Family trips are transitioning from sightseeing to in-depth experiences. The needs of families with infants, toddlers and school-age children are gradually evolving from bonding time and personal development to broadening their horizons. Under the support of policies, various sectors such as theme parks and hotels are focusing on companionship in children’s growth and shared joy to accelerate innovation. Destinations and cultural tourism brands need to integrate resources to create age-appropriate and systematic themed travel products and establish long-term relationships with families through community management and industry collaborations.
Tina Cheng, Research Analyst
Market Definitions
This report segments Chinese families with children according to parenting stages to understand their needs and behaviour more precisely.
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Executive summary
- Key topics in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Market overview
- The consumer
- What we think
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The market
- Market factors
- Birth rates are declining increasingly rapidly in China, with the share of 0-14s continuing to fall
- Graph 1: national birth rate and proportion of the population aged 0-14, 2014-23
- Despite declining birth rates, family tourism remains a major force in the travel market
- Family holidays have become commonplace
- Graph 2: spending plans for the next 12 months – plan to spend more, 2025
- Consumers are generally pragmatic in their spending on travel
- Graph 3: attitudes towards family holidays – cost-effective vs high-end, by monthly household income and city tier, 2025
- Graph 4: highest per capita spending on leisure trips (excluding shopping) in the past 12 months, by monthly household income and city tier, 2025
- Policies are driving the development of the family travel market in areas such as themed performances, amusement parks, hotels and study tours
- The study tour market is growing rapidly, and brands need to stand out by boosting quality
- Graph 5: number of study tour companies and YOY growth, 2018-24
- Market trends
- Immersion in local cultures, learning through play and growing through companionship
- Market observations
- Ticket bundling upgrades family holidays from a one-off spending event to a holistic experience
- Self-driving tours cater to demands for personalised exploration on family holidays, driving trading up and resource integration
- Mid to high-end hotels are capturing the family travel market through diversified services
- Family trips abroad are becoming more popular, with new opportunities in in-depth tours to niche destinations and luxury hotels
- Graph 6: planned outbound travel destinations for the next three years, by family structure, 2025
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The consumer
- Insight into the demand for family holidays
- Core demand breakdown: from family companionship to inspirational education
- Graph 7: motivations for travelling with children, selected, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Brands should formulate promotion strategies based on the attributes of travel scenarios
- Graph 8: demands that travel scenarios can meet as perceived by consumers, 2025
- An ideal family trip should include three parts: good service, benefits to the child’s development and novel experiences
- Graph 9: elements of an ideal family holiday – very important, 2025
- Playing and creating memories with children through photography is a common joy in family holidays
- Graph 10: willingness to participate in parent-child activities, 2025
- Families with infants and toddlers: bonding with comfort; less burden and greater joy
- Family holidays with infants and toddlers are for healthy physical and intellectual development
- Graph 11: attitudes towards family holidays – broaden knowledge vs relieve stress , 2025
- Opportunities for cruises: travellers with infants and toddlers like to take it easy
- Graph 12: travel scenarios considered suitable for family bonding, by parenting stage, 2025
- Highly interested in observational and manual quality time activities
- Graph 13: willingness to participate in parent-child activities, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Thoughtful services and facilities for children are key to upgrading the accommodation experience for families with infants and toddlers
- Graph 14: family holiday experiences willing to trade up – any selected, accommodation and transportation, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Graph 15: essential components of an ideal family holiday – very important, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Enhance the travel experience of families with infants and toddlers, relieving parents of burden and adding joy to their trip
- Families with infants and toddlers prefer holiday rentals/B&Bs and all-inclusive resorts, but outdoor campsites for families have more differentiation potential
- Graph 16: accommodation preferences during domestic leisure travel, by the age of the eldest child, 2024
- Preschool families: personal development and shared joy through growth
- Parents of preschool children pay more attention to the development of their children’s character
- Graph 17: motivations for travelling with children – personal development, selected, by parenting stage, 2025
- Help children achieve small accomplishments to inspire the pursuit of a sense of pride
- Graph 18: essential components of an ideal family holiday – very important, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Joint family tours help cultivate children’s sense of social responsibility
- Graph 19: attitudes towards family travel, social preferences, by family travel motivation, 2025
- Hotel brands can create a family social travel experience with diverse parent-and-child activities
- Families with preschool kids also value the shared joy of growth among family members
- Graph 20: willingness to participate in parent-child activities, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Willing to upgrade consumption for performances, travel photography and sightseeing services
- Graph 21: family holiday experiences willing to trade up – any selected, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Using children’s cultural performances to attract families with preschool children
- Graph 22: interest in offline cultural activities, by the age of the eldest child, 2024
- Families with preschool children prefer premium holiday accommodation options
- Graph 23: accommodation preferences during domestic leisure travel, by the age of the eldest child, 2024
- Families with preschool children favour hotel activities related to natural education, resorts can enhance educational and social responsibility experiences
- Graph 24: key attractions of luxury accommodation, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Graph 25: demands that travel scenarios can meet as perceived by consumers, 2025
- School-age families: learning through play and safe companionship
- Parents expect school-age children to gain knowledge through play
- Graph 26: motivations for travelling with children, selected, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Entering school means parent-child activities need to focus more on interaction and experience
- Graph 27: willingness to participate in parent-child activities, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Families of children aged 7-9 focus on novel activities and knowledge accumulation, while parents of children aged 10-12 pay more attention to professional guidance and safety assurance
- Graph 28: essential components of an ideal family holiday – very important, TGI, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Museums, historical sites and renowned enterprises or educational institutions best satisfy the need for expanding knowledge
- Graph 29: demands that travel scenarios can meet as perceived by consumers – to broaden their child’s knowledge, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
- Historical sites are a versatile choice for families with children aged 7-9 looking for edutainment and companionship
- Graph 30: demands that historical sites meet as perceived by consumers, by the age of the eldest child, 2025
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Issues and Insights
- Destinations: spotlight local cultural elements and develop them into a system, creating a family-friendly themed travel offering that can be enjoyed again and again
- Family travel market trends: themed tours highlighting unique local features
- Growing demand for micro-vacations and study tours has sparked innovation in short themed tours for families
- Create a systematic destination experience framework to make travel products more distinctive
- Tap into interests and create seasonal experiences to attract repeat customers and secondary spend
- Cultural and tourism brands: build an age-appropriate product ecosystem, while leveraging community management and industry partnerships to extend the consumer cycle for family-friendly products
- The popularity of outbound summer travel continues to rise; ‘stress-free’ cruise vacations have become a popular choice
- As parenting stages change, demand is increasing for personalised and immersive family trips
- Now: leverage current trends, focusing on the demands of different parenting stages
- Resort can expand their offerings to develop family experiences combining the themes of natural and cultural guardianship
- Next: extend the consumption cycle of each family unit through community management and celebrations of family milestones
- Professional collaborations help brands earn long-term trust
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- TURF Analysis
- Calculation method for per person spending on leisure travel
- Abbreviations
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