October 22, 2019
For family travelers across Asia Pacific, finding the best deal or lowest price isn’t a top priority—it’s all about experiences and family-friendly appeal.
Our new research, Asia Pacific Family Travel Trends, explores Gen Alpha’s impact on family travel in China, Japan, and Australia, and helps destination marketers and travel brands understand how to engage this important group.
When booking a family trip with Generation Alpha (children born 2010 or after), Asia Pacific travelers universally prioritize safe and kid-friendly destinations that young children will enjoy, with activities and cultural experiences for the entire family.
What does this mean for travel marketers? When thinking about attracting families with young kids, marketers should highlight experiences, rather than focus on the cost or cost savings. Destinations and hotels can align themselves with the trip characteristics that travelers truly value, and in turn, secure more bookings.
Asia Pacific Family Travel: The Basics
Asia Pacific travelers take the same number of family trips as the global average (2.4 trips), but this number increases to 2.7 trips for Chinese family travelers.
When choosing where to stay, hotels are overwhelmingly preferred by this group, both globally and in Asia Pacific. Nearly two-thirds of Asia Pacific family travelers opt to stay in a hotel over a vacation rental, which is 7 percent higher than the global average. Location or proximity to where travelers want to explore, family needs, and room size are leading considerations for family travelers when making accommodation decisions.
Specifically in Japan, over 80 percent of Japanese family travelers opt for hotels, nearly 25 percent more than the global average.
When it comes to getting to their travel destination, air and car are the preferred modes of transportation for Asia Pacific families traveling with Gen Alphas. Compared to the global average, Asia Pacific family travelers are more likely to use a car to get to their destination, especially in Japan, while Chinese and Australian family travelers opt for plane travel.
Who is influencing travel decisions?
The study also offers new insights into how content and information are influencing Gen Alphas in APAC, and the impact these kids have on family travel considerations and decisions. Across the region, 75 percent of families involve Gen Alpha in the planning process for family trips, and more than three-quarters of adults frequently discuss travel with their Gen Alpha children or grandchildren.
So, what is influencing Gen Alpha’s travel opinions? We learned that in the Asia Pacific region, imagery or information highlighting kid-friendly activities or attractions and travel-related content on TV or online is influencing Gen Alpha’s travel opinions. The information Gen Alphas hear or learn about in the world around them plays a key role in informing the travel ideas they share with their family.
Key Insights & Marketing Takeaways
- Experience beats expense. Gen Alpha and their parents value meaningful activities over lower prices when making travel decisions. So, we recommend looking for ways to highlight unique, family-oriented activities and experiences in marketing content.
- Trip planning is a family affair. Gen Alpha plays an integral role in planning family trips. Find opportunities to make travel research and planning an interactive, fun, and easy experience for the entire family. Using family-friendly content and messaging will go a long way in reaching these family trip planners.
- Hotels are central to family travel. Hotel marketing content with messaging or visuals highlighting family-friendly amenities is an effective way to appeal to and engage family travelers in this region.
- Not all trips are created equal. Understand the cultural and behavioral differences between markets in Asia Pacific. Lead with top family travel considerations, including proximity to nearby attractions and family-friendly offerings. All the better if they’re rooted in a great deal—it will likely make the booking decision even easier.
If you would like to learn more about how you can better reach, engage, and convert family travelers from the Asia Pacific region, check out our full study, Asia Pacific Family Travel Trends.
