Amsterdam,
19
October
2016
|
10:00 AM
Europe/Amsterdam

Big Opinions From Today’s Little Adventurers

  • Over 22,500 children globally tell Booking.com exactly what they want from their family holiday
  • Strong, fast WI-FI and the chance to take cool photos for social media is an absolute must for teens, while youngsters (5-11 year olds) crave a lush swimming pool and all the ice-cream they can eat

Amsterdam, Netherlands – October 19, 2016  – It’s said that out of the mouths of babes comes truth and wisdom, so this summer Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travellers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, set out to canvas the world’s children on exactly what they want from their family getaway. Over 22,500 post-holiday reviews were collected from children across the globe, and the findings* not only reveal the most important factors to keeping little adventurers happy, from bouncy beds to special treat suppers, but also uncover the best rated destinations for each desire.

Today’s teens (12-15 year olds), put the impetus on social media and keeping in touch with friends at home while away. Specifically:

  • The majority (89%) of 12-15 year olds prioritised a strong Wi-Fi connection as essential
  • Having the chance to take cool photos for social media was important for nearly half (44%)
  • Staying near a pool or a beach and enjoying lots of activities were also ranked in the top five important factors
  • Conversely only a quarter (25%) of 12-15 year olds think it’s important to make friends with other children on holiday

By contrast, 5-11 year olds are much more sociable and long for holidays by a cool pool or beach:

  • Staying near a pool/cool water slides (73%) or beach (58%) are deemed the two top priorities for children aged 5-11, followed by activities they can’t do at home (54%)
  • Playing with other children is important to nearly half (42%), while over a third would like to have all the ice cream they can eat on holiday (34%) and food that isn’t usually allowed at home (32%)
  • One in five look to stay somewhere with a room bigger than they have at home (24%) and with bouncy beds (22%), while one in ten (10%) expect holiday staff to be good at telling jokes

The findings highlighted Greece, Brazil and the US as among the top rated destinations for children this year, with all three countries recommended by the young guest reviewers who visited. It’s here that families will find the most important elements of a child’s holiday, such as evening activities, accommodation near beaches and epic social media upload opportunities. Japan, Mexico and Canada were also commended by children visting from around the world, showing how diverse destinations are more accessible and family-friendly than ever.

BEST RATED DESTINATIONS BY 5-11 YEAR OLDS

US

A pool/cool water slides

Greece

Near the beach

Brazil

Activities I can’t do at home

Canada

Evening activities so I can stay up late

Mexico

Other kids to play with

BEST RATED DESTINATIONS BY 12-15 YEAR OLDS

Japan

Wi-Fi / fast internet connection

US

A pool

US

Lots of activities

Greece

Near the beach

Brazil

The chance to take cool photos for my social media accounts

Adrienne Enggist, Director of Product Development at Booking.com, comments: “Spending time away together is an important part of family life, but we understand that planning to keep all the children happy can be hard. At Booking.com we’re on a mission to match families with their perfect choice of holiday and we offer an informative bank of guest reviews, handy filter functions and easy booking of over one million diverse properties to help them do just that. Whether it’s finding a great place to stay near to the coolest outdoor pursuits, most family friendly restaurants or even the bounciest beds you can find it in just a few simple clicks on Booking.com.”

 

Research conducted by Booking.com with 22,564 respondents aged 5 to 15 from 31 markets. Respondents had to be aged between 5 to 15 and stayed at least one night in a Booking.com property to complete a review with their parent’s permission. Only booker nationalities which had over 100 respondents, and only destination countries which had over 100 visitors were included in the results. Data was collected between June 3 to August 29 2016.