Families with children

1
Families with children seniors as tourism
segmentsTourism Market Market Com. 9.10.2007

• Children as consumers
• Influence wants
• What do parents want on holidays
• Match or not with childrens wants
• Holiday decision-making in families
• negotiation families
• role distribution
• Seniors as tourism segment
• experienced vs. chronological age
• Comparison of families w. children seniors
• practical implications

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Children as consumers

• Change in perception of children
• from innocent, unknowing objects, without
  influence
• to knowledgeable, rich, influencial actors
• Demanding and critical consumers
• Three consumer roles
• direct buyers with own means
• influencers on parents purchase (e.g. holidays)
• future customers
• Influencers
• Pester power
• Indirect (0-5) direct influence (6-12)

3
Childrens influence parents role

• Parents listen, want to please (Lindstrom 2003)
  as long as the children are happy we are happy
• Bad conscience-factor (McNeal,1999) - quality
  time
• vicarious enjoyment (Johns Gyimothy 2002)

4
Childrens wants during holidays?

• Sun, beach, warm water
• Communication with other children
• Many activities (self-organised organised)
• The right mix of activities and relaxation
• (Den tyske udfordring, 2000)
• Home sun, but difference from the familiar is
  best remembered (Cullingford, 1995)
• Fun cool not childish activities, shopping,
  active participation not traditional sightseeing
  (Nickerson Jurowki 2001)

5
Parents wants during holidays?

• Common experiences reconnect as a family
  (Nickerson Jurowski 2001, Gram Therkelsen
  2003)
• Togetherness with room for individual activities
  (Gram Therkelsen 2003)
• A good atmosphere (ibid.)
• Relaxation rest (ibid.)
• Having fun both children and parents (Johns
  Gyimothy 2002)
• Nostalgia that children learn (ibid.)
• Safety value for money important

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Distribution of childrens parents needs on
holiday

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•  
• Childrens needs 0-4 years
  5-10 years 11 years -
•  
•  
•  
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• Parents needs
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Absorption
Entertainment
Educational
Active Participation
Passive Participation
Escapist
Esthetic
Children
Parents
Shared experiences
Immersion
Non-events
Parents
(Gram 2005 p.19)
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Questions to the tourism trade

• What can we offer children who, at an earlier and
  ealier age, do not find traditional children
  activities attractive?
• How do we appeal to this composite buying unit
  children, mother father who often have
  different interests?

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The road to negotiation families
Development in perception of children
Development in family decision-making
The child as ignorant passive
Father-dominated decision-making
The child as well-informed active
Split decision-making - product specific
Negotiation families
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Role distribution in families in relation to
decision-making
The husband has also lost influence in all
stages of decisions regarding vacations, while
the wife has gained substantial influence in
all of these decision-making stages (Belch
Willis 2002, p.120).
(Brassington Pettitt, 2003 p.126)
within households women may be the gatekeepers
to the tourism product (Mottiar Quinn 2004 p.
158)
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Critical noteSequential vs. on-going process

• Vacation decision-making is an ongoing
  process which does not cease once the trip is
  booked information is collected by many
  people all through the year (Decrop Snelders
  2004, p.1024).
• Data shows
• continual info-collection on-going evaluation
  of options --- increasing intensity
• children also initiators and info-seekers
• children also decision-makers within delimited
  choices

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International trends senior tourists

• 50 age group is growing
• many are wealthy
• many are well-educated
• they live for longer
• many are well-established, the kids are gone
  money for experiences
• many are conscious about quality and used to
  spending money
• many have a different attitude to consumption
  than the war generation (havent experienced
  poverty, not worn-out)

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Seniors as tourism segment (cont.)

• Disagreement on who are seniors
• Not a homogeneous group age segmentation not
  enough
• Littrell et al (2004)
• active outdoor/cultural tourists
• cultural tourists
• moderate tourists
• Seniors both influenced by their generation
  lifestyle/interests (Gram 2005)

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Experienced vs. chronological age

• elderly people act much younger than their age
  would suggest (Lazer 1985)
• most rate their health as good to excellent and
  feel 10-15 years younger than they are (Hanson
  1987)
• age is not very central in defining who older
  people think they are. Younger people tend to
  have a more defined idea about what old age is
  like than older people do (Bradley Longino
  2001)

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National differences similarities regarding DK
-
German participants
Common denominators
Hospitality
Shopping

Erholung

Seing beautiful landscapes
The Beach

Luft

Cosiness
Wide spaces
/
Nature
Danish Participants
Solitude
Activities
Longing for at more simple life
Walk through scenic old streets
High culture
History
Combining
Meeting others
Quality
Swedish participants
Good food
Going to new places
Authenticity
(Gram 2005)
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Curiosity Trigger
Mature couples The two of us, alone
Families with children Together, apart
(Therkelsen Gram 2007)
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Summarizing Findings

• Frequent usage of collective we
• The two of us, alone --- one unit
• No quarrels or discussions during interview
• Using others to identify / differentiate us
  with/from
• Individual interests, if appearing, disguised as
  common good
• New life situation (empty nester / retired) plays
  a role

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Further readings

• Belch M.A., Willis L.A. (2002). Family decision
  at the turn of the century Has the changing
  structure of households impacted the family
  decision-making process? Journal of Consumer
  Behaviour. 2. 2. pp.111-124.
• Lee, C.K.C., Collins B.A. (2000). Family decision
  making and coalition patterns. European Journal
  of Marketing. 34. 9/10. pp.1181-1198.
• Mottiar Z., Quinn D. (2004). Couple dynamics in
  household tourism decision making Women as the
  gatekeepers? Journal of Vacation Marketing. 10.
  2. pp.149-160.
• Therkelsen A, Gram M. (2007) The Meaning of
  Holiday Consumption. Construction of Self among
  Mature Tourists. (in review).