Parent-child tourism takes off in big way

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Hanfu enthusiasts in front of Big Ben in London in February (LI YING / XINHUA )

Chinese parents are booking more domestic and outbound research as well as study tours this summer compared to the same period last year, and the market is set to embrace a golden period of growth, industry players said.

However, parents have become more cautious while choosing research and educational travel products, and are paying more attention to quality, said Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency.

The United Kingdom, the United States and Singapore are the most popular destinations for research and study tours. Such trips mainly include taking international classes abroad, and in-depth tours of museums and famous universities.

In addition to time-tested experiences of visiting renowned universities in Europe and the US, some niche destinations in northern Europe that focus on natural landscape sightseeing, such as Finland and Norway, have also become popular for research and learning trips this summer, Qunar found.

More parents are choosing routes that emphasise humanities, history, nature, and aesthetic education, as well as projects that are highly experiential and interactive.

Tourists check out the Macao Special Administrative Region’s famous tourist spot, the Ruins of Saint Paul’s, in May (ZHANG JINJIA / XINHUA)

People born in the 1980s and 1990s — young parents now — are the main consumer groups in the parent-child travel market, and they are more willing to pay for high-quality parent-child travel experiences, industry observers said.

“For example, participating in a turtle conservation project in Bali, Indonesia, and an elephant conservation project in Thailand, have seen significant increases in bookings this year. Since children can do something by themselves, this makes it more meaningful,” said Yan Lanru, director of research and study tours at Qunar.

“For domestic study trips, several travel agencies have launched cultural tours equipped with experienced research mentors and experts in Xi’an, Shaanxi province. They will help children deeply experience and understand the culture and historical heritage of the ancient capital,” Yan said.

Summer vacation is the peak season for parent-child travel. Last summer, Chinese consumers undertook trips amounting to some 1.84 billion person-times, significantly higher than during the same period of 2019, or before the COVID-19 pandemic, and many scenic spots received a record number of tourists, according to the China Tourism Academy.

Based on summer travel product orders so far, nearly half of the tourists who plan to travel domestically are families with children, and this group accounts for 53 per cent of the total for outbound travel, according to Trip.com.

Among those that have booked travel products this summer, consumers born in the 1980s and 1990s form the backbone, and each accounts for 50 per cent and 18 per cent of the total, respectively, Trip.com said.

“Bookings made by those who were born after the year 2000 grew the fastest, and the booking volume has jumped about 80 per cent year-on-year, indicating that students are playing an increasingly important role in the summer tourism market,” said Fang Zexi, an industry analyst at the research institute of Trip.com.

For instance, taking a 12-day tour of the UK and Ireland has been popular this summer. This includes tours of Cambridge University and Oxford University, the British Museum and Windsor Castle, according to Tuniu Corp.

“For short-haul outbound products, taking a study and research tour in Hong Kong and Macao has been sought after. It will include a visit to renowned colleges in the two cities and the Hong Kong Palace Museum,” said Fan Dongxiao, director of short-haul outbound tours at Tuniu Corp.

A booming travel market has also driven demand for air transportation this summer.

During July and August, domestic airports are expected to handle 1.08 million takeoffs and landings, up 12.65 per cent year-on-year, and 13.87 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic level of 2019, according to an estimate by aviation data provider VariFlight.

In addition, more than 2,100 international and regional flights are expected to take off and land in China each day this summer.

This is expected to grow 62.42 per cent year-on-year, and is forecast to rebound to 80 per cent of the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019, according to VariFlight.