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Family holidays on the rise, as is annoyance

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-03-29 09:06

NEW YORK - More and more American families are set to go on holiday together this year, but the number of people keen to avoid boisterous children on their own vacation is also on the rise, a travel survey shows.

The survey of more than 1,100 U.S. respondents by travel website TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) found that 92 percent of travelers plan to take at least one family vacation in 2010, up from 88 percent who did so last year.

This year may also see a trend for traveling further abroad, with 33 percent planning to take both domestic and international family trips, up 5 percent from last year, with parents praising travel together as an educational and bonding experience.

But at the same time, many travelers would happily pay a premium to enjoy some child-free space on vacation, with a third saying they would pay extra for a seat in a child-free section of an airplane or for dinner at an adults-only restaurant.

Over 20 percent said they would fork out for a room in a child-free hotel, access to an adults-only swimming pool or beach and 9 percent said they would pay more to visit a child-free museum.

On airplanes, voted the most stressful form of transport for families, the majority -- 56 percent -- of travelers said parents should leave the plane before take-off if they fail to settle their children's tantrums in a specific period of time.

Six percent said parents with crying children should not be allowed to board at all, while just over a third said tantrums did not bother them.