents and their own children.”

Parents’ desire for their children to experience a range of countries and cultures early is the driver behind their offspring’s travels. More than nine-in-ten parents (92%) who responded to the Hotels.com survey said that experiencing different countries and cultures was important for their child’s education. Learning another language was cited as a key reason for taking children overseas by two-in-three parents (61%).

The research found that parents consider their children seeing the world so important that almost nine in ten allowed the youngsters in the family to influence where to go on holiday.

Alison Couper concludes: “This survey shows that the backpacker generation is passing on its wanderlust and love of travel to their children. Our research shows that despite cut backs in other areas, people see their holiday as a right not a luxury and spending time as a family is always important."

Survey based on 200 parents, carried out between September 2008 and January 2009.

*Calculations based on the following destinations:
Parent now (16 in 1978): 7 destinations by 16	Child turning 16 in 2008: 14 destinations by 16
Barcelona - 712 miles	Portugal - 985 miles
Sydney - 10,562 miles	Paris - 213 miles
Rome - 897 miles	Rome - 897 miles
Madrid - 783 miles	South Africa - 5,979 miles
Paris - 213 miles	Barcelona - 712 miles
Montpellier - 575 miles	Australia - 10,562 miles
	Hong Kong - 6,052 miles
	Turkey - 1,557 miles
	Cyprus - 2,000 miles
	Nice - 641 miles
	New York - 3,470 miles
	Orlando - 4,350 miles
	Montpellier - 575 miles
	Canary Islands - 1,810 miles
Total = 15,552 miles	Total = 39,803 miles

About Hotels.com: Hotels.com website is the most visited in the 'Hotels/Accommodation provider' category, according to comScore Media Metrix (Dec-Jan2007). For further information visit www.hotels.com

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