Why You Should Plan Ahead

Generational travel and family reunion are two of the most popular trends in travel today. More and more families are choosing to travel together across generations, from grandparents to grandchildren, to celebrate life events, reconnect with each other, and create lasting memories. According to a survey by AARP, 15% of Americans took a multigenerational trip in 2019, and 32% planned to do so in 20201. Similarly, family reunions are becoming more common and more elaborate, as families living around the world seek to gather in one place and share their heritage, culture, and stories.

But why are generational travel and family reunion so appealing? And what are the benefits of planning them in advance? Here are some of the reasons why you should consider these types of trips for your family, and why you should start booking them as soon as possible.

The Benefits of Generational Travel and Family Reunion

Generational travel and family reunion offer many benefits for families of all sizes and backgrounds. Some of the main advantages are:

• Strengthening family bonds: Traveling with your extended family can help you strengthen your relationships with your relatives, especially those who live far away or whom you don’t see often. You can spend quality time together, have meaningful conversations, and learn more about each other’s lives, interests, and perspectives. You can also share your family history, traditions, and values with the younger generations, and pass on your legacy.

• Creating lifelong memories: Traveling with your extended family can help you create lifelong memories that you can cherish and reminisce about for years to come. You can experience new places, cultures, and activities together, and capture them in photos and videos. You can also celebrate special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or weddings, in a unique and memorable way.

• Having fun and learning: Traveling with your extended family can help you have fun and learn new things together. You can enjoy a variety of activities that suit different ages, abilities, and preferences, such as hiking, biking, skiing, snorkeling, or sightseeing. You can also learn from each other’s skills, talents, and knowledge, such as cooking, dancing, painting, or speaking a foreign language.

• Saving money and time: Traveling with your extended family can help you save money and time on your trip. You can share the costs of accommodation, transportation, food, and entertainment among the group members. You can also take advantage of group discounts or deals offered by hotels, airlines, or tour operators. You can also save time by planning the trip together, delegating tasks among the group members, and using online tools or apps to coordinate the itinerary.

The Importance of Planning Ahead

Generational travel and family reunion can be rewarding and enjoyable experiences for everyone involved. However, they can also be challenging and stressful to plan and execute. With more people on the trip, there are more factors to consider, such as budget, destination, accommodation, transportation, activities, meals, safety, health, accessibility, and communication. Therefore, it is important to plan ahead for these types of trips to ensure their success.

Planning ahead for generational travel and family reunion can help you:

• Avoid disappointment: Planning ahead can help you avoid disappointment by securing your preferred dates, destination, accommodation, and activities before they get booked up or sold out. This is especially important during peak seasons or holidays when demand is high and availability is low. Planning ahead can also help you avoid disappointment by setting realistic expectations and goals for the trip, and communicating them clearly to the group members.

• Avoid conflict: Planning ahead can help you avoid conflict by involving all the group members in the decision-making process, and reaching a consensus on the major aspects of the trip, such as budget, destination, accommodation, and activities. Planning ahead can also help you avoid conflict by establishing ground rules and boundaries for the trip, such as roles, responsibilities, schedules, and budgets.

• Avoid stress: Planning ahead can help you avoid stress by organizing all the details of the trip in advance, and creating a comprehensive itinerary that covers all the logistics, such as flights, transfers, check-ins, check-outs, reservations, and tickets. Planning ahead can also help you avoid stress by preparing for any contingencies or emergencies that may arise during the trip, such as weather changes, delays, cancellations, illnesses, injuries, or lost items.

How to Plan Ahead for Generational Travel and Family Reunion

Planning ahead for generational travel and family reunion may seem daunting at first, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some steps that you can follow to make it easier:

• Start early: The earlier you start planning, the better. Ideally, you should start planning at least a year or a few months before your desired travel dates. This will give you enough time to research, compare, and book your options, as well as to coordinate with the group members and finalize the details.

• Designate leaders: The leader or leaders of the trip should be someone who has the interest, organizational skills, and perseverance to get the trip from the idea stage to the reality stage. The leader or leaders should also be someone who can communicate effectively with the group members and the service providers. Each family unit should also have a spokesperson who can represent their views and needs in the planning process.

• Pick a destination: The destination of the trip should be something that appeals to everyone in the group, and that offers a variety of attractions and activities for different ages, abilities, and preferences. You can choose from a wide range of destinations in Canada or abroad, depending on your budget, time frame, and travel goals. 

Don't stress over your family reunion. Let a travel agent take care of the details for you. Whether it's a special occasion, or just a chance to reconnect with your loved ones, we can help you find the best destination, accommodation, and activities for your group. Contact us today and let us make your family reunion a memorable one.