In a recent Travel Trade, the Tattler asked agents how important family travel is to overall sales. Thirty nine percent said it was extremely important, 23%, quite important, and another 33% said it was growing in importance. According to CLIA, families are the fastest-growing market segment in the cruise industry. (Notice how the word “growing” is repeated here?)
Saul Fonseca, account development specialist for Royal Caribbean, told me that affinity groups represented 65% of all Royal Caribbean groups in 2005, with over half of that number family travel. So what can we Home Based agents do to be sure we are getting our share of family travel?
First, become an expert in kid-friendly vacations. This is not too hard for me since I have kids who love to travel. Stress to families the importance of family travel. The kids learn by seeing and doing. Learning to snorkel and scuba dive, trying out the foreign language they’ve been learning at school, eating new foods, and learning foreign customs is just part of what my kids have gained by traveling. On one cruise, my son even learned to play chess with chess pieces as big as he was; he came home and joined the chess team! And today’s busy families need to relax and spend quality time together.
We all know kids love Disney World or Universal Studios, but besides those obvious destinations, there are lots of other choices for families. Also many families who visited these places when the kids were younger are looking for a different kind of vacation now. Look for other options and become familiar with what they offer families.
Cruises are one vacation that every member of the family will enjoy. On your next cruise, ask your kids to name their favorite activities on the ship. From arcades to climbing walls, LED screen movies to energetic basketball games, pools with slides and fun games, there are plenty of activities to keep youths busy on board. Also stress to parents the benefits of having age appropriate children’s programs and youth activities.
Parents will enjoy being able to have family time on the ship along with some private time while the kids are enjoying their fun and games. Many ships also have teen clubs — informal hangouts where teens can meet others in their age group.
Another big plus for a cruise vacation is the variety of food for a family. Parents get to enjoy fine gourmet meals while the kids have pizza and ice cream available 24/7! Can’t beat that. And I found that with the relaxed schedule on vacation, my kids liked to eat at different times. That was not a problem on a cruise. If they slept late, or wanted a midnight snack, it was always available.
Cruising is also becoming a multigeneration gathering for families. Grandparents, parents and grandchildren can spend quality time together while enjoying fun activities and exciting destinations.
Smart cruise lines are aware of the strength of the family market. For instance, Carnival Cruise Line has made putting together a family vacation a little easier with their new Carnival Connections.
“We have a new tool to encourage family and groups to chat up their upcoming cruise, sort of like the e-vite concept,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales and marketing. After travel agents have booked the family cruise, you can refer the leader to this tool to add more family members to the cruise!
All-inclusive resorts have many family-friendly features. From the time my children could swim, they have loved traveling to Cancun, the Bahamas or other warm destinations to fabulous resorts where they could swim, snorkel or explore the area.
Many of these resorts have children’s clubs and other activities just for kids. Again the availability of food and snacks makes an all-inclusive resort a perfect destination for hungry kids!
Tours might not seem to be the best vacation for younger children due to the vigorous schedule. However, I am seeing more and more tour companies include family travel in their marketing. Older children and teens could definitely benefit from learning about destinations if they are old enough to keep up with the schedule. Becoming familiar with the itinerary and age requirements before recommending a tour might save a lot of problems for traveling families.
Another way to position yourself as a family travel expert is to be aware of the problems of traveling with children. For example, for travel to many countries, including Mexico, if both parents are not traveling, then the traveling parent must have a signed and notarized letter from the other parent stating that they give permission for the child to leave the country. Long plane trips and long layovers can also be a problem, unless you alert parents so they can be prepared. Goodie bags for the kids are a great idea: fill with coloring books, crayons, small toys, etc.
Where do you find families? Families today are busy people. Children are involved in more activities than ever before: dance lessons, soccer, baseball, gymnastics, music lessons, church activities and more. Some ideas include getting together with other families who enjoy the same activities and forming a group such as a softball team group cruise, mother-daughter getaway — or schedule a music group to perform on the ship. And don’t forget grandparents. Many enjoy taking the kids away on a vacation — or coming along with the rest of the clan.
Family travel is definitely on the rise. Begin preparing today to reach this growing market segment. Who knows? Maybe starting these kids out as travelers today will be job security for us in the future!

Angela Criss has a B.S. in communications with an emphasis in advertising and a minor in marketing. She has had a myriad of jobs, including marketing director for a manufacturing company, various newspaper jobs and teacher of English for 10 years. She now owns a Home Based travel agency, Criss Travel.