Cash-strapped ‘children’ holidaying with parents
Cash-strapped travellers in their twenties, thirties and forties are holidaying with their mums and dads this year, according to research from LV= travel insurance.
Almost two million parents will take their adult ‘children' on holiday with them in 2012 and many are covering the full cost for them too. The majority (67%) of these parents won't let their children pay a penny towards the trip while a third (33%) are subsidising the cost by paying for the flights or accommodation. Yet taking an adult child on holiday does not come cheap, with parents reporting it adds an extra £380 to the cost of their holiday on average.
Despite the additional cost, parents say they are happy to take their adult children with them on holiday because it brings the family together. Two fifths (42%) of parents that are paying for their adult child's holiday are doing so as a treat, while more than a third (37%) just want the family together, regardless of the cost.
Money is a key consideration for parents as many worry that their children could not afford a holiday without their help. Over a quarter (26%) of parents say that they are paying for or subsidising their grown up child's holiday because they know they can't afford a break. A similar number (24%) say that if they didn't pay their child simply wouldn't have a holiday at all.
It's not just twenty-somethings that are struggling to pay for a getaway. The average age of an adult child joining their parents on holiday is now thirty, while almost a fifth (19%) are in their forties. Some parents are even taking more than one grown-up child away with them, with over a third (35%) taking two or three on their break.
Although the adult children are getting a free or subsidised holiday, they still want to be involved in all the key decision making. Almost all (99%) have a say in the accommodation and nine out of 10 (88%) help choose the destination. This is despite the fact that in some cases (17%) they aren't contributing a penny towards the cost.
Holidaying with parents may become more commonplace as people leave their parental home much later in life now or return to live with their parents after their studies - the ‘boomerang' generation. According to the research nearly four in ten (37%) parents with adult children have at least one still living at home with them and one in five (22%) of these children are being taken away by their parents this year.
LV= travel insurance offers group travel insurance which can cover up to ten holidaymakers on the same policy and has no upper age limit for older travellers.
Selwyn Fernandes, Managing Director of LV= travel insurance, said: "Young adults, and even some middle-aged ones, are trying to save money where they can and holidaying with the parents is becoming a growing trend. While there are some money saving measures that can be taken, travel insurance should never be one of them. We can insure up to ten people on our policies making it ideal for larger family groups."
For further details, log on to lv.com.