Vacationing Parents Top Worry: Keeping Kids Occupied in Transit
- Expedia.ca and the Traveling Canucks offer tips to help parents navigate March Break travel-related stresses -
(firmenpresse) - TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 03/05/13 -- There are few travellers who leave for a holiday without thinking that they forgot to pack something important or overlooked something critical - like leaving their passport at home or forgetting to lock the front door. They should consider themselves lucky - Canadian parents have even more on their minds before they go on vacation. According to a recent survey by , 50 per cent of respondents said travelling with children is 'very' or 'somewhat' stressful. What's most worrisome isn't associated with anything back home, or even waiting for them at their final destination - instead, the top cause of parental stress, at 37 per cent, is keeping their young ones occupied while in transit.
To help parents alleviate any stresses associated with planning and taking a family vacation, has teamed up with travel blogger and mother Nicole Wears from the Traveling Canucks ().
"Given that so many Canadians are planning to take a family trip this year, it is important for parents to do their homework in order to get the best results, just like kids do in school," said Wears. "As the first step to any successful trip, I encourage parents to use a combination of sensible tips and reputable travel resources and sites like , to plan all aspects of their vacation."
Other top parental worries include remembering to pack everything (22 per cent), the availability of child-friendly activities while on vacation (16 per cent), being prepared for unforeseen delays (15 per cent), and choosing a kid-appropriate destination (13 per cent).
Other Considerations for Family Travel Planning
Not surprisingly, finding a family getaway within budget was the most important factor for parents when deciding vacation options (at 54 per cent) followed by finding a destination with activities for the whole family (48 per cent). Among the various factors that come into play when deciding on a vacation destination, parents were split on whether previous visits to a destination played a role in determining where the family would go on their next holiday. Twenty three per cent said they would make a travel decision based on a past visit, while 24 per cent said that exploring someplace new was among the most important factors when choosing.
"Canadians put great importance in being able to go on holiday with their families. In fact, 81 per cent of parents surveyed said they plan to travel in 2013 - 17 per cent of them over the March Break holidays," said Sean Shannon, Vice President and Managing Director of Expedia Canada. "As the country's leading online travel provider, we have the resources that make holiday planning easy, as well as an unmatched inventory of family-friendly destinations that offer something for everyone and will help to create lasting family vacation memories for years to come."
Of all vacation destinations, proved to be the most popular family-friendly location (21 per cent), understandable given the many theme parks and family-friendly resorts available to Canadians with only a few hours flight time required. In fact, the Sunshine State recently celebrated a record number of 89.3 million visitors to the state in 2012, 3.6 million of whom were Canadians, a new high that represented a 7.3 percent increases over 2011.(1)
Top Ten March Break Travel Tips
For March Break-bound families, Expedia.ca and Nicole Wears offer the following advice:
1) Plan ahead - Travelling with children requires lots of planning so give yourself time to do your homework. Seek feedback from other parents while vetting your options. Tools such as , as an example, is a collection of over 7.5 million hotel reviews from actual travellers and features an entire category dedicated to families.
2) Involve your child - Happy kids means a happy vacation! Feed off their excitement and let them feel involved in the planning process - for if they do help plan, the happier they'll be to join. Pick two or three places you'd like to visit on your trip and let your child help pick the final destination.
3) Be budget savvy - The costs of a family vacation often add up, thereby contributing to stress levels. To help keep the budget in-check, look for , and and make sure to hotel and flight together to help get the most bang for your buck. Sites like also show so you will know upfront exactly whether the family vacation of your dreams is within your holiday budget.
4) Start packing early - No parent wants to waste time shopping while on vacation for the things they've forgotten to pack. To dodge this avoidable stress, don't wait until the day before to pack; rather start with a little each day to ensure you don't forget anything important.
5) Bring snacks - Think of how many kid-friendly snacks you'll need and then double that amount. You never know what you'll find (or not find) on the menu, or how long it will be until your next meal.
6) Bring along a pillow - A pillow is small creature of comfort that will help children - and parents - rest, particularly at airport gates or while in transit.
7) Bring portable activities - Help keep kids occupied during layovers or long waits with a variety of games that can be played alone or with others.
8) Prepare for the unexpected - Unforeseen delays can rile even the most experienced traveller, but can cause even more stress for families travelling with young children. Book through a reputable travel provider such as that provides access to trained customer service representatives that can help 24/7 and when the unexpected arises.
9) Have your apps ready - Before you leave home, download games and travel apps to your smart phone. Games will provide instant fun at your fingertips should the kids get antsy. Smart phones can also house key travel apps - such as - which lets you book flight and hotel on the go should travel plans change at the last minute.
10) Have fun - Whether you're lounging on a beach in a sunny destination, or visiting friends close to home, make sure you kick back and enjoy the new memories you're creating with the ones you love.
A full list of family friendly travel tips can be found at .
Survey Methodology:
The results quoted in this press release are taken from "Expedica.ca Family Travel" survey using Google Consumer Surveys between February 15th and 20th, 2013. Each question sampled at least 500 unique, randomly sampled internet users across the Google Consumer Surveys publisher network. The average margin of error is +/- 4%.
About Expedia Inc.
Expedia, Inc. operates Canada's most visited full-service and travel service, Expedia.ca. To help Canadians plan and purchase travel, Expedia, Inc. offers the best combination of scheduled and charter , and , , , , and . Expedia customers are supported by customer support agents available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via a toll-free number and email response.
Expedia, Expedia.ca, the Airplane logo and Vacation Deprivation are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners. © 2013 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-50
(1) Visit Florida -
Contacts:
Veritas Communications
Emily Vear
416-955-4590
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 05.03.2013 - 19:50 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 236293
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Town:
TORONTO, ONTARIO
Kategorie:
Recreation
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 349 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Vacationing Parents Top Worry: Keeping Kids Occupied in Transit"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Expedia.ca (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
