North American tour operator American Holidays has released their Family Fun Report which has revealed some key insights into the process of planning and booking a family holiday, with 88% of people from Yorkshire admitting they like to have their holidays entirely planned out before they leave.

Some key stats for Yorkshire can be seen below; 43% of people find the budgeting stressful. 40% find keeping kids entertained to be challenging. Currently, 52% of people plan their holiday, while only 6% would consider their spontaneous. 45% of people book through an online travel agent.

2025 is set to be a year when many families expand their horizons, with travellers increasingly looking to explore more far-flung and less familiar destinations. In fact, the number of people looking to visit North America – home to many of the UK’s most popular long-haul destinations – has risen by 1.6 percentage points.

American Holidays recently released its Family Fun Report, revealing what 'fun' looks like to families and how they enjoy spending time together as a family.

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Whether your family is a band of intrepid explorers eager to set foot on some of the world’s most famous rock formations, or you’ve always dreamed of stepping into the magical fairytale world of Walt Disney, the new report explores what holiday fun looks like for families in 2025, the biggest bucket-list activities and destinations, and how families are planning their long-haul getaways.

What does ‘family fun’ look like when it comes to US travel?

Depending on your family’s interests and how you define ‘fun’, holidays can be tailor-made. However, one thing that unites UK families is a love for coastal destinations. In fact, 34% said their main source of holiday enjoyment comes from relaxation and leisure, with thrill rides and theme parks (45%), and shopping and dining (34%) also making up a significant proportion.

How do Brits plan a holiday?

It goes without saying that planning a holiday is stressful time, securing time off work, finding somewhere everyone will like and sorting all the packing. With recent polls suggest that 44% of Brits feel pressure to make sure that their holiday meets their child's expectation, how do they cope with holiday planning?

53% of Brits like to know that their holiday is fully pre-planned before they leave, or at least mostly pre-planned. Alternatively, only 11% of us prefer a get-away that is completely spontaneous.

When it comes to involving the family in holiday planning, there is no problem having the kids on board! 32% of Brits involve their kids 'a lot' in the planning process, with 62% of adults typically enjoying 'much more' than what they expected.

When we asked how much planning typically goes into a getaway, more than a third of UK adults said that they pre-plan most of their trip. 15% said they prepare their trips in full detail, while 13% like to be spontaneous and make plans on a whim once they land. More than 4 in 5 of us include our kids in planning conversations too, making sure the whole family gets to pick their ideal holiday.

However, the most difficult part of planning the holiday was cited as budgeting (42%), followed by travel logistics (26%) and choosing a destination (15%).

What do the experts say?

Commenting on the report Bladhana Richardson, Head Of Marketing at American Holidays said “North America is such a vast and diverse part of the world, and arguably one of the cultural epicentres of the world. For some families, holiday fun can look like hiking Yellowstone Park and getting up close with the world’s natural wonders, whereas for others it can be stepping into the universe of their favourite movie characters, and riding the world’s most famous coasters. No two holidays in the US are ever the same. We ran the survey to explore the diversity among what families constitute as holiday fun, as well as explore some common trends.

“At American Holidays we pride ourselves on tailor-making holidays based on each individual family’s needs, so with 42% of families citing budgeting, and 26% citing travel logistics as their biggest pressure points, we can help take the stress out of holiday planning, and help families build the US holiday they’ve always dreamed of.”

To view more details on the report, please visit:

https://www.americanholidays.com/en-gb/blog/family-holidays/family-friendly-american-holidays/

42% of People From Yorkshire Find Budgeting For Holidays Stressful