Canadian kids want to make a splash on vacation, survey finds

75% think a pool is most important on a holiday
Breaking some home rules on holiday ranks high
Teens prioritize need for daily access to social media

Press Release_Little Adventures Survey

TORONTO – October 21, 2016 – It’s said that out of the mouths of babes comes truth and wisdom and according to the young Canadian citizens, there is nothing more important than having access to a pool, breaking some rules and still be connected with friends while on a family vacation!

A recent survey[1] conducted by Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travellers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, found 75 per cent of Canadian children aged between 5-15 years old, think a pool and/or a water slide is one of the most important things to have on vacation. Globally, the younger kids (5-11 years old) picked United States, Canada and Thailand as the dream destinations with the best pools and water slides.

[1] 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.

Canadian kids love staying up late with family

What is a holiday without breaking some rules?

Besides having a pool, 61 per cent of these little world travellers want more evening activities so they get to stay up later and more than half of them want to try new activities that they don’t usually get to do back home. They also emphasized the importance of being allowed to eat foods that normally wouldn’t be permitted to (31 per cent) at home, specifically eating all the ice cream they want (36 per cent) as one of the most important factors that would contribute to a fun family holiday!

Canada is also voted by the kids as one of the best holiday destinations with fun evening activities to stay up late for, followed by France (75 per cent), Britain (70 per cent), Portugal (69 per cent) and the United Sates (69 per cent).

According to the survey, Canadian children were lucky enough to have many of their biggest wants and desires during their last family trip as 89 per cent of the younger respondents (5-11 years old) said they had a lot of fun on their family vacation. 77 per cent of the teens (12 – 15 years old) agreed!

Teenagers are inseparable from their mobile devices

Canadian teens (12-15 year olds) put the impetus on social media and keeping in touch with friends at home while away. The majority (91 per cent) prioritized a strong Wi-Fi connection as essential for a successful vacation. Around the world, teenagers voted Canada as the third best country for great speed and ease of Wi-Fi (40 per cent), with Japan taking first place (49 per cent) and the Netherland falling at number two (41 per cent).

More than half (52 per cent) of Canadian teenagers also said that they would love to go on vacations where they are able to share their trip with their friends on social media including Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Their emphasis on being close to a beach (47 per cent) might explain why Brazil was revealed as the top spot for 12-15 year olds to get the best shot this summer, with rooftop apartments and epic beachside hotels overlooking views such as Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain. Creating kudos on Instagram and Snapchat is serious business and something that cannot be dismissed for Generation Z.

It seems, that while getting likes on social media is a must for any teenager, being able to come home and tell their friends about their trip is equally as important. In Canada, 79 per cent of teenagers said they would recommend their latest trip to a friend.

Where do kids want to go?

Globally, 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. 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 visiting from around the world, showing how many destinations today 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.”

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CONTACT DETAILS

For further information, contact the Booking.com Canadian Press Office:

Annie Hennessey

annie@punchcanada.com / 416.668.3393

About Booking.com:

Booking.com is the world leader in booking hotel and other accommodations online. It guarantees the best prices for any type of property – from small independents to five-star luxury. Guests can access the Booking.com website anytime, anywhere from their desktops, mobile phones and tablet devices, and they don’t pay booking fees – ever. The Booking.com website is available in over 40 languages, offers over 1M hotels and accommodations including 512,000 vacation rental properties and covers over 95,000 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide. It features over 105M reviews written by guests after their stay, and attracts online visitors from both leisure and business markets around the globe. With over 19 years of experience and a team of over 13,000 dedicated employees in 184 offices worldwide, Booking.com operates its own in-house customer service team, which is available 24/7 to assist guests in their native languages and ensure an exceptional customer experience.

Established in 1996, Booking.com B.V. owns and operates Booking.com™, and is part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN). Follow us on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest, like us on Facebook, or learn more at http://www.booking.com.